Most Nebraska high school baseball hitters are probably unaware that the clear facemask protecting their face, eyes, jaws and teeth from potential catastrophic injury is made in Omaha.  They may also be unaware that the lightweight device is the result of years of effort, research and development and commitment to player safety by Bellevue University head baseball coach Mike Evans and Tampa Bay Rays scout Jeff Evans. 

 

Although these facts may be unknown to most local users of the mask -- known as the EMask -- they are certainly well known to former All-American softball player Sarah Fekete.  The lefty University of Tennessee slap-hitter was leading the nation with a .500 batting average in 2005 when a high, inside pitch shattered her jaw.  The wire cage mask that was supposed to protect her face actually buckled under the force of the 54 mph pitch and concentrated the impact to a pinpoint location on her jawbone.  The powerful blow split Sarah's lower jaw vertically down the centerline of her chin, causing her left and right jawbones to rotate inward ninety degrees so that her lower teeth were facing each other.  The trainers and coaches who rushed to the aid of the injured player immediately began searching in the dirt around home plate for her lower teeth since none were visible in their star's mouth.  The gruesome injury required a complicated surgery to rebuild Sarah's shattered jaw, using two metal plates and eight screws. 

 

The extent of Sarah's injuries was so serious that the maxillofacial doctors who reconstructed her jaw would not allow her to return to competition for her senior season unless she wore some kind of protective mask that extended below her jaw line.  With the collegiate career of the nation's best hitter hanging in the balance, the Tennessee coaching staff sent team manager (now UMKC head coach) Meredith Smith  on a mission in early 2006 to find a mask that would get Sarah's bat back in the Lady Vols' lineup.  After searching the shelves of countless sporting goods stores, Smith came across an EMask -- a new product developed by a small start-up company in Omaha that had just made its way to store shelves.  The rest, as they say, is history.  Sarah not only returned to the line up following her serious injury -- she went on to win the 2006 NCAA Division I batting crown, repeat as a first-team All-American and earn a gold medal playing for Team USA in the 2006 World University Games. 

 

As fate would have it, near the end of her collegiate career Sarah stood in the batter's box during the 2006 College World Series, facing one of the hardest throwers in the game when a 66 mph pitch came up and in and hit her in exactly the same location as before.  The impact knocked Sarah to the ground as thoughts of "oh no, not again" flashed through her mind and across the stadium.   As Sarah lay on the ground again and looked up at the trainer and coaches huddled over her, she asked, "Am I missing any teeth?  Am I bleeding?"  As they exclaimed, "No, you're fine!" she quickly realized that the EMask had completely protected her, and she then got up -- uninjured -- and trotted to first base to a wild ovation.  | Watch Sarah's video on home page of EMask website |

 

Following the completion of her collegiate career, one of the first things that Sarah did was to make a phone call to Omaha to thank the folks at EMask for making it possible for her to play her senior season and for protecting her.  That conversation led to Sarah joining the company as its Official Spokesperson.  Today Sarah travels around the country from her home just outside Knoxville on behalf of EMask to attend trade shows, perform speaking engagements, put on clinics and coordinate sales of EMask products in the southeastern U.S. 

 

Sarah today as EMask Official Spokesperson

"My mission now is to make sure that what happened to me doesn't happen to anyone else -- boy or girl," said Sarah in a recent phone interview.  "My injury was very traumatic, and the cost of the surgeries was enormous.  When you consider that this kind of injury is so easily prevented, it just makes me very, very determined to do everything I can to spread the word about EMask and make sure that young hitters have the very best protection available."  Sarah also observed that "once the players on my team saw how the EMask got me back in the game and protected me, they all switched over to EMask.  Six NCAA Division I softball teams were using EMasks in 2008.  For 2009 that number has shot up to forty.  This thing is really catching on."

 

"Not only did having a safe and reliable mask get me back in the game, it actually made me a better hitter -- a more aggressive hitter," observed Sarah.  "Knowing that my face was protected, I didn't have to shy away from the inside pitch.  I could stand in there and be more aggressive.  About the only thing the EMask didn't do for me is make it so that I can drink milkshakes again.  When I had my mouth wired shut after my surgery, that was all I could eat.  To do this day, I can't stand the thought of having a milkshake." 

