FAYETTEVILLE — Evan Lee was cold and soaked from head to toe when he got the call from the Arkansas dugout well after 2 a.m. on June 5th.
Dave Van Horn was turning to the true freshman lefthander to close out Missouri State and extend Arkansas’ season at least one more game.
That he did. The Bryant native struck out the Bears’ Justin Paulsen at 3:12 a.m. to end the wild, controversial 11-10 marathon game and set up a rematch 15 hours later with a Super Regional berth on the line.
“I respect him so much for giving me that opportunity, and I wasn’t about to let him down,” Lee said Saturday at Arkansas' annual baseball media day. “I was going to get it done for him.”
Each appearance throughout the season - vs. Texas A&M, Auburn, Ole Miss, Mississippi State - prepared Lee for that moment.
He’d never experienced pre-game jitters like he did prior to his first career start against Louisiana Tech. Lee struggled, working just one inning while giving up a pair of hits and three earned runs. From that, he became more composed on the mound and an arm the staff looked to in tough spots.
“He’s been thrown into the fire a little bit before, and he’s not scared,” Van Horn said after Lee secured the save against Missouri State. “What I like about Evan, mentally, is he doesn’t act like he’s a first-year college kid. He’s mature for his age. He’s a coach’s kid and pretty intense.”
Lee will be counted on on the mound and in the outfield once again this spring. He was arguably Arkansas’ top option as a pinch hitter last season, too, reaching base six times in seven pinch-hit appearances.
On top of those responsibilities he’s slotted to see time at first base, Van Horn said. It’s a position Lee hasn’t played since he was nine years old, but he’s up for anything that will help Arkansas reach its full potential.
The move to first began as an experiment in a team scrimmage last fall. Van Horn shifted Lee to the right side of the infield and he excelled. With a talented cast of outfielders and what Van Horn calls the deepest roster of his Arkansas tenure, the expanded role gives Lee his best shot at seeing time in the field.
Grant Koch said he’s taken notice of Lee’s progression at first base and marvels at his versatility.
“Seriously, he’s developed a lot at first base and it’s something we didn’t really expect,” said Koch, one of the team’s three captains this season. “He looks good over there and he’s really smooth. We see him working and making sure he’s getting better over there. That’d be great for us. He can do anything.”
Footwork around the bag and flyball communication have been the biggest challenges so far. Throw bunt coverages into the mix as well. While there is a definite learning curve, Lee catches on quick.
“Yeah, there’s guys that probably have six years under their belt as first basemen, and I’ve got three months, but I think I’ll do it" he said. “There’s so much you have to know as a first baseman and so many technical things that are involved. It’s one of the most important positions.
"On the infield the ball is swirling and the game is faster compared to the outfield."
Lee believes in his skillset because he’s had great coaches and mentors along the way, including former Bryant High School baseball coach Kirk Bock and his father, Mike.
The sophomore says he wouldn’t be where his now without his father’s guidance. Mike Lee, the standing athletic director at Bryant, was a third baseman/shortstop from 1986-89 and eventual volunteer assistant coach at the University of Central Arkansas in his day before becoming an area scout in the Kansas City Royals organization.
Then Evan was born, and the travel that accompanied the scouting gig took its toll.
“He’d show up one day and I would crawl to him. He’d be gone for 180 days and I’d walk to him. It broke him down,” Lee said. “From what everyone has told him and me is that if he would have stuck with it he would have been in the front office for the Royals.
“But he chose to be with me and my sister (Megan), and I thank him every day for that because that’s a father figure in your life, and he knew that.”
Evan soaked up his father’s wealth of baseball knowledge as best he could growing up, especially at the plate. Mike was a .318 career hitter at UCA.
“There’s only two left-handed people in my whole family and I’m one of them, so he had to teach me from opposite sides, kind of like a mirror effect,” he said. “That helped me understand things really fast and how to play the game. I just remember as a kid it being really cool having my dad teach me the game.”
Lee became accustomed to Baum Stadium at a young age. There are photos back home of a two-year-old Evan calling the Hogs above the first base dugout. The Lees are a big baseball family, and watching the Razorbacks up close is a longstanding tradition.
He dreamed of one day getting to play on George Cole Field, and the commitment process was cut and dry once then-Arkansas assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Tony Vitello extended an offer.
He was on board 15 minutes later.
"I got a call, walked outside and Arkansas offered. I walked back inside to tell my parents, walked back outside and committed," Lee said with a smile recalling the day. "It’s been my dream school since I was a little kid.
"To be able to fulfill that dream was the greatest day of my life. It was a joy."