HAMILTON — Hayden Evans isn’t going to let a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee be a final chapter to his baseball career.
A few weeks ago, though, Evans admitted he had doubt if he was going to get a chance to keep playing after suffering the setback March 29 in a 19-1 victory at Houlka.
But about a week later, Evans received a phone call from Blue Mountain College baseball coach Curt Fowler. Apparently Fowler had received good reports about Evans from former Hamilton High School standouts Chase Reeves and Dylan Earnest, who are students at Blue Mountain, and he wanted to know if Evans was interested in playing baseball at the private liberal arts college a little more than 40 miles northwest of Tupelo.
When you have dreamed about playing college baseball all your life, that is an easy question to answer.
On Thursday, Evans realized his goal when he signed a scholarship to play baseball at Blue Mountain College.
“I never would have thought I was going to get a chance to play college baseball after I hurt my knee,” Evans said. “Now I just have to play through the pain and work hard and get better after surgery and get ready for college.”
Evans suffered the injury when he stepped in a hole trying to retire a runner in a rundown between third base and home plate. He said it “felt like a bomb went off in his leg” and his knee went in the opposite direction. He said the “pop” he heard didn’t prevent him from getting the runner out.
“I was pretty shocked I wasn’t going to get to play the rest of the year,” Evans said. “I thought I was done with baseball after that. I always say God has a plan for you, and I guess He did.”
It didn’t take long for Evans to wonder how the injury was going to affect his baseball career. Fortunately, Evans said Fowler knew he tore his ACL and that he wanted him to take his time to rehabilitate the injury. Evans said he will have knee surgery as soon as he can after the season. He said his rehabilitation is expected to be six months.
“(Fowler) said don’t rush through everything and do things right and we’ll have you back out there,” said Evans, who said he stays in contact with Reeves, who is a senior on the baseball team. Earnest is a graduate assistant coach on the baseball team.
Hamilton High baseball coach Lewis Earnest said Evans did a lot of coaching when he wasn’t able to play. He feels the time he was away from the game will help him as he moves forward, as will the rehabilitation for the ACL tear. He said Evans will continue to play in a designated hitter role in the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 1A State tournament. Hamilton (14-11) beat Shelby Broad Street 11-0 and 21-0 in the first round. It will play Pine Grove in Game 1 of its second-round best-of-three series at 7 p.m. Friday.
Evans returned to the lineup April 18 after getting medical clearance and went 1-for-1 — a double — in a victory against West Lowndes. Against Broad Street, Evans went 2-for-3 with an RBI in the sweep to raise his batting average to .500. He has 17 hits, including six doubles and one home run.
Earnest said he moved Evans to the leadoff spot in the batting order to maximize the number of his at-bats. Since Evans has returned, Earnest said he has dropped him down to the middle of the order to give him chances to drive runners in.
“He is probably swinging the bat better than he did all year,” Earnest said. “If he was healthy, we probably would be right back in the leadoff spot.”
Earnest said Evans is a great example for the younger players because he hasn’t let an injury stop him from doing what he loves. He said Evans hasn’t pouted and has been at every practice to do what he can to help the team.
“He even throws BP (batting practice),” Earnest said. “He can’t go side to side very well, and he can’t run very well, but he can throw BP. … I really think for the future it is going to benefit him, as long as it heals. He is seeing it from the other side.
“I don’t think college baseball was a major thought for him until he got hurt and got that hunger missing it.”
Evans doesn’t feel the injury will change him, but he knows he will have to work even harder to get back to where he was before the injury. He also is happy he won’t have to beg doctors to clear him and that he will be able to play for as long as Hamilton stays alive in the playoffs.
“I have to put the injury out of my mind,” Evans said. “If it comes into my mind, it is going to hurt. I just have to play through the pain.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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