At six-foot-three and 210 pounds, Lane Evans doesn’t look like a right-handed reliever for the RoadRunners pitching staff. He looks like the type of linebacker that OSU football fans wish their team had on the field.
Far removed from the gridiron, Evans isn’t supposed to be in the Runners’ dugout. He wasn’t even invited to the team's only open tryout in July, but he showed up anyway.
A Reynolds High School graduate and currently dual enrolled, Evans thought his baseball career was over after high school. During his senior year, and after a wrist injury that only allowed him to play half-a-season, he was named second-team all-league. But, he wasn’t recruited by colleges out of high school.
Despite the rejection, Evans wanted to be a RoadRunner and reached out to the coaching staff via email. He never received a response. By chance, a fellow Reynolds High alumnus and friend of Evans, David Dodson, was invited to the open-tryout. Evans caught wind of the email, and despite his rejection, showed up.
Dodson didn’t make the team; Evans did.
Evans caught Head Coach Ryan Gipson's eye. He was one of only a few out of 50 would-be walk-ons to make the team.
“He threw a bullpen, and he was plenty good enough for me to dictate that he was going to help our club,” said Gipson.
After the tryout, Coach Gipson asked for Evans’ contact information, but Evans didn't hear back from him for almost a month. Unexpectedly, while on his way to the river, Evan’s received a phone call from Coach Gipson asking him to join the team.
With one more year of eligibility at LB, Evans is excited by the thought of finishing the school year and baseball season, and being able to take the mound again next year firing his favorite pitch, a slider past an unsuspecting batter.
“I went from thinking my baseball {career} was over, to that’s what I’m gonna do for the rest of my college years.”
An Education major, after next year Evans would like to continue his teaching degree and baseball career at Western Oregon University.
At a glance:
Who: Right-handed relief pitcher for the RoadRunners, Lane Evans.
What: LBCC Baseball.
Where: Albany, Ore.
When: 2015 RaodRunners Baseball.
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