Lou Evans, starting pitcher for the San Rafael Pacifics, made baseball history Friday as the first starting pitcher in professional baseball to perform the National Anthem before taking the mound.

The Pacifics are part of the Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs, a four-team independent professional baseball league in the Bay Area. The team faced off against the Vallejo Admirals on July 21, with Evans slated as their starting pitcher. But Evans has only recently returned to professional baseball; in 2001, the left-handed pitcher was drafted out of San Jose City College into the minor leagues by the Florida Marlins, but eventually chose to leave the game due to injury. That’s when he switched gears and focused on his other passion: music.

Since leaving professional baseball in 2005, Evans has been pursuing a music career full time. He released an EP, All a Dream, in 2011, and has performed the National Anthem at Giants and Warriors games. He even competed on Season 4 of American Idol, making it to Hollywood Week.

It is almost unheard of for a baseball player (or any athlete, for that matter) to return to the sport after a 12-year hiatus, but Lou Evans has proven that he is no ordinary player. In his first game with the Pacifics on July 5th, he allowed just six hits and only two runs in seven full innings, with the Pacifics earning a 10-2 win against the Vallejo Admirals.

Evans performed the Star Spangled Banner before his second game with the Pacifics, leading his team to another win against the Admirals shortly afterward.

Evans still has a vibrant music career and performs around the Bay Area regularly. In addition to his 2011 EP, he released a full-length album, Lost then Found, in 2015. Most recently, he released a single this year called “Let it Out.”

Check out Lou Evans performing the title track to his 2015 album at San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall below!