TAMPA, Fla. – Like all catchers in baseball, Parker Schlichte is used to staying on his toes behind the plate.
Now he’s doing the same in the clubhouse.
As one of the University of Tampa’s back-up backstops, Schlichte’s name is called upon when needed. Sometimes those opportunities come outside of game action.
“Knowing the role that you play on the team can make you an effective leader even if you’re not starting everyday, or you’re not someone that you think would be in a typical leadership role,” said Schlichte, a Masters student in professional communications.
“People will look up to you based on your take on the field and your take on the game. The lowest guy on the totem pole is just as important as the highest sometimes.”
Every player being as valuable as the next is an ideology all Spartans have come to adopt thanks to Head Coach Joe Urso. The winningest manager in UT baseball history preaches more than strategy to his athletes, with two of this year’s mottos in particular resonating with Schlichte.
“He likes to talk about how it’s always the little things that are gonna win you the championships, which I’m sure everyone can appreciate,” Schlichte said. “But on top of that he likes to say that it’s not the most talented team ever and he has seen so much talent come through here, Major Leaguers, professional baseball players.
“And obviously not every team wins, it’s very hard to go out and get it.”
But going out and getting wins is almost entirely what the team has done in 2024, having suffered just their first defeat of the season after a team-record 17 victories. Spartans are ranked No. 1 in the nation for Division II baseball.
For Schlichte, the 6–5 loss to 11th-ranked Seton Hill was an inevitability, nothing to fret about and perhaps just added motivation.
“Obviously you don’t expect to go undefeated. It’s an unrealistic expectation always, so no one’s really down in the dumps,” Schlichte said. “It was definitely a good learning time for us and I think it’s really gonna help us go on another strong run starting this weekend.”
Next up on the calendar was a three-game series at home against Lenoir-Rhyne, an opponent that Schlichte’s preparing for with a simple mindset.
“We got a good team coming in this weekend and everyone is gonna bring their A-game when they see the letters that we’ve got across our chest.”