It is very difficult for a baseball team to be successful without good defense in the middle of the infield.

LSU had to replace an All-America shortstop in Alex Bregman and a senior second baseman in Jared Foster. Bregman was the second pick of the Major League Baseball draft last June by the Houston Astros. Foster was a fifth-round selection of the Los Angeles Angels.

So, there were some huge holes for coach Paul Mainieri to fill. The opening night middle infield consisted of freshman Trey Dawson at shortstop and junior Kramer Robertson at second base. But, there was a change after just two games.

Cole Freeman moved from third base to shortstop. That alignment lasted just five games. Freeman went to second base, his position at Delgado Community College and Robertson was shifted from second base to shortstop. Robertson and Freeman have manned these two spots for the last 26 games.

Mainieri has to be pretty pleased with what he has received defensively from Robertson and Freeman. Obviously, Robertson is not the same caliber of defensive shortstop as Bregman. But, he has been steady with five errors in 86 chances for a .942 fielding percentage. Bregman made nine errors in 2015.

Freeman has committed four errors in 119 chances at second base for a .966 fielding percentage—a mark slightly higher than Foster’s number last year (.963).

“These two guys may not line up with some of the infielders we had in the past,” Mainieri said. “But, both Cole Freeman and Kramer Robertson have done a nice job.

“If Kramer had not made the move to shortstop and Cole would not be hitting .300 and playing a good second base, we would not have 22 wins overall and six wins in the league.”

A case could be made that Robertson has been the Tigers’ most valuable position player so far this season. Besides his work at shortstop, Robertson has produced a team-best 54 runs (runs scored plus runs batted in minus home runs).

Robertson is averaging 1.6 runs produced per game. For the 2015 season, Bregman produced 1.5 runs per game. Robertson, who has batted leadoff as well as in the middle of the lineup, is batting .298. He has a .424 on-base percentage. Robertson has drawn 21 walks and has struck out only six times.

“Just being out there every day is helping me at the plate,” Robertson said. “I am able to get in a groove. Also, I have been through it before. I know what to expect from the pitchers. My approach when I hit in the middle of the lineup is different than when I lead off.

“When I lead off, I try to see as many pitches as possible and get on base. Leadoff is the hardest spot in the lineup because you are working behind in the count so often. When I am in the middle of the lineup, I try to be aggressive and knock those runs in.”

Freeman improved his batting average by more than 100 points between his two years at Delgado. Freeman batted .385 as a sophomore after posting a .255 mark as a freshman. Entering Friday’s game at Missouri (6 p.m. Central/SEC Network+), Freeman is hitting .309. He has also stolen 17 bases.

“I am just trying to keep the ball on the ground when I hit,” said Freeman, who was a .344 career hitter at Mandeville (La.) Lakeshore High School. “My swing in the fall and my swing now are completely different. I can take that high fast ball now and stay on top of it.

“I am also able to bunt. I have been able to get some balls past the third baseman because he is playing in looking for the bunt.”

Freeman has also had to make an adjustment to Division I baseball while switching positions in the first two weeks of the season. Now, he is back at second base where he received a national junior college Gold Glove award in 2015.

“I am just happy to be on the field,” Freeman said. “Since day one, I just wanted to be on the field – where didn’t matter. The speed of the game is the thing between junior college and the SEC.

“Then, there is no drop off in the pitching. There are starters who can really throw it. In middle relief, there is one guy after another who can throw it. I have learned that one bad play can turn an inning around. If there is one bad throw and then a walk and a jam shot, you can be down one or two runs.”

Robertson had started 42 games at second base in his first two years with LSU. He made eight errors during that time. But, Robertson had not played shortstop since his time at McGregor (Tex.) Midway High School.

“I am starting to get more comfortable at shortstop,” Robertson said. “I had not taken many grounders there since September when I moved to shortstop. I have settled in there the last couple of weeks. As I’ve been there more, I have become more confident.”

The Tigers have won their past two series – winning two of three games at Auburn and against Vanderbilt at The Box. Missouri (20-15, 4-8) has also won its last two series – taking two games at Arkansas and against Auburn in Columbia.

“We had a good series offensively and a good series defensively as well against Vanderbilt,” Robertson said. “The young guys are not getting overwhelmed by that mid-90s fast ball any more.

“We are better than where we were against Alabama (first conference series). We have won two big series – one on the road and one against the No. 2 team in the country. Nobody panicked. We have a lot of confidence in the guys. Everything is still there for us.”

Mainieri is sticking with his pitching rotation of Jared Poche going in the first game of the series. He will be followed by Alex Lange and John Valek. Missouri has two of the better starting pitchers in the league in Reggie McClain and Tanner Houck. McClain will oppose Poche and Houck will go against Lange.