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Sports

Mustang Fought to Get Back on the Mound

After some trying times with illness and injury, Mira Costa High senior Robert Parucha is set to lead his team in the CIF playoffs today against San Marcos.

When the CIF playoffs began, many adjectives were thrown about to describe various pitchers—battle tested, tough-as-nails, warrior, bulldog. Any of these often overstated terms would fit Mira Costa High senior Robert Parucha, but the one that is most important to him and his teammates is one many take for granted—healthy.

When Robert was just 9 months old, his mother was changing his diaper when she felt a hard spot on his stomach. 

"They had to have a sonogram taken, and you could see a picture of his liver with this big mass," said Bob Parucha, his father, who recalls his son's earliest days with marked clarity. "I'll never forget the doctor said to us, 'This is a terrible thing for a young couple to go through,' and we just moved on straight to Long Beach Memorial that night."

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After a battery of tests, Robert was diagnosed with liver cancer, which accounts for 2 percent of all childhood cancers. He was given less than a 50 percent chance of survival, and his treatment involved 11 rounds of chemotherapy and six surgeries. 

"He had tubes everywhere on his body, in his nose … it was a tough sight," Parucha said.

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Several months later the Paruchas were informed that Robert's liver had grown back strong after the surgeries. Going forward, of course, they would have to be vigilant in watching for signs of trouble, but he was given a clean bill of health.

"We were very fortunate," Parucha said. "We had to be extra-careful. With every sickness that came up when he was young we would have him checked out right away." 

More pain in finding a passion

It was during his youth that Robert found what would become his passion—baseball. "When I was really young, I played up a league and I was just hooked by the competition and really loved pitching," he said.

When he joined the Mustangs' baseball team as a freshman he was promoted to the varsity halfway through the season.

As a sophomore, Robert went into the season as the Mustangs' No. 2 starter. But 70 pitches into an early-season tournament game, Mira Costa put together a 10-run sixth inning, and Parucha had to wait 45 minutes to return to the mound.

He would wait much longer, two seasons in fact, before he would pitch again pain free. "All of a sudden, on one pitch, I just felt this sharp pain in my arm and I was worried," Robert said.

He went home, iced it, and the next day attempted to throw a bullpen session, but couldn't fully straighten his arm without intense pain. After an MRI revealed damage to the medial collateral ligament in his elbow, Robert turned to physical therapy.

"After a couple months of that, there was just no progress," he said. "My arm was almost fixed at a 45 degree angle." Hoping to avoid surgery, the Paruchas went to see  Dr. Lewis Yocum, a specialist who works with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Yocum believed that with a solid rehab regimen there was a chance Robert would not need the all-too-common Tommy John surgery.

During the summer, Robert attended a baseball camp in Santa Barbara. After a throwing session he could barely move his arm.

Robert was so frustrated with his elbow troubles that he briefly considered trying out for the Mustangs' nationally ranked volleyball team. His hope was that the lack of stress on the elbow could allow him to compete in the sport his dad played collegiately at the University of California Santa Barbara.

"It was just depressing to be around baseball at all," he said. "I couldn't help out, and I just wanted to be out there so bad."

Answers, but no relief

At the baseball camp, a young coach saw Robert wearing a Mira Costa T-shirt. Brian Bowles was finishing school after a 13-year professional career pitching for several minor league teams and reaching the big leagues with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Bowles had starred at Peninsula High and took an immediate interest in Robert, especially after learning about his elbow injury. It sounded just like one Bowles had suffered in his career.

"I told him not to give up on this," Bowles said. "He just had to get with the right program."

Bowles moved back to the South Bay and started working with pitchers at Mira Costa, putting Robert on a regimen of intense stretching and resistance training. Robert reached a point during his junior year when he didn't feel any pain, but couldn't throw more than an inning at a time.

"I could really tell a difference from the first time we worked together," Robert said. "He knows what he's doing and is a great teacher."

During one of his relief outings Robert's mettle would be tested again. At a mid-April game against West Torrance, he threw a fastball and immediately felt an excruciating pain in his side. He looked over to pitching coach Carlos Rojas and motioned that he couldn't throw another pitch.

"I couldn't move my arm. The pain was debilitating," Robert said. "I tried to throw but it was just too painful."

Parucha had suffered an injury to the latissimus dorsi muscle, along his right side and back.

"He was depressed; you could see it in his eyes right after the West game," Bob Parucha said. "Not just the physical pain, but what it meant to him like, 'Here we go again.' I was crushed for him."

Healthy, at last

With only one season remaining, Robert entered his senior year determined to stay healthy and pitch effectively.

His season has been pain free, and he has not missed a start on his way to picking up five victories. He has struck out nearly a batter an inning, and brings a 3.43 earned run average into the postseason.

Bowles believes that it's just the beginning. What he's most proud of is Robert's ongoing transformation. "When people talked about Robert they would say, 'Kid has got a great arm, but he's always injured,'" Bowles said. "To go from that to the level he is, where he's one of the more dominant pitchers, is really gratifying."

"He missed some time that a lot of guys earn accolades through high school when he was injured," Bowles said. "But his performance has put him on the radar.''

Though Robert has been contacted by Division I programs on both coasts, when asked about the future he abruptly shifts the conversation to the present. "What I'm concerned with is doing my job," he said. "If I do my job, we will keep advancing and that's what's important. The collegiate stuff will work itself out."

Head coach Cassidy Olson marvels at Robert's drive. "Nobody deserves their success more than Robert," he said. "He works as hard as anyone."

When the Mustangs step onto the field today to face San Marcos they know whatever challenge is thrown Robert's way, he will be ready to face it.

"I couldn't be happier for him," catcher Jackson Morrow said. "He had a tough start to things and he worked so hard to come back. There's no doubt that his struggles helped him on the mound as a pitcher.

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