Josh Powers does not like playing shortstop.

Sacramento State did not want him to play shortstop.

It seems like a match made in heaven after Powers has started this season with a .387 average and a team-high 13 runs batted in from the first-base position.

After he spent the 2009 season at third base, the position change was more out of necessity than anything else.

“We didn’t have a first baseman,” Powers said. “They asked me if I had a problem moving over and playing first and I told them, “No problem.'”

It is that kind of easygoing attitude that makes Powers stand out to anyone around him and rubs off on his younger teammates.

“He won’t stop talking,” said shortstop and friend Derrick Chung. “He is one of those guys who never stops talking. The younger guys listen to him.”

With 17 new players on the roster this season, Powers’ ability to lead the rest of the team guys on the team will be a big measuring stick for the team’s success.

“We were picked to finish last, but I don’t believe in that and neither does Josh,” Chung said. “He believes in our ability to surprise people. We lost (Tim) Wheeler and (Blake) Crosby (to the Major League Baseball Draft) last year and this year we have younger guys but some of them are underrated.”

Even the coaches see Powers as a team leader.

“The players really respect him,” said associate head coach Reggie Christiansen. “I think the guys understand where he is coming from and respect his opinion.”

Powers had gained the respect of everyone after taking a winding route to Sac State.

After a move from San Diego to Elk Grove, Powers starred in his one season at Elk Grove High School under head coach Jeff Carlson. Powers earned a scholarship offer to University of the Pacific.

As a freshman, Powers started 24 games at shortstop for the Tigers, but the more the season went on the more he realized that it was not a good fit for him.

“I liked the school and I made a lot of good friends,” Powers said. “I just didn’t fit there. There was something about it that didn’t click.”

Powers talked to some of his Pacific teammates about the junior college route, and decided to transfer to Cosumnes River College and play for head coach Tony Bloomfield.

The difference between Pacific and Cosumnes was noticeable for Powers.

“The intensity level is different,” Powers said. “Practices could be longer because of lack of regulation. The caliber of baseball wasn’t as high as the Big West (Conference), but because of practices, it was more demanding.”

Throw in the fact Powers was taking between 17 and 21 units the two semesters he was at Cosumnes, and the rigors of school added with baseball prepared him for a Division I school.

But his time at Cosumnes was more about personal growth than anything.

“It was a time for me to step back and re-evaluate where I was and my baseball career and where I was going and what my priorities were,” Powers said.

It was during that time Bloomfield helped Powers refocus on the sport that he had loved since his childhood in San Diego.

“My freshman year I got overwhelmed and I started looking at baseball almost like a job,” Powers said. “It was tough to do. (Bloomfield) helped me to see that the game is a game.”

Coming out of Cosumnes, Powers looked for the opportunity to move from shortstop to another position and Sac State offered that chance.

“I had been playing shortstop my freshmen and sophomore years at Pacific and Cosumnes and I didn’t want to play shortstop anymore,” Powers said. “I wanted to catch or play third base or something else. I just felt that it wasn’t where I belonged. It takes a special player to play shortstop and it’s just not a place I love to play.”

Since he came to Sac State, Powers has been a fixture in the Hornet lineup.

Last year, Powers was one of only four Hornet players to start all 54 games, and he made the most of his opportunities. He batted .358 with three home runs and 44 RBIs. Powers also finished sixth in the NCAA with 26 doubles.

Powers could be Major League Baseball-bound with another strong season with the green and gold.

“I have always wanted to play Major League Baseball,” Powers said. “It has always been a dream of mine but it is not something that goes through my head on a daily or even a weekly basis. I have a hard time looking past today. (I just think), “What am I going to do today to get better.'”

That work ethic has been adopted not only Powers’ newer teammates, but by team veterans as well.

“He is always at the field; he works hard all the time,” Chung said. “He is a good example to younger guys. It is hard to realize how important his role is on our team, but when we don’t have him next year, it will be a big loss.”

While Powers’ loss will be tough to absorb next year for the Hornets, veterans like Chung are taking note of how to fill that hole.

“I want to be like him,” Chung said. “The example he is to the younger guys, I want to be like that.”

Ross Coleman can be reached at [email protected]