He grabs his bat and walks to the on-deck circle. He looks around and takes some swings. The umpire shouts “Balls in!” and he walks up to the plate. He takes a look down to his third base coach for the sign. Then he steps back into the batter’s box and takes a deep breath of the damp air. He takes a swing and gets a double. This is Micah Evans’ first start and at-bat for Pattonville varsity baseball team.

Micah Evans is a sophomore at Pattonville High School. He plays varsity baseball and soccer. His true love is baseball though. As a sophomore on varsity he said, “I can’t help but be nervous.”

Evans was the starting center fielder and hit lead-off in the team’s season-opener against St. Charles West.

“Leading off in the season opener made me feel like Coach had a lot of confidence of me,” Evans said. He finished the game with two doubles, a RBI, and a run as the Pirates beat St. Charles West 3-2.

When talking to him after the game he said, “It’s hard to stay hot when you have a week off in between games. You just have to keep getting better even if it is just the little things.”

On Wednesday, April 9,  the team played against Hazelwood Central and the Pirates beat the Hawks 11-3. Evans walked three times and scored one run.

The next game for the Pirates is at home against Howell North on April 14.