This Parker Busy Making His Impression at the Plate

Corey Parker, a first baseman for UC Irvine, wears a beat-up Bend Bucks baseball cap and waits for golf news from Australia and Asia.

It’s not that he’s a sports fan with such far-reaching interests. He’s just a fan of his brothers, who were athletes at UCI.

Stacy Parker, who played baseball at Irvine from 1986-89, played for Class-A Bend (Ore.) last season. He played in the Texas Rangers’ organization, and after his release, for the Philadelphia Phillies’ organization. He since has gotten what could be his last release.

“He was frustrated,” Corey said. “It was a tough go, but he had fun.”

Corey’s oldest brother, Perry, played golf at Irvine from 1982-86 and was second-team all conference in 1986.

Perry still works with the Irvine golf program, but he recently has been touring in Australia and Asia.

“He went to the Canadian tour and was fifth on the money list, and got an exemption for the Australian tour,” Corey said. “It’s been a great experience. He got to play with Greg Norman.”

It has been quite a decade for Joan and Pete Parker of Tustin. They have been faithfully attending Irvine sporting events as three sons made their way through school.

“They’ll go to everything,” Corey said. “They’ve been to Fresno. I don’t think (his father) has missed a game this year. When my brother was here, they came to the games, and they used to go see Perry play golf.”

The Parkers had a bit of a break from campus after Stacy left Irvine in 1989. Corey, a junior, started his career at Orange Coast College, and this is his first season as an Anteater.

It has been a fair one. Though the team has struggled, Corey is batting .318 with five home runs, second on the team to Matt Filson’s seven. His 29 runs batted in tie him with Tim McDonnell for the team lead.

Corey says he is more confident this season, and he’s relieved and thankful the Irvine coaches appreciate him.

“Out of high school, Irvine didn’t really look at me,” said Corey, who graduated from Foothill High. “I wasn’t as good as my brother was out of high school. I hadn’t matured.

“That was one reason I didn’t want to come here. I didn’t want to be Stacy’s brother. I went through high school being Stacy’s brother.”

Stacy set the UCI record for stolen bases in a season with 28 in 1989, and finished among the career leaders in at-bats, runs and steals.

“He’s fast; I’m not very fast,” Corey said. “He hits for base hits. I hit for a little more power. I didn’t want them to get the impression I was just like him. I wanted to make my own impression. Once I got here, they understood I was a different type of player.”

At last year’s Mt. San Antonio College Relays, Traci Goodrich competed in the 10,000 meters for the first time--and qualified for the NCAA championships.

The Mt. SAC meet has arrived again, with competition Thursday through Saturday, and Goodrich will run the 10,000 for the first time this year--hoping once again to qualify for the NCAAs.

Colleen Matsuhara, the women’s basketball coach since last spring, expects to land her first recruits in the signing period that begins today.

Matsuhara said she has received oral commitments from three players.

Rod Baker, the men’s coach, signed four players in the fall, filling all the scholarships currently available with those players and transfers.

Leland Quinn’s school record for kills in a season was set at 412 after he had 14 in the season-ending loss for the men’s volleyball team at Pepperdine April 8. He earlier had broken the record of 379, set by Steve Florentine in 1990. Quinn, a sophomore, also set a season record with 895 attempts.

Chad Milling, a sophomore middle blocker, set a school record for hitting percentage at .398, despite missing the last match with a strained back.

The team finished at 5-19, 2-14 in the Western Intercollegiate Volleyball Assn.

Joey Sugar, a senior golfer, also is an extraordinarily successful fund-raiser for the school.

In four years as a part-time worker in telemarketing, soliciting pledges to UCI’s annual fund from alumni and parents, he has raised more than $200,000, according to the UCI Journal.

People attribute Sugar’s success to his low-pressure, gregarious approach. He started at the bottom of the ladder, but later became a student supervisor and now is assigned to seek pledges from people who are prospects for donations of $1,000 or more.

Anteater Notes

The women’s volleyball program has received a $15,000 gift from the Amateur Sports Training Center of Fountain Valley, designated to fund two scholarships. . . . Second baseman Joe Furukawa, batting .346 at the beginning of the week, and outfielder Steve Ott (.343) are the baseball team’s leading hitters. The most dramatic improvement of the week was by Dave Dieter, a sophomore catcher who graduated from University High. He raised his average 40 points to .296 by going nine for 18 in five games.