Collinsville Baseball Pitcher Achieves Rare Feat During Game This Season

A junior on the Collinsville High School Varsity baseball team threw an immaculate inning this season.

That means he struck out all three batters using the minimum possible amount of pitches: 9.

Parker Collins, 16, not only threw an immaculate inning, he also had 12 strikeouts and pitched a complete game.

On Tuesday, March 12, Collins thought it was going to be just another baseball game.

"That morning just woke up, ate breakfast. Had like a sausage, egg and cheese biscuit, went to school then got down here and started getting ready for the game," Collins said.

Using four different pitches; a 2 seam, 4 seam, curveball and change up, Collins achieved something against Tulsa Rogers that's rarely seen in the sport of baseball. It was the fourth inning when Collins was on the mound. 

Parker wears number eight on the back of his jersey and that's the exact number of pitches he threw before he realized he was one pitch away from throwing an immaculate inning.

"It kind of brought a lot of pressure but then I just did what I did," said Collins. 

An immaculate inning is when a pitcher uses the minimum number of pitches to strike out all three batters in an inning. It's a rare feat that's happened in Major League Baseball just 114 times in 120 years. 

"It just feels normal, I don't know, I just try to throw strikes and let them put it in play," said Collins.

Collins's ninth pitch trailed away but the hitter was called out. His coach, Tony Reeder couldn't believe what he saw.

"That's the first immaculate inning I've seen," he said. "This game rewards hardworking, good people it will reward them, and it may take a while but he's one of those guys through his work ethic and what he's done he's put himself in a great position and he's been a great asset to the team."

Parker hopes to play college baseball with whoever offers him a spot, but if he had to choose he'd play for ORU or OU to be close to family.

The Collinsville Cardinals play Thursday, March 27 at ONEOK Field at 5 p.m.