Public service may or may not be in their promising futures. Hyde and Parker are just as eager to study other subjects such as philosophy and the law. But if they do enter the political arena, Bates baseball will have prepared them well.

For Hyde, a star catcher at Lewiston High School, his Bates baseball education has been largely about developing and refining his leadership skills. For Parker, a standout shortstop at St. Dom’s, it’s been about lobbying for playing time.

Teammates on Lewiston’s back-to-back state American Legion baseball championship teams, Hyde and Parker are following different paths to success at Bates.

Hyde made an immediate impact his freshman year, earning a starting role at catcher with his exceptional bat speed and control and finishing in the top five in a number of offensive categories.

He has demonstrated an ability to make contact, get on base and use his deceptive speed for a catcher, traits he used to help lead Lewiston to a regional title in 2011.

This year, Hyde is hitting at the top of the Bobcats lineup and doing what table-setters need to do, getting on base. Through eight games, he’s hitting .292 with a .433 on base percentage.

“His approach has matured and is continuing to do so,” Bates coach Mike Leonard said. “He’s a guy who I think can still get better. (He’s) one of those guys who gets by a lot with his raw ability… that he can at times swing at pitches out of the zone or be off-balance and still get a hit. I think he has come a long way since last year in terms of his approach, but one thing he’ll need to start to work on more is once people know you’re a good hitter, they’re going to pitch to you differently.”

Hyde is already trying to make other adjustments. He wants to start hitting for the kind of power he terrorized pitchers with in high school and Legion ball without taking away from his selectiveness at the plate.

“That’s what’s tough about hitting (first or second), I need to see pitches but I need to pick out a pitch that I can drive,” said Hyde, who has signed to become the first Bobcat to play for the Old Orchard Beach Raging Tide this summer.

As much as Hyde wants to improve with the bat, he and Leonard agree that defense is a point of emphasis this year. Leonard, a former all-Big East catcher at Connecticut and minor league receiver in the Red Sox system, wants Hyde to identify as a catcher first.

Part of that means being more assertive with Bates’ talented pitching staff.

“As a freshman catcher, I didn’t want to overstep my boundaries, even though with that position, that’s what comes with the territory,” Hyde said. “I’m a lot more comfortable this year.”

“”I think he deferred a little too much last year,” said Leonard, now in his third year at Bates. “I think he’s grown a lot from freshman year to sophomore year and is embracing a leadership role.”

Parker has learned to embrace his role on the Bobcats. A three-year starter and catalyst on two state championship teams at St. Dom’s, he comes off the bench at Bates, carving out playing time on a deep roster by drawing on his baseball instincts and resolve.

“I’ve grown into the role,” he said. “It can be rewarding at times and frustrating at times. But there are a lot of guys here who work real hard, and it feels good to have this many guys come here to practice and working their butts off. It’s just extra incentive to keep working hard in practice every day.”

As a walk-on, Parker knew getting the new coach’s attention and making the team would be a challenge. But the 5-foot-6, 135-pound middle infielder impressed Leonard with his energy, tenacity and preparation.

“He’s a guy you never have to worry about,” Leonard said. “You can put him in to pinch run in the bottom of the 15th inning when he’s been sitting on the bench for four hours and he’ll be ready to do it. And he’d be prepared to start a game in the infield because you know he’d go out there and dive for any ball hit his way and pick his teammates up when needed.”

Parker led all of Bates’ reserves by playing in 20 games last year. He knows more playing time might be available at other schools, perhaps at the expense of academics. But Parker, who never let his diminutive stature keep him from being a three-sport star (baseball, hockey and soccer) at St. Dom’s, seems to thrive when the odds are against him.

“He’s a fun player to have because every time you count him out for whatever reason, he does something to prove you wrong,” Leonard said.

“I’ve always had to play with a chip on my shoulder and that hasn’t changed here,” Parker said.

Standing out among 19 position players takes hard work, though. Parker and Hyde, being the only two Lewiston natives on the team, make the most of their geographic advantages, spending almost as much time on campus during breaks as they do when classes are in session.

“The campus we’ll be empty, but we usually find ourselves back on campus trying to sneak into the Gray Cage to keep getting extra swings in,” Parker said.

Sneaking into Gray Cage is easy compared to adapting to the academic challenges Bates presents.

“It’s a huge adjustment,” Hyde said. “The amount of time you have to spend on baseball… it doesn’t leave much time for school work. But you have to find some time to crack the books.”

The Bobcats start their NECAC schedule this weekend at Tufts, then play their home opener on April 4 against Hyde’s brother, Corbin, and Endicott College.