By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
Evan Sykes likes the way he has consistently put up good numbers at the plate for the Greensboro College baseball team.
That has led to the former Southern Alamance player becoming one of the most distinguished players in the Greensboro program’s history.
“The hitting has progressed all my years,” Sykes said. “I’ve always had confidence in my hitting.”
Sykes, a senior shortstop, is the career leader for the Pride in home runs, hits, doubles and runs scored.
“With just about every record here, he either has it or he’s in the conversation,” coach Chris Fenisey said.
Because of Sykes’ production and durability, Fenisey calls him the best baseball player the college has ever had. After Fenisey became head coach, Sykes was a member of his first recruiting class.
“I could talk about him for hours on end. He has been a constant. What he has done has been very impactful and will have a very lasting impact on this program.
“He started to learn how to be a college hitter. We knew he was going to (hit home runs), it was just a matter of when.”
– Greensboro College baseball coach Chris Fenisey
“I could talk about him for hours on end,” Fenisey said. “He has been a constant. What he has done has been very impactful and will have a very lasting impact on this program.”
Sykes became the school’s hits record holder with 192 with a seventh-inning double in an April 12 game against Mary Baldwin at Grottoes, Virginia, breaking a record that was set five years ago by Hunter Curtis, another Southern alum.
Now he’s within a few hits of 200.
His 27 home runs top Greensboro’s all-time list. There’s satisfaction in that for the 6-foot-1½, 200-pound player.
“Growing up I had a little bit of power and a little bit of power in high school. It’s something I’m really proud of because coming into college it wasn’t something I expected to do.
“[Coach Fenisey] has believed in me and having a chance to play every day is a big deal.”
– Southern Alamance alum and Greensboro College senior shortstop Evan Sykes
“Hitting them and seeing them fly,” Sykes said. “Growing up I had a little bit of power and a little bit of power in high school. It’s something I’m really proud of because coming into college it wasn’t something I expected to do.”
Sykes, 21, said Fenisey has been a strong influence during his four seasons.
“He has believed in me and having a chance to play every day is a big deal,” Sykes said.
Fenisey plugged Skyes into the lineup as a freshman shortstop and never had a reason to change that. The coach said Sykes’ power stroke probably came sooner than expected.
“He started to learn how to be a college hitter,” Fenisey said. “We knew he was going to (hit home runs), it was just a matter of when.”
Sykes could become the team’s career leader in games played and runs batted in by the time the season ends.
Greensboro, with a 21-14 record at the start of the week, finishes the regular season with a three-game series Friday and Saturday (doubleheader) vs. Brevard at Leonard Park in Greensboro. The Pride holds first place in USA South with a 13-5 mark.
“To win a conference championship, it would be a really cool way to go out,” Sykes said.
Sykes is batting .418 with eight homers this year. Even with all glitzy statistics, he said the best part of playing baseball the past four years involves the friendships he has made along the way.
Sykes, who lives in Snow Camp, said the support of family and friends has been instrumental in his baseball success. While he was a Southern shortstop he knew he wanted a chance to play at the college level.
“That was my goal once baseball became big in my life,” he said. “It has worked out really well for me. I’m thankful where I am.”
