Former NL stalwart Reed Parris receives pair of conference awards

University of Mount Olive pitcher Reed Parris stands next to his father, Jay, with his Conference Carolinas awards. The former North Lenoir star won the inaugural Elite 23 Award for student-athletes and was named to the All-Conference second team. Submitted photo

By Junious Smith III

Reed Parris is balancing baseball with studies nicely at the University of Mount Olive.

Parris was awarded with the inaugural Elite 23 Award in the Conference Carolinas during the conference tournament. The award is modeled after the NCAA's Elite 90 Award and honors the player with the highest GPA. 

The former North Lenoir standout was also named to the All-Conference second team, one of four Trojans to receive the honor. Teammates J.T. Stone and Joe Mason were named to the first team, with Tolston joining Parris on the second.

"Being a student-athlete is a combination of time management and staying on top of everything, making sure I don't get too behind or swamped," Parris said. "When you're playing this sport, sometimes it can be hard to focus on everything else, but I do what I can to make sure I make time for schoolwork and life outside of baseball. I do my best to keep a handle on everything."

On the mound, the sophomore has made 13 appearances as of Monday, going 8-3 with a 3.65 ERA and 78 strikeouts in 81.1 innings pitched. Parris has only walked 22 batters on the year as the Trojans are 31-15 this season.

Mount Olive fell in the Conference Carolinas Championship game against North Greenville Sunday, but have games against Francis Marion on May 3 and 6 with hopes of getting an at-large bid in the NCAA Div. II national tournament. 

"We've done pretty good this season, but we're in a tough spot to make the Regionals," Parris said. "Overall, it's been a good season -- the team's really close and it's been a great year."