The sessions at Lake in the Hills’ Sunset Park with Huntley pitching coach Mike Hlavacek provided a highlight of the summer for Red Raiders righthander Parker Schuring.
Numerous Huntley pitchers, past and current, joined Hlavacek for conditioning, long toss, throwing weighted balls, all kinds of exercise and work that Raiders coach Andy Jakubowski called “kind of old school.”
Schuring devoured every minute and came back for more.
“We’d pitch, we’d run miles, it’s my senior year and it was time to commit,” Schuring said. “I really dialed in and started lifting and running and got my arm in shape.”
College coaches noticed. Schuring looked strong over the summer pitching with the GRB Rays 17U team, which brought up another time to commit.
Schuring (6-foot-3, 235 pounds) recently told Northern Illinois University head coach Mike Kunigonis and his staff he would join the Huskies. Schuring can sign his national letter of intent in November.
“He worked his tail off in the summer,” Jakubowski said. “He worked with our pitching coach Mike Hlavacek. Did a lot of conditioning, long toss, weighted balls. Coach (Andy) Deain at Crystal Lake Central extended him with GRB in terms of making him a starter since he was our closer last year.
“A lot of hard work, dedication, he got more athletic over the summer. The ball is heavy, it runs in on right-handed hitters, he has a three-pitch mix. He definitely is a self-made player, for sure.”
Schuring wants to have a starting spot in Huntley’s rotation next spring with senior Andrew Ressler (D-I SIU-Edwardsville) and junior Malachi Paplanus (another likely D-I recruit), who both will return.
In the 2022 season, he was used either as first out of the bullpen or closer. He finished with 17 innings pitched, 27 strikeouts, 13 walks, a 3.29 ERA and had two saves.
Schuring feels like he’s worked hard enough and improved to be a starter. On Monday through Friday mornings, unless GRB Rays or other travel teams had Friday commitments, Raiders pitchers would join Hlavacek for the workouts.
“In my junior year I started to dial in and lift a lot,” Schuring said. “I definitely started throwing a lot. Coach Hlavachek came onto the Huntley staff this year and I started working with him over the summer a lot. I really dialed in this offseason.”
It paid off with D-I interest.
Conversations with Northern heated up in the middle of the summer. Schuring visited other schools – Eastern Illinois, St. Louis, Ohio and Illinois State – but liked Northern best.
Jakubowski thinks between the workouts and pitching with the Rays, who played strong competition throughout the Midwest, the summer was ideal for Schuring.
“With coach Deain extending him and Parker buying into wanting to be a starter, he’s in the mix to be in our top three,” Jakubowski said. “He’s about 86, 87 (mph), the ball’s heavy and has a lot of armside run… Guys struggle hitting off of him with that run. He has command too.
“Parker bought into (the workouts) along with the competition he was playing against with GRB and the tutelage of coach Deain is a combination of what helped him get to this spot.”
Source: The Daily Chronicle
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