Parker’s progress: Summer conditioning pays dividends for UVa outfielder

After returning from a disappointing finish last year in the NCAA tournament’s Fullerton Regional, Virginia’s players scattered throughout the country to play in summer leagues.

Some ended up in the prestigious Cape Cod League. Others played in New England for obscure teams such as the Keene Swamp Bats and the Sanford Mainers.

That was not ideal for center fielder Jarrett Parker.

The sophomore landed a summer job working Virginia baseball camps at Davenport Field, supplemented with a slate of summer school classes and a regular date with the weights inside the team’s clubhouse.

What emerged from the middle months of the year has terrorized opposing pitchers all season long.

“You could tell right when you saw him just how much bigger and stronger he was,” Virginia sophomore Phil Gosselin said. “The ball was just jumping off his bat.”

Oddly enough, the plan to take a rain check for summer baseball was Parker’s idea.

“He knew what he wanted to do,” Virginia coach Brian O’Connor said. “This wasn’t something where I told him, ‘Jarrett, you need to stay here this summer and lift weights and put on 20 pounds.’

“He’s the one that decided that he needed to do it. When you are that clear cut about something as a player and then it works out, you should have a lot of confidence in yourself.”

That newfound self-assurance has helped Parker rewrite the program’s record book as the 11th-ranked Cavaliers (35-9-1, 13-8-1 ACC) open a three-game league series with Duke (31-18, 12-12) tonight at 7 p.m. The teams also meet Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m.

Parker, now stronger at a self-proclaimed weight of 215 pounds, has already set the single-season record for runs scored with 62 and ranks among the best in school history during a season in on-base percentage (.486), total bases (132), slugging percentage (.754) and triples (5).

“I can tell you in my years of coaching that I never had a player from one year to the next make as big a strides as he has in a one-year turnaround. It’s a lot for what he has done,” O’Connor said. “I think everybody always wants to talk about the strength, and that is an important part of it, but what I think has really changed is two things.

“Firstly, he has done a better job of letting things roll off his back when he hasn’t had success and, secondly, I think his confidence level is in a way different place than where it was last year.”

As a rookie, Parker had the game-winning RBI in three league games, but managed to hit just .264 with 14 stolen bases. He also failed to hit a homer and became a bench player after John Barr emerged as one of the team’s hottest hitters in the final weeks of the season.

“Baseball is a tough game at times,” Parker said. “It goes up and down and you just have to learn how to manage the ups and the downs.

“It was tough. I came in from high school baseball where it is a 20-game season and it was a lot tougher and there was a lot tougher competition, so there was going to be a lot more failure. It was really tough to handle at times.”

There has been a power surge, however, this year for Parker. Despite playing only 14 games outside of spacious Davenport Field, considered the league’s toughest venue to clear the fence, the Stafford native has a team-best 13 home runs, which is tied for sixth in the ACC.

“I wasn’t really worried about hitting homers,” Parker said. “I knew I could drive the ball. I knew I always could.

“I drove the ball well as a freshman, but this is a big field.”

Parker’s numbers in league games, when facing some of the nation’s best pitchers, have been astonishing — the sophomore has seven homers, 20 RBI and scored 32 runs against ACC foes.

More importantly, Parker has been a sparkplug for Virginia’s offense from his usual spot as the leadoff hitter.

“He plays with a lot of emotion — believe me,” O’Connor said. “I love that about him. I think that brings excitement to our team.

“He’s a pretty emotional player. He wants to succeed and he wants his team to succeed.”

Soft-spoken at times, Parker’s target is to get Virginia to a Super Regional and perhaps beyond before leaving for the professional ranks.

“That is the goal,” he said. “I really love this program and I love Charlottesville.

“I absolutely love this place.”

Extra bases

Virginia will keep its weekend rotation intact as LHP Matt Packer, fresh off two mid-week wins, will work in relief. ... Saturday’s contest was moved from 7 p.m. to 1 p.m. due to the threat of inclement weather. ... Sunday’s contest will mark Senior Day for the program, a contingent that includes Saturday’s starting pitcher, right-hander Andrew Carraway. ... After Virginia Tech was swept last weekend against Florida State, the Cavaliers clinched a berth in the eight-team ACC tournament, which will open May 20 in Durham, N.C.