• By Mike Forman •
• Originally published July 7, 2010 at 2:42 p.m., updated July 7, 2010 at 2:42 p.m.

An elderly fan approached McNeese State's Lee Orr after he hit two home runs in a game at Tulane, one of them measuring 479 feet.

The man told Orr he had been coming to the park for 42 years and had never seen a home run hit so far.

The crowd gave Orr a standing ovation, which was rare for a visiting player. A mammoth home run by the El Campo graduate is anything but unusual.

Orr has hit 32 home runs in his two seasons at McNeese State, including 15 when he was named a freshman All-American and 17 this season when he had 56 RBI and was named to the All-Southland Conference team.

"I always had the power and I just kind of learned more of the fundamentals and how to make switches to the natural talent I was blessed with," Orr said. "I just got there with some good coaching and it's helped me out a lot."

Orr put his power on display at the Texas Collegiate League All-Star Game at Riverside Stadium on Monday night. He won the home run contest and one of his shots went over the light pole in left field.

Orr hit five home runs in the first round and two in the finals. He tied with Brazos Valley's Wes Patterson, but won the trophy when he connected on his third swing in the bat-off.

"He's just more relaxed," said John Orr, Lee's father. "He has a real good spring when he's relaxed."

Orr has learned to relax since deciding to attend McNeese State on a baseball scholarship after originally planning to play football at West Texas A&M.

Orr was playing in a Babe Ruth tournament in Louisiana after his senior year when he caught the attention of an LSU assistant coach. The Tigers didn't have any scholarships, but put Orr in touch with some other Louisiana schools and he liked what he saw in Lake Charles.

"I was always a real good baseball player, but El Campo is just a football place and I just got caught up in that," Orr said. "I just started having a lot of fun that summer and I decided I wanted to go ahead and have fun with baseball."

Orr moved to the outfield after playing in the infield at El Campo. He played five games his freshman season at McNeese before hurting his right forearm and receiving a medical redshirt.

He showed his power as a redshirt freshman and became a more complete player this season, stealing 23 bases.

"I've become a better player all the way around," Orr said. "Defensively, running the bases, hitting. I've been getting better as the time goes on. I just haven't been playing just baseball for too long."

Orr wants to play as much as possible and he jumped at an offer to play for the East Texas Pump Jacks in Kilgore this summer.

"I just wanted to come out and be able to play during the summer," Orr said. "I was able to come out here and get to hit with the wood and kind of play like a big leaguer for the summer."

Orr has played in only 16 games for the Pump Jacks, but he's hitting .353 with three home runs and nine RBI.

"He is as talented as any player in this league and any player I've ever coached," said Pump Jacks coach Ben Taylor, who coaches at Scottsdale Community College in Arizona. "I've been very blessed to coach a lot of good players and he's as good as any player I've ever coached.

"He's a kid that I get excited about coming to the yard every day and watch playing and watch work," Taylor added. "He's a true five-tool player. He can run, he hits for power, he's got a great arm. He's the total package."

Orr caught the attention of a number of major league scouts and was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 40th round. Orr is keeping an open mind. But unless the Reds meet his demands, he is likely to return to McNeese State for his junior season.

"I just wanted to come up here and play as well as I could so if I could get a deal done that was good for me I could go ahead and take it," he said. "If not, I want to get better and go back for my junior year."

Fit to be tied

Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig wasn't at Riverside Stadium on Monday night, but the All-Star Game was called after nine innings with the score tied at 7.

Both teams had used all their pitchers and Victoria Generals coach Chris Clemons, who was coaching the South, and Taylor, who was coaching the North, agreed to stop playing.

Patterson was the runner-up to Orr in the home run contest, but he was named the All-Star Game MVP. Patterson went 2-for-5 with a grand slam, a double and five RBI.

Orr had a tough night at the plate going 0-4 with a sacrifice fly.

Memorial graduate Blake Payne pitched two innings and Roman Madrid pitched an inning for the South. Memorial graduate Mark Hudson went 0-for-3 with a sacrifice fly.

The McKinney Marshals didn't send any players to the game so Conner Mach of the Generals played for the North.

Brandon McGeaheran of the Generals had a double and two RBI and Casey Grayson of the Texas Tomcats went 2-for-3 and scored two runs.

The Generals have Tuesday off before returning to action Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. against the Tomcats at Riverside Stadium.

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