Parkhill completes long way back, ready to help Blue Devils after recovering from shoulder injury

QUINCY — As mangled as his right shoulder was, Kade Parkhill’s determination to get back on the baseball field far outweighed the pain.

“I’ve grown up in baseball,” Parkhill said. “It’s filled up all my summers growing up. It’s filled up my past five years of spring and fall with junior high. It’s the game I love. I just wanted to get back out playing the sport I love again.”

A year without that felt like an eternity.

“You think a year is long until you have to experience a year without being out there,” Parkhill said. 

Two months were spent in a sling, another three months in physical therapy and yet another three months on a strict throwing program, but the Quincy High School junior second baseman finally feels like his old self again.

“When I was throwing and my arm wasn’t bothering me, I hadn’t felt like that in a long time,” Parkhill said.

Not since the injury happened.

During a series of infield-outfield drills as part of the QHS baseball team’s tryouts prior to the 2024 season, Parkhill took an open spot in right field.

“I’m usually an infielder, so I was throwing from a position I’m not familiar with,” Parkhill said.

After Parkhill loaded up and made a throw to the infield, something didn’t feel right.

“It was shaky that day, then I kept going with it for two weeks, then I went and got an MRI in Columbia (Mo.),” Parkhill said.

The MRI revealed a torn rotator cuff, labrum and biceps.

“It was a whole deal,” Parkhill said. “The surgeon said it was the worst he’s seen on a 16-year-old kid in his 40 years of experience.”

Blue Devils coach Rick Lawson understood the emotional toll the diagnosis had on Parkhill.

“It can be the end of the world,” Lawson said. “It can be very depressing. They love this sport, and they don’t get these years back. If you lose a year, that’s just it. You lose it. Fortunately enough for him, he lost it as a younger guy, but it doesn’t make it any easier.”

While he was unable to throw or swing a bat for several months, Parkhill was able to use one of his greatest strengths — his speed — to help the Blue Devils in the meantime. He appeared in 12 games as a pinch runner, stole seven bases on nine attempts and scored four runs.

Even still, Parkhill grew aggravated at not being able to play the field or pitch.

“It was really frustrating,” Parkhill said. “I’ve always loved pitching. When I knew I couldn’t throw anymore, it was really frustrating knowing I can’t go out there and do what I love doing.”

Parkhill channeled that frustration into dedication to his rehab. He was able to swing a bat with minimal pain at open gyms and workouts in December, but the most important milestone came Monday.

Prior to Quincy’s season-opener on the road against Jacksonville Routt, Parkhill was cleared to throw at maximum effort.

“Being able to throw again felt great, especially in a game making plays,” Parkhill said.

The first defensive play Parkhill had to make came with a runner on first and one out in the bottom of the third inning when Rockets shortstop Dalton Brown hit a ground ball to Parkhill’s right. Parkhill fielded the ball cleanly and flipped it to shortstop Cameron Lawson, who turned the inning-ending double play.

“We met each other right away and just thought about how cool it was,” Cameron Lawson said. “It took us like 20 games last year to turn a double play.”

It was a fitting welcome back for Parkhill.

“It happens for a reason,” Cameron Lawson said. “It was tough what happened to him, so I was glad for both of us to be out here.”

Two innings later, Parkhill was tested again. With Lawson on the mound and two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Routt’s Talon Thompson hit a routine ground ball to Parkhill.

That is when Parkhill’s new old habits took over.

“I was still used to my little underhand toss because I hadn’t been able to throw overhand, so I got a little confused,” Parkhill said. “I started running over to first, and I was like, ‘Oh yeah, I can actually throw the ball again.’”

Lawson had a good laugh.

“He started running over there like he had been to toss it underhanded, and he just remembers he can go overhand,” Lawson said.

Even though the game ended in a 10-6 loss, Parkhill was grateful just to be able to feel as close to his usual self as he has in more than a year.

“It was a surreal feeling,” Parkhill said.

As unlikely as it seemed 12 months ago, Parkhill has made it back.

“Right out of surgery, I was like, ‘It’s going to be a long journey,’” Parkhill said. “If you would have showed me then where I am now, I’d be pretty surprised about how great I’m doing now, how great I’m feeling.”

Parkhill didn’t want to get too far ahead of himself, but he couldn’t help but smile when talking about the next step.

“Now I can start slowly building off the mound,” Parkhill said. “I probably won’t do that for a month or so, but as soon as I get there, I’m going to be really excited.”