Undergraduate degree in hand, Parola could have moved on with his life. Instead, the ISU second baseman has helped the Redbirds move up in the Missouri Valley Conference standings as a fifth-year senior.
“I definitely still had the love of the game,” Parola said Thursday. “With the new coaching staff, you never know what that was going to be about. But after talking to Coach (Steve) Holm this summer, it was definitely clear what the message was and I wanted to be a part of it.”
With a minimum of 11 games remaining, ISU is already within range of its first 30-win season since 2014 and sits atop the MVC at 9-3.