Evans Is Steady Again for Rancho Santiago

Kyle Evans’ college baseball career was put on hold for more than a year because of dizziness, among other physical problems.

But now that the maladies have been alleviated, opponents are spinning in circles trying to get him out.

Evans plays first base for Rancho Santiago, the top-ranked community college team in the Southern California. The Dons (36-9) play host to Saddleback (24-17) at 11 a.m. Friday in the second round of the Southern California playoffs.

Evans hardly seemed destined to play at this level coming out of Katella High School, where he was an All-Orange County player.

Evans, a left-handed hitter, was recruited by many big-time Division I teams and signed with Cal State Fullerton.

But early in his freshman season, he started to have medical problems he had never experienced before. He was becoming dizzy and developed an irregular heartbeat.

The trouble was a mystery to the doctors Evans visited in the next 15 months. A few even told him he might have to give up baseball because of his heart troubles.

It wasn’t until he was given an MRI that the condition was diagnosed as a hormonal imbalance that affected him when he became emotional while playing.

“At one time, it didn’t look like baseball was going to be there for me,” Evans said. “At the time, I gave up everything in a way. It wasn’t a very fun time for me or my family. They were used to seeing me play baseball.”

Evans, who hasn’t had any trouble this season, remained at Cal State Fullerton in the fall of 1993 but was too far behind academically to be eligible to play.

He transferred to Rancho Santiago in the spring of 1994, with hopes of playing. Coach Don Sneddon appealed Evans’ case to the state office for a medical hardship ruling but was turned down.

Instead, Evans spent the season as the Dons’ scorekeeper, using the time to study Orange Empire Conference opponents.

Once the season was over, Evans went to work six days a week in the batting cage in his back yard and a makeshift weight room in the garage.

His first goal was to get back in shape. Not playing and a tremendous appetite pushed him up to 195, 20 pounds more than his current weight.

He played for Rancho Santiago’s informal summer team and slowly regained his confidence. He had a strong fall and couldn’t wait for the season to start.

He was ready to erase all the bad memories of his year in exile in his first at-bat and promptly struck out. He continued to press and didn’t get a hit in his first two games.

But starting in the third game, he had a 22-game hitting streak and has become one of the top hitters in Rancho Santiago history.

Evans, the co-most valuable player of the conference, is hitting a team-high .435 (74 for 170) with 10 home runs and 56 runs batted in. He has 18 doubles and slugging percentage of .741.

Hardly typical numbers for a No. 2 hitter. He started out in the No. 3 spot but was moved up early on.

“I was just trying to get him as many at-bats as possible,” Sneddon said. “He is also a very good defensive first baseman. It’s been a lot of years since we’ve had someone as good as him at first.”

Evans, 21, is focused on driving his team toward a State tournament. But he is also concerned about his future.

He already has committed to attend Lewis-Clark State in Lewiston, Ida., but is looking forward to the June professional draft.

“I’m having a great time at Rancho,” Evans said. “The team really pumps me up a lot. We have a lot of guys pushing each other. I think I’ve really matured since last year.”