No. 3 Sports Story of the Year: Freshman tosses two no-hitters
When Brian Morrell took the mound for Shoreham-Wading River on April 11, the freshman was making his first varsity start.
He had already played on varsity for a season as an eighth-grader and his potential was undeniable. Still, no one could have predicated what happened next. Morrell tossed a no-hitter against Mount Sinai, blanking the Mustangs with a 3-0 victory. He threw just 80 pitches over seven innings, finishing one walk shy of a perfect game.
“This is just an amazing experience for me,” he said after the game.
More amazing, though, was that in his next start, on the road at Miller Place, he did it again. Morrell threw another no-hitter eight days later, putting himself in rare territory in the annals of high school baseball history. Shoreham won 4-0 that day.
By the time he next took the mound at home against Westhampton, there was plenty of buzz surrounding the youngster. Fans lined the field looking to see if he could continue the miraculous run. But the first batter of the game reached on a bunt single and just like that, the no-hit bid was gone. His streak of 19 straight scoreless innings also came to an end, but the Wildcats’ bats did the job to lift Shoreham to a 13-5 victory that snapped a two-game losing streak.
Top 10 Sports Stories
No. 10: A rejuvenated girls basketball program at Mercy
No. 9: Stars on the track
No. 8: A cross country state champion
No. 7: Title run comes to an end
No. 6: Chaos in Mercy athletic department
No. 5: Villa soars to record heights
No. 4: SWR soccer wins county title
