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07/05/2015 12:00 AMThe spring of 2015 will not be forgotten any time soon in Morgan baseball circles. Winners of 21 games, the Huskies were the best team in the Shoreline Conference during the regular season and punctuated their campaign with a trip to the state title game—marking only the second such appearance in the program’s 47-year history.
“Playing Northwest Catholic in the championship game was a humongous accomplishment for this team,” said Head Coach John Litevich. “It was a phenomenal season.”
Morgan got out to a decent start in the recent season by winning four of its first seven and the Huskies then went on a tear that saw them claim victory in 17 of their subsequent 20 contests for a record of 21-6. That final mark includes a regular season record of 16-4, which earned the Huskies the top spot in the Shoreline Conference standings. The Huskies defeated East Lyme, a Class L finalist, 10-8 during the regular season and rival Haddam-Killingworth 5-0 in the opening round of the Shoreline Conference Tournament before losing to Old Lyme in the semifinals.
“It is tough to win that Shoreline Conference Tournament. You’re playing some of the best of the best,” Litevich said. “I’m disappointed, but it is not a surprise. Whenever you play in the Shoreline, you have to play your best.”
Entering the Class S State Tournament as the No. 4 seed, the Huskies got another crack at a familiar conference foe in the first round and defeated No. 29 Hale-Ray 6-0. Morgan then reeled off wins against No. 13 Housatonic (8-0), No. 5 St. Paul (5-3), and No. 8 Coventry (5-1) before meeting No. 27 Northwest Catholic in the title game. Unfortunately, the Huskies’ bid for their first state championship came up short as they lost 5-1.
“When I got my first round game, I did not want to play Hale-Ray. Then as we started playing other teams from other conferences, we began to feel more confident,” Litevich said. “It was kind of surreal. It doesn’t sink in what you’re doing. When we got to the state final and I saw Northwest Catholic warming up, I knew they were the best team we’d seen all year long. Both teams played great defense. There is no shame in us losing that game.”
Even with the defeat to Northwest Catholic, the 2015 campaign marked quite an improvement for Morgan, which had gone 10-10 during the previous regular season and made it as far as the state quarterfinals. This spring, Huskies made big-time strides forward thanks to their well-rounded lineup. Senior captains Jared Spanier (Second Team All-Shoreline) and Jake Ward (First Team for All-State and All-Shoreline) led the Huskies with Spanier assuming the role of No. 1 pitcher. Spanier posted a 7-2 record with a 0.84 earned-run average and center fielder Ward batted .312 to go with his .540 on-base percentage and 18 stolen bases.
“Spanier was our most clutch hitter in the State Tournament,” Litevich said. “He hit .285 with 22 RBI and 17 runs, but if you went from the last eight games and on, he would’ve been our MVP with his bat.”
Senior second baseman Gary Forbes complemented his stellar defensive play with a .300 average, senior third baseman Greg Lee batted .297, and senior Connor McGill pitched to a record of 7-3. Senior Evan Barillaro hit a clutch grand slam against Housatonic in the state tourney, helping him total 15 runs and 15 RBI on the year. As a team, the Huskies hit .298 with an on-base percentage of .457. Morgan scored 111 more runs than it did a season ago with four players topping 20 RBI after the team leader for 2014 had just 12. This spring, all nine starters drove home at least 12 runs.
“It was a very balanced lineup,” said Litevich. “Out of the guys we were expecting things from, we got a lot. Out of the guys were weren’t expecting much from, we got stuff, too.”
And it wasn’t just the offense that carried the Huskies all the way to the state final as pitching depth also played a key role. Spanier and McGill were spelled by sophomore Cooper Thompson and junior Chad Neri. Thompson was 3-1 with a 1.16 ERA, striking out 38 in 30 innings of relief, and Neri was a perfect 4-0 with an ERA of 2.70.
“Our pitching depth was phenomenal. We had four guys who could throw. When we had to play three games in a row during the State Tournament, that attributed to our success,” Litevich said.
Morgan will have to replace seven seniors to continue the program’s upward trend next year. Likely leading that charge will be junior catcher Dylan Ketch (First Team All-Shoreline), who hit a team-high .418 with a .521 OBP, 32 runs, and 23 RBI; along with junior shortstop Madden Ward (.368 average, .500 OBP, 22 RBI). Thompson and Chad Neri will return, as will junior Liam Neri.
“This team never thought they were going to lose,” said Litevich, who was assisted by Keith Powers. “They played the entire game as if they were never going to go down and, if they did, they were very resilient.