Sports

Baseball: SWR sophomore fans 16 for third-career no-hitter

Shoreham-Wading River sophomore Brian Morrell threw his third career no-hitter Wednesday in a win over Amityville. (Credit: Robert O'Rourk)
Shoreham-Wading River sophomore Brian Morrell threw his third career no-hitter Wednesday in a win over Amityville. (Credit: Robert O’Rourk)

WILDCATS 10, WARRIORS 0

The 2015 season may not have started the way Brian Morrell envisioned. The Shoreham-Wading River sophomore carried an 0-3 record into Wednesday’s game against Amityville, one year after he threw no-hitters in his first two varsity starts.

Some of it was hard luck. He pitched a gem in a non-league game against St. John the Baptist April 21, losing 1-0 on a seventh-inning home run. 

Against the Warriors Wednesday, Morrell found the ideal opponent to get that elusive first win. The Warriors, perennially one of the weaker teams in the league, had just one win coming into the game.

By the end of the first inning, it was clear Morrell was in for a good day. He struck out the first three batters on 14 pitches, completely overpowering each hitter.

There was plenty more of that over the next six innings. Morrell struck out 16 total while recording the third no-hitter of his career in a 10-0 victory at Kevin Williams Memorial Field. It was the first of his no-hitters to come at home.

Morrell walked just one batter, which came in the fourth inning with two out. Morrell had the batter down 0-2 before throwing four straight pitches out of the strike zone.

It was the only base runner of the game for Amityville.

Morrell was dominant throughout, striking out eight of the first nine batters he faced. It made for an easy day in the field for the rest of his teammates.

For a game that was never in question, it had its share of odd moments. In the sixth inning, a Shoreham hitter came up in the wrong spot in the order. Liam McCarrick lined a ball to right field for a base hit, but after reaching first base, the umpire went and conferred with Shoreham’s scorekeeper. He determined another batter should have been up, and thus an out was awarded and McCarrick had to bat again. He then struck out.

In the top of the fifth inning, the sprinklers shot up along the first base line and behind home plate, sending fans scurrying to avoid the water. The sprinklers weren’t hitting the field, so the game continued.

At the plate, the Wildcats capitalized on several miscues on Amityville’s part to take a 6-0 first-inning lead. They added four more in the fifth for the only scoring in the game.

Morrell went 2-for-4 at the plate with a pair of doubles and 2 RBIs. He narrowly missed a three-run home run in the first inning when he flied out to deep center field. It was his second turn at-bat in the inning.

The Wildcats had two more balls just miss on home runs.

The Wildcats improved to 7-4 in League VII. They have one more left with Amityville before beginning a crucial three-game series with Miller Place. The Wildcats will be looking to lock up a playoff spot in that series before closing out the regular season with three against two-time state champion Bayport-Blue Point.

[email protected]