 

The Origins of the EMask

 

Sarah's extraordinary story was the eventual result of an incident that occurred two decades earlier when a player coached by current Bellevue University Head Baseball Coach Mike Evans was struck in the face and seriously injured by a pitched baseball.  Since that time, Coach Evans has required his players to wear face masks while hitting -- a rarity in the collegiate game -- and has become a tireless advocate for making the game safer.

 

In the late 1990's Mike and Jeff Evans discovered that the clear plastic mask was no longer available.  Their research revealed that the mask had gone out of production, and the patent for the product had expired.  Aware of the need for the product and sensing a business opportunity, Jeff and Mike partnered with a local plastics manufacturer Rod Laible of RD Industries.  That trio formed EMask, LLC in 2004 for the purpose of designing and producing a lightweight plastic facemask for softball and baseball.  A patent was issued to EMask, LLC for the product in 2005, and the company's first shelf-ready facemask was delivered to the sporting goods marketplace on December 7th of that year.   Today, the EMask facemask is available in major national sporting goods chains as well as in more than 900 locally-owned sporting good stores across the nation.  Vendors in Nebraska include Sports Authority, Dick's, Scheels, Primetime Sporting Goods, Hauffs, Nebraska Sports and Play It Again Sports.

 

The EMask facemask is made of a nearly indestructible polycarbonate plastic that is also used for making bullet-proof enclosures for mini-market cashiers.  The company offers a $5,000 prize at trade shows to any comer who can break the facemask by firing at it with a fastball.  To this point, the prize remains unclaimed. 

 

After a year or two, the folks at EMask realized that the batting helmets (manufactured by other companies) to which the EMask are attached by their customers were made of a type of plastic that is inferior to the EMask.  In order to provide hitters with the highest degree of head and face protection, EMask began making its own helmets in Omaha.  Today's 100 MPH E-Helmet is made of the same polycarbonate plastic as the EMask and has withstood tests using a baseball fired at the helmet at speeds of up to 100 mph.  The high-density padding inside the helmet is made of the same material (Zorbium) that lines the helmet of every United States Marine serving in combat and is manufactured by a military contractor.  The E-Helmet is "by far the safest batting helmet ever created," according to EMask Managing Partner Jeff Evans.  EMask's safety products have been tested and certified by the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE). 

 

Due to the success of its initial products, EMask is currently developing additional product lines, including a baseball bat known as the "Evolution", baseball gloves and catcher's equipment.  The bat and glove lines will be introduced to the marketplace in 2010 with the catcher's gear to follow.  As a result of its expansion into product lines beyond the EMask, the company name will be changing to E-Sports in the near future.  

 

According to Jeff Evans, it is EMask's corporate goal to be one of the top sporting goods equipment manufacturers within five years while following the philosophy that the highest quality safety products should be affordable to the average user.  The 100 MPH E-Helmet sells at most retail outlets for $40 with an EMask or for $20 without a mask.

 

The EMask Team in the lobby of the Millard office:  (Standing, L - R:  Wade Pope, Jill Hrdlicka, Justin Jones and Jeff Evans.  Seated, center:  Joe Evans.  Kneeling, right:  Michael Evans, Jr.)  Not pictured:  Rod Laible, Mike Evans and Sarah Fekete, Monica Abbott.

 

In addition to partners Mike Evans, Jeff Evans and Rod Laible, the company's employees include Jeff's younger brothers Joe (VP - Sales) and Michael, Jr. (VP - Sales and Operations), Justin Jones (VP - Sales), Sarah Fekete (Official Spokesperson), Monicat Abbott (Official Spokesperson), Wade Pope (Warehouse Coordinator) and Jill Hrdlicka (Operations).  The company's headquarters are located at 13308 Millard Avenue in Millard. 

 

Note:  EMask has just signed on to be the Major Site Sponsor for this website.  As we learned more about this company and the people behind it, we felt that there was a great story to be told and that our readers would enjoy knowing more about what this well-known Nebraska baseball family is doing to make our sport safer.  We are proud to be associated with a local "Made in America" business that is doing good things for our sport.  We encourage our readers to support EMask (as well as all of our sponsors) and to try the 100 MPH E-Helmet and EMask for the 2009 season. 

 

More information:  | EMask Company Website |