Bill Evers was jinxed, and he didn't even know it.
Five innings into a no-hitter against Rollins on March 27, somebody on the Eckerd College bench mentioned that Evers had not allowed a hit. In the suspicion-filled world of baseball, that is a huge taboo.
But is a jinx a jinx if the jinxed doesn't hear it?
Apparently not.
Evers completed his no-hitter, a 2-1 seven-inning victory in the second game of a doubleheader. He walked two, struck out five and hit one batter to improve to 3-0. The lone run was unearned after a hit batsman, walk, sacrifice bunt and sacrifice ground out.
The loss snapped a 20-game win streak for Rollins, which was leading the Sunshine State Conference with an 8-1 record.
Not bad for somebody who didn't pitch last season.
"A couple of the guys after the game said that somebody said something and they all wanted to kill him," Evers said. "I wasn't really conscious of it until about the sixth or seventh inning. It was great."
Evers, a senior, came to Eckerd from River Ridge High School in New Port Richey. He was a third baseman as a freshman before moving to first last season. He hit .317 in 53 games as a junior and is the starting first baseman this year.
His first real time on the mound came this past summer in the Fall River League in Massachusetts.
That's where Evers pitched his first no-hitter. He got his shot on the mound with Eckerd due to injury and ineffectiveness from some other pitchers. He has a 3.38 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 32 innings. "I've always had a pretty good arm," Evers said.
"I was playing in two summer leagues last summer and decided I wanted to work on pitching just to see how it went," he said. "I figured it would be a good way to get me somewhere beyond college."
Evers has been around baseball since he could walk.
His father, Bill Evers Sr., has been a minor-league coach 18 years. Prior to that, he was a catcher and two-time All-America at Eckerd from 1973-76. He currently is manager of the Devil Rays Triple-A Durham Bulls.
The younger Evers would follow his dad to spring training and hang out in batting cages and shag fly balls during practice. Some seasons, he would stay with his father all summer in whatever minor-league city dad coached.
"It was like bring your kid to work day every day for me," Evers, Jr. said. "It's been a great experience, and it's helped me a lot."
Evers remains an every-day player for the Tritons. He is the team's third leading hitter with a .279 average, 28 RBIs and six home runs in 34 games. His assignment is to play first base and pitch during one of the seven-inning Saturday doubleheader games.
Before his no-hitter, Evers remained in the lineup as a batter while he pitched. But before the March 27 game, Tritons coach Bill Mathews told him he would not hit in order to concentrate on pitching.
"He said that's all he wanted me to do," Evers said. "He wanted me to concentrate on one thing and just dominate. It worked, and a couple of the guys were kidding me about never seeing the lineup again."
Pitching may be in his future. Evers would like to follow in his father's footsteps and play professionally.
"I think he's got a good chance of pitching at the next level," Mathews said. "He's got a great arm. He's really emerged as our No. 3 starter."
It took a long time for Evers to finally climb onto the hill. It has not been easy for him to shake the fact that his future might be as a pitcher and not a hitter.
"I've been a hitter most of my life," Evers said. "A year ago, I couldn't imagine talking about how I threw a no-hitter. In the fall, I really only threw two pitches - fastball and slider."
Pitching coach Derek Andersen "has been working with me on my change up and pitching mechanics," Evers said. "It' a slow process, but it's starting to work out."
SPC TAKES BREAK: St. Petersburg College took a week off for spring break but resumes Suncoast Conference baseball games Monday at Lake Sumter CC.
The Titans entered the break on a sour note, losing in 11 innings to rival Pasco-Hernando CC on March 27. SPC (23-10) still is looking good in the league race. The top three teams advance to the junior college state tournament.
NEW SOCCER COACH: Eckerd has hired Derrick Leeson for the men's program. Leeson replaces Gregory Moss-Brown, who was fired after his second season. Leeson comes from Campbell University in Buies Creek, N.C., where he was 101-101-9 in 13 seasons. Three years prior, he was West Virginia Wesleyan College's head coach.
