TERRE HAUTE —
While his first year of college baseball might not have turn out like he desired at NCAA Division I Holy Cross, former Terre Haute North standout Parker Fulkerson enjoyed the experience.
And he feels he’s a better player for it.
Now a 6-foot, 2-inch sophomore, he’s enjoying his first season at Rose-Hulman. His name’s been penciled in the lineup every game thus far, ensconced in the two-spot in the batting order while playing left field.
How did he come to play at Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass.?
“Summer before my senior year I went to a prospect camp at Harvard,” Fulkerson recalled. “A lot of D-I guys were there … Harvard, Holy Cross, Brown, other D-III schools too. I really wanted to go to a great academic school as well as play baseball at as high a level as I could. Holy Cross recruited me and I decided to go there.”
As a freshman, he majored in mathematics with a pre-med emphasis. If that wasn’t enough, he was also in Naval ROTC.
“Had a lot on my plate,” Fulkerson smiled.
Baseball? Fulkerson batted just twice, striking out both times. That was his season. While some players might have been upset by a lack of playing time, Fulkerson drew on the positives.
“Being a freshman, a lot of guys were ahead of me,” he acknowledged. “I definitely got a lot better. Probably the most progress I’ve made in a year in my whole life … great coaches there.”
Meanwhile, Rose-Hulman was also on his choice of schools coming out of North.
“I just wasn’t really sold on the whole engineering thing, which is what Rose is basically all about,” he said. “But after a year [at Holy Cross], I knew it was what I wanted to do. [Last year] was really an exploration year for me, but after a year [at Holy Cross], I decided engineering was the way to go for me.”
As for baseball, Fulkerson — a mechanical engineering major — is very pleased with his choice of Rose.
“It’s been a lot of fun for me,” he admitted. “I knew I’d have a great opportunity here. I like the way this team plays, they play hard, blue collar … that’s what I’m about when I play.”
Starting in eight straight games to begin the season, Fulkerson is batting .348 (15-for-43), with a double, five RBIs and three stolen bases, a return to numbers he was accustomed to putting up at North.
“A grinder, just grinding out at bats … not giving them away,” Fulkerson describes himself as a hitter. “Making the pitcher work, not striking out. In that two-spot, you have to move the runner a lot of times. I just try to get the job done for the team.
“I find myself to be more aggressive than a normal two-hitter, not wanting to leave it up to the umpires. I want to hit in one-strike counts and no-strike counts.”
“He’s got a lot of hits, he’ll take his walks, he’ll get hit by a pitch, he can get a bunt down and he makes things happen on the bases,” Rose coach Jeff Jenkins stated. “He has that knack for getting on base and find a way to get it done.”
What he’s not been accustomed to is playing outfield for the Engineers. A shortstop his entire career at North, his first taste of outfield play was being a right fielder for Wayne Newton Post 346, helping them to a state championship.
“He’s a good athlete … done well [in the outfield]; he’s still learning,” Jenkins said. “That will be one of those things all year long. I’m sure he’ll continue to get better.”
“I’m definitely a lot more comfortable than I was at the start,” Fulkerson said. “The biggest change is just reading fly balls. The way you have to throw the ball is a little different too. You have to be a little bit longer, have good backspin on it.”
Fulkerson feels a return to the infield could be in his future.
“I might get back in the infield in my junior and senior year … maybe,” he said. “We have a couple upperclassmen playing on the left side of the infield now. I’d love to get back there when they graduate.”
“It depends,” Jenkins said. “We’ve got a really good senior shortstop right now, that’s probably as good as anybody that’s ever played here at that position. He’s playing in left due to a senior outfielder [Derek Dauenbaugh] who ruptured his Achilles playing intramural basketball.
“[Parker’s] bat needs to be in the lineup … that’s the position that’s open for him right now. We’ve got to get some more outfield candidates in here, or else it’s going to be a position that he’s going to have to get used to. We have a lot more depth in the infield than we do in the outfield right now.”
Fulkerson is definitely pleased with his choice of Rose-Hulman.
“Academically I want to do the best I can while playing baseball as hard as I can every day,” he noted. “I want us to make it to a [Division III] regional … I want to win a regional so we can get to a World Series. Play in those big games, that’s what I like to do.”
With a couple of recent former Rose players playing professionally last year, is baseball a career path?
“It’s tough to say,” Fulkerson stated. “I’m keeping my options open. I want to reach my full potential here as a baseball player and as a student. We’ll see how it goes.”
