re: The better play?

Pearson's catch reminded me, a couple games ago they talked about LSU's defensive alignments and how they're SO spot-on. 112mph off the bat, that was a screaming liner, and you have very little time to move. He barely got to it, and if I recall correctly, the announcers earlier were whining about how deep LSU's outfield was a few innings prior.
They are exactly where they need to be on each hit ball, as long as there's good contact. A blooper off the hands or end of the bat, yeah, that gets iffy. But they are in place for well-hit balls.

You see this in the infield, too. How many plays has Thompson made at 2nd? A bunch, it seems. Why is that relevant? Because he's LSU's SHORTSTOP, not second baseman. But they swap positions when they think the ball is going to the right side. And it's not a shift, it's almost always a straight swap- Dugas to short, Thompson to 2nd.
That's why the bloop double happened, because they expected a pulled hit, and Thompson was at second, and Dugas couldn't field in short left. If he made better contact, he's out, likely on a grounder to 2nd.