Parham blossoms into key pitcher

~ The Jackson graduate led the Redhawks in ERA last year.

While Josh Parham often dreamed about playing Division I baseball, for the longest time he figured it wasn't very realistic.

But Parham not only made it that far, the Jackson High School graduate has turned into Southeast Missouri State's best pitcher out of the bullpen entering his senior season.

"It's definitely neat how it's all worked out," Parham said Wednesday during the Redhawks' media day inside their locker room at Houck Field House.

A left-hander in his third season at Southeast, Parham was 2-2 with three saves and a 4.14 earned run average in 50 innings of work last year. He allowed just 45 hits and struck out 39, with 25 walks.

Parham led the 2006 Redhawks in ERA among pitchers with at least seven innings, and he held opposing batters to a .238 average, which also was first on the team.

"Josh really pitched well for us last year," said Southeast coach Mark Hogan, whose squad opens the season Feb. 17 at Jackson State. "He was one of our most consistent pitchers."

But when Parham graduated from Jackson High School, his chances of playing for Southeast -- or any college, for that matter -- appeared fairly slim.

Although Parham had a solid prep career, earning all-conference honors, he didn't pitch all that much for Jackson, and he never really worked on the mound until his senior year.

"Coming out of high school, I had no interest from any colleges," Parham said. "I thought after high school ball I'd be done."

Parham decided to play American Legion baseball in the summer -- and he considers himself fortunate that Jackson's team was coached by Mark Lewis, a former Southeast assistant who also played Division I baseball.

Parham credits Lewis with helping the pitcher develop a submarine-style delivery, and also with teaching him a slider.

"He really worked with me. He's the one that got everything going," Parham said. "I was at his house one day and he just asked me out of the blue if I wanted to play college ball. I didn't think I had a chance.

"But he found me a place to play. He really did a lot for me."

Lewis helped Parham land at Fort Scott (Kan.) Community College, where he had four saves as a freshman and opened the eyes of some college coaches, including Hogan.

Parham signed with Southeast following his first season at Fort Scott.

"I used to always come to SEMO games with my dad when I was little and I know I always talked about wanting to play here if I got a chance," Parham said. "I always hoped, but I never thought it would be possible.

"It's kind of a dream come true."

Of course, not all dreams are totally smooth, and Parham had a rocky rookie season with Southeast in 2005, going 1-1 with a 7.08 ERA in 20 1/3 innings.

"I think I just got down on myself too much. That was a big problem," Parham said. "Last year I didn't try to get down on myself too much. I think that helped."

Parham, who said his progress has also been aided by pitching the past several summers for the Capahas, was generally pleased with his 2006 season.

"I had a couple of games I didn't do well, but overall I thought I pitched pretty good. I was pretty happy with it," he said.

Parham, who is far from overpowering, said he gets batters out basically through movement and also his arm angle, which comes in handy against left-handed hitters.

"Some movement, hopefully fooling batters a little bit, because I'm not going to overpower people," he said, laughing.

Overpowering or not, Hogan is certainly glad Parham is part of the Redhawks' pitching staff, and the program in general.

While having a solid season last year, Parham has also excelled in the classroom. The Southeast Scholar Athlete has a cumulative 3.810 grade-point average in business.

"Josh has been wonderful, a special guy all the way around," Hogan said. "He's done it on and off the field."

As pleased as Hogan was with Parham's success last year, the coach thinks better things could be in store for his senior season because of a deeper Southeast pitching staff.

"I think he's really poised to have a good year," Hogan said. "In the past, I think we used him too much. With him arm, you want him to get three outs and get him out of there.

"I think we have enough guys around him now, we won't have to throw him as much."

Any role Hogan wants to put Parham in, he said he's more than willing to accept as he hopes to help the Redhawks bounce back from a rocky year.

The Redhawks went 23-33 last season and tied for sixth place in the Ohio Valley Conference at 11-16.

"It was a tough year, but we've got some good players returning and a lot of talented new faces," Parham said. "I think things are looking up for us."

Things are certainly looking up for Parham from the days when he figured playing Division I baseball was only a pipe dream.

"It's definitely been a pleasant surprise, and it makes me proud," he said. "I'm glad I stuck through it all."