One thing is certain, Fulkerson enjoys being back in Terre Haute.
“I missed it a little bit when I was in Massachusetts,” he admitted. “The year away was an eye-opener. I like it here, it’s nice to be around friends and family.”
Rose-Hulman
Roundabout route to Rose
Fulkerson finds he’s at home with Engineers
- Rose-Hulman
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Rose-Hulman swimmers flying to nationals
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Rose-Hulman baseball team kicking off season in Florida
Jeff Jenkins is serious about his baseball.
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Rose-Hulman men clinch conference title
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Rose-Hulman opened the second half on a 20-3 run to pull away and earn a convincing 71-40 men’s basketball victory at Anderson University on Wednesday night.
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Freshman paces Engineer women to HCAC win
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Rose men top Franklin
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Rose men run winning steak to 11 games
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Anderson holds off rally by Rose women
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Rose-Hulman men ranked 26th in Division III
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Gerken hits game-winner to put Rose-Hulman at 9-1 on season
Making the game-winning shot, with what turned out to be seven-tenths of a second to go, was probably the easy part for Jon Gerken on Saturday afternoon in Hulbert Arena.
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Rose women struggle from field in loss to Hanover
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The Engineers came out on the wrong end, 55-43. -
Efficient Engineers stifle Millikin
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Rose-Hulman women's basketball regains Clabber Girl Trophy
Rose-Hulman reclaimed the Clabber Girl Trophy for the first time since 2009 with an 80-74 women’s basketball victory over Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College on Tuesday night in Hulbert Arena.
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Balanced Rose tops Fontbonne
Senior forward Nate Gissentanner came off the bench to deliver 14 points for balanced Rose-Hulman in a 72-54 men’s basketball victory over Fontbonne University on Wednesday night in Hulbert Arena.
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Rose-Hulman men's basketball preview: Engineers looking to follow up last year’s success
It’s pretty safe to say that expectations for the Rose-Hulman men’s basketball team have not been this high since the late 1990s when the Engineers reached the NCAA Division III tournament three times within a four-year period.
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Rose-Hulman women's basketball preview: Engineers continuing to improve
The Rose-Hulman women’s basketball team didn’t dominate many opponents last season when it ended up with records of 9-18 overall and 6-12 in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference.
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Earlham tragedy leads to Rose football cancellation
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This weekend's Rose-Hulman vs. Earlham football game canceled
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Anderson squeaks past Rose-Hulman
Anderson University scored in the 11th minute and held off a Rose-Hulman charge to earn a 1-0 men's soccer victory in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference semifinal match on Wednesday night at the Engineer Intramural Field.
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Rose swimmers near top because of vets, youth
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A bigger taste?
On the night of Oct. 14, Rose-Hulman basketball fans were treated to something described by a couple of men’s players as “spectacular” and “epic” when they all jammed into Hulbert Arena for the insititute’s first “Midnight Madness” to tip off a season.
The memorable site wasn’t a 360-degree dunk or a no-look, behind-the-back pass.
It was Rose men’s coach Jim Shaw performing the “Bernie Dance,” based on the deceased character from the 1989 movie “Weekend At Bernie’s.”
“For a second, I thought he was having a seizure,” senior starting guard Austin Weatherford said with a straight face later. -
Rose women picked for 6th
The Rose-Hulman women’s basketball team has been picked to finish sixth in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference this season, according to a preseason poll of league coaches released Tuesday.
Hanover and Franklin were selected for first and second respectively, with just two poll points separating the two squads. -
Rose-Hulman no match for Franklin
Franklin showcased its No. 23 NCAA Division III ranking from d3football.com in a 56-0 victory over Rose-Hulman in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference football Saturday.
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Rose blanks Woods 3-0 in women’s soccer
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It has so far.
Led by freshman Hayley Gilliam, a Zionsville native, the Engineers improved to 5-4-1 for the season with a dominant 3-0 victory against cross-county rival St. Mary-of-the-Woods College on Wednesday at Jim Rendel Field. -
METRO ROUNDUP: Engineers dominate HCAC honors
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West Vigo graduate John Burt was named HCAC Defensive Player of the Week and Eric Schaible the Special Teams Player of the Week in football, and B.J. Thompson earned Player of the Week honors in men’s soccer.
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Snyder throws for two early TDs in Rose-Hulman victory
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Rose’s record setter
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