Justin Parker spends most of his offseason in Bluffton, so he had a chance to see part of Parkview Field’s development.

Still, the South Bend third baseman and Wayne graduate was taken aback the first time he stepped into the stadium as a player.

“It’s a beautiful place,” Parker said Sunday. “I heard a lot of nice things about it, but I had no idea it was going to be this nice. It’s a really nice place.”

Playing in front of more than 30 friends and family, Parker returned to the area as one of the hottest hitters in the Midwest League.

He went 2 for 9 in two games in Fort Wayne, but he was 0 for 4 Sunday in a 5-1 loss to the TinCaps.

Selected in the sixth round of last year’s draft by Arizona, Justin is the older brother of Norwell’s Jarrod Parker. Jarrod was selected in the first round of the 2007 draft by the Diamondbacks and is the team’s top prospect currently playing in Double-A Mobile.

“We talk quite a bit. Talked to him (Sunday) morning,” Justin said. “Five or six times a week, if not every day. We don’t always talk about baseball. We stay in touch on a regular basis.”

Justin, 22, played three years at Wright State. He has put up some impressive numbers, batting .305 with eight doubles, two triples and 13 RBI this season.

“I had a slow start, but I’ve been a little bit better lately,” Parker said. “It’s been OK, it could be better. We are happy where we are at, but there is always room to improve.”

Parker had a 15-game hitting streak end Thursday.

“Seeing the ball (was the key to the streak); taking my plan into each at-bat and try to be more of a mature hitter,” Parker said. “I’m staying with my plan and having confidence. I come to the ballpark every day not thinking about numbers or streaks. It just fell into place. I’m kind of glad that it’s over.”

“I never really focused too much on it, but guys kept coming up, ‘Way to go on the streak,’ ” he added. “It’s nice to have. Streaks come and go. I show up to the park every day with the same mentality, streak or no streak.”

lpope@jg.net