A little slice of Evins

This summer there have been a few guarantees when fans enter the gates at All Seasons RV Stadium.

Mr. G will lose in the mascot race, the stadium will erupt in pandemonium when YMCA is played and if Trent Evins is pitching, the Gold Sox will win.

The 1,912 Sox fans in attendance were glad to see that trends stayed the same in the final Thursday night game of the season.

Evins (6-0) finished his summer undefeated and pitched the Gold Sox to their 30th win of the season, a 2-1 victory over the Morgan Hill Mudcats.

It was Yuba-Sutter's first meeting with the Mudcats, which by the way isn't the same franchise as the former team that inhabited Marysville's lakeside ballpark.

Most players on this year's team don't even remember that at one time there wasn't a Gold Sox, but none of that seemed too distracting — especially for Evins.

The right-hander dealt six strong innings, amassing a season-high seven strikeouts and scattered four hits.

Yuba-Sutter went 11-1 this season when Evins took the ball and he became only the fourth pitcher in franchise history to finish the summer undefeated with at least five decisions.

Manager Jack Johnson was impressed by how his young righty vastly improved from when he first took the mound on opening night and lasted less than five innings.

"He was a guy that we depended on all summer long," Johnson said. "When the defense and offense take the field behind a guy like Trent Evins their confidence becomes that much higher."

What made Evins' performance this season even more impressive was the fact that he didn't throw an inning at New Mexico Highlands this past spring.

After a standout sophomore season at Lassen Community College, Evins redshirted at Highlands and said he wanted to make a statement with the Gold Sox this summer.

Coach Steve Jones may have a spot for him in the starting rotation if the LaGrande, Ore. native can stay consistent in the fall.

"When you sit all spring long you kind of lose that edge," Johnson said. "I just got him to pick his tempo up and keep his front shoulder down a little more."

The Gold Sox needed every bit of Evins as they were held to their lowest hit total of the season since opening weekend.

None of Yuba-Sutter's three hits led to runs, but the "small ball" approach was in full affect in the first inning.

Mike Wiseman grounded into a fielder's choice to drive one run home with the bases loaded to put the Gold Sox up 1-0.

Dan Black and Wiseman pulled off a double-steal to perfection to extend the lead to 2-0 and that's all Johnson's pitching staff would need.

After Evins allowed an earned run on a wild pitch, the bullpen tossed three scoreless frames to close things out.

Matt Vedo and Scott Greene tossed a scoreless seventh and eighth, respectively, followed by Jeff Fisher-Gasper, who picked up his team-leading ninth save with a perfect ninth.

"I really worked on my location and landing my off-speed pitches this summer," Evins said. "Just worked on keeping the ball down."

Evins will leave the heat of Marysville on August 15 to start school in the scorching heat of Las Vegas, N.M.

He's not sure how soon the competition will start for a spot in next season's starting rotation with the Cowboys, but with a spot on the All-Horizon Air Summer Series First Team as a resume builder that's a pretty good start.

"This has been a great lifetime experience," Evins said. "It's a plus getting to play with all of these guys and I'll never forget this."