Those who picked Mississippi State to finish near the bottom of the Southeastern Conference in baseball likely based their predictions on what the Bulldogs lost: pitching and a dependable shortstop.
The Dawgs lost pitchers who combined for 24 of last year’s 42 wins, namely Friday night starter Paul Maholm and closer Jonathan Papelbon. And for the first time in four years, State was forced to find someone other than Matthew Maniscalco to play short. With all three players snatched up by the Major League draft, the team could use some more superstars.
“Me and Jeff, we’re both superstars,” Steve Gendron said at a press conference in reference to himself and Jeff Lacher.
Gendron was joking, but the two players elected to be team co-captains are confident about the Bulldogs’ chances this year, even with the squad’s youth.
Gendron uses his experience to help the newer Bulldogs.
“I like to help the young guys,” Gendron said. “When they ask me what to expect, I can help them out. I know what to expect.”
Gendron, a senior who has started all but three games as a Bulldog, has slid over from third base to shortstop. Lacher, the team’s only senior pitcher, will be a season-long weekend starter for the first time in his career.
MSU coaches should expect Gendron and Lacher’s presence to help ease the pain of the losses. Gendron says head coach Ron Polk expects the two co-captains to lead the team during games and in-between.
“Coach Polk wants it to be so Jeff and I are kind of coaches, too,” Gendron said. “If there’s ever an issue with the team, me and Jeff will take care of it and leave it away from him.
“The good thing about having just a couple of guys that are old is that everybody listens to you,” Gendron added.
The only other senior on the team is Tyler Scarbrough, but he wore the Maroon and White for the first time last year as a junior college transfer. That makes Gendron and Lacher the most experienced Bulldogs.
Lacher, however, sees that as no reason to write the team off as a cluster of raw talent.
“There are some younger guys that-just from going through a fall here-you can tell they’re not high school baseball players,” Lacher said. “They’re Division I college baseball players. You can just tell they’re more mature by the way they carry themselves on the field.”
Both senior co-captains, Gendron and Lacher worked their way to the title through different means. While Gendron has been in the lineup for the past three years, Lacher has worked his way up the ladder.
Lacher went from redshirting to making a few mound appearances as a freshman to getting a few midweek starts as a sophomore. He began his junior year as a midweek starter but became a Sunday starter by the year’s end.
Lacher said “I think I’m a good example of how working hard pays off. Everybody that comes here, they want to be an SEC weekend starter. Last year, at the beginning of the season, I didn’t get that chance, and I just kept working … eventually it paid off and worked out for me at the end of the season.”
Lacher said Polk told him he was to guide the pitchers regardless of his co-captain status.
“Steve’s the guy with position players, and I look after the pitchers,” Lacher said.
For Gendron, it’s a little different than in the previous years when he had Maniscalco, a two-time co-captain, to his left. Now, Gendron’s the one the younger players watch.
“It’s a little more added pressure because the eyes are watching me and Jeff a lot,” he said.
“But we’re up for the challenge. We have a lot of young guys playing, but Jeff and I are going to do a good job and lead them to glory, hopefully,” Gendron said.