Brady Parker is one of the top players for the Owen baseball team.
SWANNANOA – This year’s Owen baseball team looks to its seniors to bring leadership and consistency on the field during games and in practice.
“All the seniors contribute in their parts so I’m not going to sit here and say one senior is more valuable than the other,” Owen baseball coach Anthony Lee said.
“Obviously, I think the game of baseball starts with the game of pitching. We have three senior pitchers this year with Brady Parker, Hunter Baxter and Holsten Kent,” Owen baseball coach.
All three of those guys have done a great job for Owen this season and pitched a good bit of the innings, Lee said.
Parker has a 2-4 record on the season with a 2.59 ERA with one save in eight appearances. He is also batting .341 with a home run and 10 RBIs.
“Brady is probably one of those who I think has an opportunity to go play at the next level and has a good velocity and a good defensive player and has a pretty good pop in the bat as well,” Lee said. “If I had to say one that stood out a little more, I would say Parker in that aspect, but the other ones are just as important.”
In one word, Parker brings leadership. He is one of the kids, as far as seniors, that you look to as how you want everybody to play the game of baseball. He is a hard worker, dedicated and just loves the game, according to Lee.
When it comes to game preparation, Parker tries to work hard and set examples for some of the guys who are just coming up to varsity and show the effort in practice needed to succeed, Parker said.
“When it’s game time, I try to use my experience to be able to lead the other guys on the team and accomplish those goals,” Parker said.
Parker is the kind of player that Coach Lee wants young kids to take as an example of how they should act and how they should play the game.
“If he hits a ground ball in the infield, he is sprinting to the bases. He just plays the game the way it is supposed to be played,” Lee said.
“No matter if he flies out or gets a base hit, he is always getting after it. He’s just a fierce kind of competitor and he’s the kind of kid that I want every young kid to look at and say this is how we want you to act and this is how we want you to play. He’s a great example of a Warhorse baseball player.”
Owen’s Hunter Baxter prepares to make a catch during Tuesday’s home game against Madison.
Baxter is another one of the important pieces for the Warhorses. He is 2-0 on the season with a 3.05 ERA. Baxter is also batting .359 with nine RBI’s including going 3-3 with the game-winning hit in Owen’s 4-3 victory over McDowell Thursday night.
“Baxter brings consistency to the team. Each and every ballgame he is that solid person, who is going to defend it well, if he is pitching, he’s going to pitch it well. He does a good job of putting the ball in play and does a good job swinging the bat pretty well for us,” Lee said.
Baxter throws well and has a good fastball, according to Parker. Baxter is left-handed so it’s good to have him to throw something different at teams when they get used to seeing right-handed pitchers every game.
“To have a left-handed pitcher that can throw just as good as a right-handed pitcher really gives us an advantage to throw the other team off,” Parker said.
Kent is a kid that when he is on the mound, he is going to make the other team swing the bat.
“Holsten’s mostly pitched for us this year and he’s played some at first base too. He’s done really well pitching this year and he’s stepped up and won some games for us on the mound,” Parker said.
Kent is 1-1 on the season with a 4.70 ERA. He’s that solid rock that teams look for. When he’s on the mound he’s always around the plate and he makes people swing the bat, Lee said.
“He’s the kind of guy that is very consistent around the plate when he’s on the mound. He hardly ever walks anybody,” Lee said. “The opposing team is going to have to beat us by hitting it and not because he had a bad day of walking people or hitting people and things like that”
“The key thing about these boys is they have been with us for all four years so they’re a close group and they gel well together and know each other’s moves,” Lee said.
Parker wants to go out strong.
“Being a senior and it being my last year playing with all these guys I have played with my whole life, hopefully we will make the playoffs and be able to make some noise in the playoffs toward the end of the season,” Parker said.
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