MCCORDSVILLE — Kennedy Parker said he’s a numbers guy, and those numbers are falling into his and Anderson University’s favor.
Thanks to the No. 3, and a waiver from the NCAA, he’ll get a chance to lower some figures and add to the ones that need increased.
The former Mt. Vernon High School pitcher was excelling at Anderson University, giving the Ravens a formidable No. 1 and No. 2 starting pitching combination with teammate Joe Moran.
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The tandem had made eight of the team’s nine starts before the season was stopped well short of completion due to health concerns from the coronavirus pandemic.
A senior this spring, Parker was 1-2 with a standout 2.08 earned run average. In a team-high 21.2 innings pitched, he struck out 23 and walked only five. The Ravens were 6-3 in 2020 with an impressive team-ERA of 3.15.
He got a no-decision in a 4-3 win over No. 5 Heidelberg where he fanned nine in six innings. One of his losses was on the short end of a 4-2 pitcher’s duel against Spalding, which was receiving votes in the national poll.
He earned a win in his longest outing of the season, seven innings, defeating Wisconsin-Stevens Point, 9-1. He struck out seven and gave up only four hits.
It was a tough way to end a season and — what he thought would be — career with everything going so well.
“Joe and I got off to a hot start, but both of us felt we were just getting started,” Parker said. “We were both still on pitch counts and hadn’t even reached mid-season form.”
With the pandemic abruptly ending all collegiate sports, the NCAA elected to give spring sports athletes another season of eligibility.
Parker had missed his entire sophomore season due to surgery and recovery from ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction in his right (throwing) elbow, better known in the baseball world as Tommy John Surgery. He would have qualified for a fifth-year of eligibility as a medical redshirt, but the cost of college would have been too much to come back for an entire school year at Anderson. Being an NCAA Division-III college, the school located in nearby Madison County does not offer athletic scholarships.
It ended up working out alright for the former Marauder.
Because he missed school time, too, during his sophomore year, Parker is three credits shy of graduation. Initially, he had planned on taking that final course this summer. With the new ruling by the NCAA, he can take that one three-credit course class next spring and have a full senior season on the hill for the Ravens.
“I got behind because of the surgery and was taking a lower amount of credits. I got a little bit behind,” Parker said on his graduation schedule. “I happened to need one more class, so I guess it worked out in a weird way.”
It’s all working out, and so has his AU career. Ironically, it has a lot to do with working out.
Parker came to AU as a tiny 160-pounder. He was bound and determined to get stronger, especially after his elbow surgery. He had bulked up some before his injury then dropped back down to his initial freshman weight. With the help of strength training with teammates, he gained 40 pounds.
“One of my main things, before (the injury), I took baseball for granted,” Parker said. “I wanted to get better, but I didn’t want to do everything that you need to do to get better.
“(After the surgery) I was more determined to get back to where I was and even more.”
Parker got into the starting rotation as a freshman. He was having a good fall as a sophomore when, in the first game of the team’s annual Orange and Black World Series, he began developing some arm discomfort, too much to continue pitching.
Initially diagnosed as a UCL strain, he rehabbed to be ready to go in the spring, but 20 pitches into a bullpen sessions prior to the regular season, he knew his season was done before it started. “My arm blew, I felt my muscle role up my arm,” he said.
He returned to pitch well as a junior, but nothing like what he was doing this past season.
“My junior year was pretty good, but I wasn’t satisfied with some of the numbers,” Parker said. “My ERA wasn’t where it should be, and I wanted to get more strikeouts.”
As a junior, Parker had his, as of date, only collegiate complete game. He went 3-2 with a 4.75 ERA. Used both as a starter and reliever, Parker pitched 47.1 innings and had 29 Ks. He averaged 5.51 strikeouts per nine innings, he upped that by four strikeouts per game this season (9.55).
But, as he said, both after surgery and with the completion of his junior year, he still wants more.
Coach Matt Bair trusts his hard-throwing right-hander is going to get it.
“You can absolutely count on him to do everything in his power to do his best,” Bair said. “He is one of the most determined kids I’ve had the pleasure to coach. He has a relentless work ethic.”
Bair believes that if Parker can come back and have a dominant year and gain a little velocity on his fastball, the McCordsville native may have a chance to play professionally.
He’s got himself a good one in Parker.
“He doesn’t live and die on every pitch, but you can tell every pitch matters,” Bair said. “He is such a competitor and commands the (strike) zone. You are going to have to earn it off him.
“He has got the velocity and the arsenal of a pitcher. His stuff is flat out good enough to beat you and he loves to compete. He has those intangibles.”
Parker won’t be able to be with the team during the fall portion of workouts, but he said he has all the tools at home to stay in shape. He’ll be ready to go when the fall semester ends and he can rejoin the team for second senior season.
He looks forward to getting back on the mound, lowering some numbers, while accumulating others.
“All I can do is go out and put up zeros (on the scoreboard),” Parker said. “My biggest goal is to not just put up zeros, but I want to improve on striking guys out and hopefully win a championship.
“(Winning a championship) was my goal and what I wanted when I first stepped on campus.”
He’ll get that chance when he steps back on campus for those final three credits.
