Connor Morris, Amherst’s junior outfielder, second baseman and all-around player, paid it no mind.
Morris
“I was just trying to get a hit every time I came to bat,” said Morris, who was recently named a Division I first-team All-Ohio selection.
Morris had batted in several places in the lineup. His coach, Al McConihe, said it was when he was moved to the No. 3 position in the order that things started happening, both for Morris and the Comets.
Morris, who made the All-Ohio team as a utility player, batted .468 (44-for-94) with 31 runs, seven doubles and 21 runs batted in. Amherst finished 19-9 and shared the Southwestern Conference championship with Avon Lake, Brecksville and Westlake.
“We tried him in several spots,” McConihe said. “He was our leadoff hitter. We put him in the sixth spot. When we inserted him in the three spot, in front of Griffin Weir, he started to see a lot of good pitches.
“We were 6-5 when we did that, and we went on to win 13 of our last 17 games. There was a correlation.”
“I never really thought about it,” Morris said. “I guess it was a smart coaching move, because things seemed to fall into place after that.”
It fell into place so well that Morris put together a 17-game hitting streak. The statistical leap for Morris was huge: He batted just .217 last season.
“I didn’t expect to do as well as I did this year,” Morris said. “My coaches helped me fix my swing a little. When the team is doing well it helps you do well, too.”
Morris was one of five Lorain County players recognized by the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association but to make the first team.
Joe San Felippo of Firelands landed on the Division II second team. A junior shortstop and pitcher, San Felippo batted .534 (47-of-88) with 39 runs, 16 doubles, three home runs, 36 RBIs and 24 stolen bases, helping the Falcons to a school-best 19-10 record.
Midview pitcher-first baseman Eric Lauer and Avon outfielder-pitcher Joel Yeagley made honorable mention in Division I, while Elyria Catholic catcher-pitcher Ryan Rock was an honorable mention pick in Division III.
Lauer had a 5-2 record with 103 strikeouts in 49⅔ innings (1.65 ERA), while hitting .370 with 30 hits, 27 runs, seven doubles, five home runs, 27 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. Yeagley hit .351 with 27 hits and 27 runs, while posting a 2-1 pitching record (1.56 ERA) with 29 strikeouts in 24 innings. Rock batted .427 with 38 hits, 39 runs, seven doubles, seven home runs and 39 RBIs, while going 2-1 with a 1.93 ERA.
Contact Steve Byrne at 329-7135 or stephenbyrne@att.net.
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