Transition can be challenging for any sports team to adapt to, whether that’s going through a coaching change, facing a roster turnover after several players graduate, or athletes switching positions to fulfill needs. First-year Head Coach Trevor Brown and the Morgan baseball team are certainly treading the waters of navigating through a new team dynamic this spring but have found the balance needed to place them in the conversation for a deep run in both the Shoreline and state tournaments.

With a successful team comes strong leadership at the top, and the Huskies have that powerful and experienced core with their three captains this season: Nicholas Spaziano (senior, outfielder/shortstop), Sean Green (junior, designated hitter), and Ross Treubig (junior, catcher). Each one of them has brought a unique perspective to the team to help keep their teammates focused while setting a good example in the process.

“They have been doing a great job so far this year. They come to practice every day with a good attitude, good effort,” said Brown. “They lead by example on and off the field.”

Currently sitting at an 8-11 record for the season, Morgan ranks at No. 5 in the SLC and 14 in Class M. They’ve produced several strong performances on the diamond to help keep them in contention.

After defeating Haddam-Killingworth on the road on May 5 (3-2), the Huskies traveled to East Hampton on May 8 and defeated the Bellringers 5-4. Top contributors from the contest were Treubig, who went 1-3 with one homerun and four RBIs, and Wyatt Luke (sophomore, third base), who went 2-5 with two hits.

As a team that’s passionate about baseball and finding success in their swings, Morgan houses a roster full of seven returning players. Other than the three captains, these athletes include Luke, Ryan Donadio (junior, outfielder/right-handed pitcher), Lucus Hoadley (junior, right-handed pitcher/first base), and Anderson Darr (senior, left-handed pitcher). The players have been able to utilize their knowledge and experience to produce strong statistics on the field.

“Wyatt Luke has 23 hits, hitting over .300. Dominic Larabee (sophomore, outfielder) is hitting over .400 with 13 stolen bases,” said Brown. “Treubig has two homers, six doubles, and leads the team in runs batted in (RBIs). Lucus Hoadley and Ryan Donadio have been the two main pitchers for us this season.”

Donadio currently has an earned run average (ERA) of 2.77 with two wins (against East Hampton and Portland) and zero losses. Hoadley currently has an ERA of 8.00 with two losses.

On May 10, the Huskies struggled at home against the Cromwell Panthers, taking a 12-2 loss. Although Morgan didn’t come out with the result they wanted, they still had some highlights, including Spaziano going 1-3 with one hit, Luke going 1-2 with one hit and one RBI, and Treubig recording a hit.

Morgan was able to bounce back the next day, as they took down the Portland Highlanders by a score of 12-6 at home to put them in the Shoreline and state tournament brackets.

“We beat Portland 12-6, and we qualified for both the shoreline and state tournament with that win,” said Brown.

Nathan Levy (freshman, left-handed pitcher/first base) recorded one home run and two RBIs, Green went 2-3 with two hits and one RBI, Treubig went 1-4 with one hit and an RBI, and David Mantilla (junior, infielder) went 2-3 with two hits and three RBIs.

The impressive numbers for the Huskies overall span across several players sharing the workload. Levy has a batting average of .375 in nine games with six hits, two RBIs, and one home run. Luke has a batting average of .289 in 12 games with 11 hits and three RBIs. Larabee has a batting average of .292 in 11 games with seven hits, and Treubig has a batting average of .324 in 12 games with 11 hits, 10 RBIs, and one home run.

As the Huskies conclude the regular season portion of the campaign and look ahead to the playoffs, Brown is hoping to see his players stay focused and continue to improve in the sport every day while taking it one game at a time.

“I look forward to continuing to get better every day,” Brown said. “We had two goals this season: to make it to both tournaments and then win a game in each tournament. That is what we are trying to do.”

Brown is assisted by Chad Neri, who is currently in his second season with the team, and one volunteer coach in Bryce Lecky.

The Huskies will be honoring seven seniors on the team at their last game of the regular season on Monday, May 15 vs. Portland. Those seniors include Spaziano, Luis Mendez (designated hitter), Ryan Luciani (outfielder), Darr, Fernando Serrano, Thomas Martin, and Kevin Ellis (outfielder).

The Huskies team roster is comprised of Spaziano, Mendez, Luciani, Darr, Serrano, Martin, and Ellis, David Mantilla (junior,), Dillon Moore (junior, outfielder), Luke Perrotti (junior), Treubig, Donadio, Green, Luke Powell (junior, right-handed pitcher), Hoadley, Creighton Johnson (sophomore, shortstop), Hunter Mancini (sophomore), Grady McEnaney (sophomore), Michael Ferraiolo (sophomore, second base), Larabee, Luke, Zachary Elder (sophomore), Timothy Hayes (freshman), Levy, Zachary Viens (freshman, outfielder), and Travis Aiken (freshman, shortstop).