Friday, February 22, 2013

In tests of faith and ?hell,? Oregon baseball right fielder Steven Packard excels

He went from spreading the word about his faith?s heavenly virtues to enduring hell week.

Yes, Steven Packard?s return from a church mission was jarring.

After two years doing missionary work in Bolivia, Packard returned last July to the Oregon baseball team, with which he hit .333 in 54 games as a freshman in 2010. Almost immediately, he had to endure two-a-day workouts that he and his teammates branded ?hell week.?

?I almost wanted to quit right there, my body hurt so bad,? Packard said.

Good thing for the Ducks he made it through. Hell week got Packard back in shape, the 25 pounds he lost were regained after six months in the weight room, and Packard reclaimed his feel with the bat almost immediately.

In Oregon?s opening series of this season, at Hawaii last week, Packard had two doubles in 12 plate appearances. He started three of four games for George Horton?s Ducks, who play their home opener tonight at PK Park, against Loyola Marymount.

?He looked like he hadn?t missed a beat,? Horton said.

That was clear all the way back in the fall, when Packard ?was swinging the heck out of the bat,? Horton said. The coach feels his 6-foot-1, 190-pound, left-handed right fielder makes Oregon?s lineup even deeper and more balanced than it was a year ago, when the Ducks advanced to the NCAA Super Regional round.

?He was a great player his freshman year,? senior shortstop J.J. Altobelli said, ?and I was curious to see how he?d turn out when he got here. ...

?It was kind of amazing how good he looked when he first took batting practice. He was stinging line drives all over the field. You?re like, ?This guy takes two years off and he?s hitting like this? Maybe that?s what I need to do.??

Packard was able to keep up with Oregon?s postseason run last spring through e-mails from his parents. His exposure to baseball in Bolivia was limited to a whiffle ball set sent to him by a former coach; he tried to teach the locals how to play, with little success.

On his days off, each Monday, Packard would instead play soccer. Packard said he ?hated soccer before; now I love it.?

Even those games weren?t enough to keep his conditioning up, but ?hell week? took care of that. Horton said he then challenged Packard?s mom, Michele, to help the 21-year-old pack on those missing 25 pounds, the right way.

?You don?t just want to put coach Horton kind of weight on,? the coach joked, patting his midsection. ?You want to put good weight on.?

Packard said that was accomplished by the time he got done feasting on home cooking over the holidays. But he had a setback upon rejoining the Ducks following the break; a shoulder he?d previously dislocated twice popped out again while Packard was lifting weights.

It took another couple of weeks before he was back in the batting cage. Packard said he?s now 100 percent, though the UO coaches held him out of a game at Hawaii so as not to push him too hard, too early.

That doesn?t figure to carry on much longer. Horton views Packard as an important piece of the Ducks? core.

?We have a lot of high expectations for Steven,? the coach said, adding, ?I think he?s going to continue to get better as the season goes along, and add a lot to our lineup.?

Packard has similar aspirations.

?I definitely believe I should do better than my freshman year,? he said of a 2010 season in which he had 53 hits, 11 doubles, two home runs and 18 RBIs. ?Every year I feel like I should do better, even if I took two years off. I have high expectations for myself, and high expectations for our team.?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/rgsports/~3/ZxaBmKct8v4/packard-ducks-oregon-loyola-marymount.html.csp

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