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07/16/2016 12:00 AMThe Morgan baseball team could have taken a step back after graduating some key pieces from a 2015 squad that notched 20 victories and went to the Class S State Tournament final. Instead, the Huskies stayed focused, never quit, and had another season that was one of the best in program history this spring. The Huskies ultimately won 21 ballgames and made it back to the Class S final, where they came up just short of claiming the title by taking a 4-2 loss to St. Paul.
“Our goal every year is to win the Shoreline Conference and state championship. Those are the goals we set, but this team overachieved,” said Head Coach John Litevich, whose team finished 21-6. “It’s hard to get to the state final two years in a row, so they surpassed my expectations. The funny thing with winning is that these kids believed. They wanted redemption [for last year] and anything short of getting back [to the Class S final] was bad for them.”
The Huskies lost their season opener to Cromwell, 4-1, on April 6, but then rattled off nine-straight wins, including a 9-0 victory over Windham in a game that took place in Florida. The early win streak gave the Huskies confidence that they could once again be a top team in the Shoreline Conference and make another run in states.
“Going to Disney is always a highlight for us,” Coach Litevich said. “This is the fifth or sixth trip we’ve made and it gives the kids a chance to grow together as a team.”
Morgan was fueled by tremendous starting pitching this spring. The Huskies’ staff was anchored by senior Chad Neri, who was named to the All-Shoreline Conference Team, the Connecticut High School Coaches Association (CSHCA) Class S All-State Team, and the New Haven Register’s All-State Third Team. Neri went a perfect 10-0 on the season with an earned-run average of just 1.11 to go with 65 strikeouts and 18 walks in 69.1 innings. Junior Cooper Thompson finished the campaign at 6-4 with a 1.23 ERA. He also had 65 punch outs versus 24 walks in 68 innings. The big surprise came from junior John Urban, who worked as the Huskies’ third starter and compiled a record of 5-1 with a minuscule ERA of 0.48. Urban struck out 36 and walked only seven batters in 43.2 innings, allowing just three earned runs for the entire season.
“Neri didn’t lose and was great all year, Cooper was solid, and John did a great job for us, too. We scrimmaged a bunch of Class L teams before the season and fared well and pitched well, so we knew that would bode well for us,” Coach Litevich said. “We knew we would have decent starting pitching and that culminated in the nine-game win streak. At the halfway point, we thought we had a chance to make a run in states again after playing well against our own Shoreline Conference teams.”
On offense, the Huskies got things started with leadoff hitter and senior captain Dylan Ketch. Morgan’s starting catcher was honored at the end of the season by joining Neri on the All-Shoreline Conference Team and the CHSCA Class S All-State Team. Ketch also made the Register’s All-Area Team, as well as its All-State First Team. Ketch finished 2016 with a batting average of .377 and an on-base percentage of .526. He had 37 hits, scored 31 runs, recorded 19 RBI, and struck out only four times, in addition to playing outstanding defense behind the plate.
Senior captain Will Fritz filled a huge hole in center field by replacing Jake Ward and batted .372 with a .495 on-base percentage. Fritz had 32 hits, led Morgan in RBI with 23, and scored 28 runs. Another senior, Liam Neri, had a solid season in right field as he hit .308, posted an on-base percentage of .514, scored 20 runs, and drove in 14. Junior shortstop Madden Ward hit .301, had an on-base percentage of .485, knocked in 18 runs, scored a time-best 34 runs, and stole a team-leading 23 bases in 24 attempts. Junior second baseman Drew Walton batted .296, posted an on-base percentage of .426, scored 12 runs, and had 10 RBI. Freshman A.J. Fritz took over left field and hit .273 with an on-base percentage of .412 to go with 14 runs and 19 RBI. Sophomore Nick Caprio solidified the hot corner at third base for Morgan and walked 22 times on the year. Ketch, Fritz, Liam Neri, Chad Neri, and Chucky Kostek were the five Huskies who graduated from this year’s squad.
“It’s going to be hard to replace them, like any senior class. Chucky was a great teammate. It was his first time playing and he contributed for us off the bench, which was great. Liam was a steady player for us and had the best throwing arm from the outfield. Will hit .372 and was great at the plate, Chad had a phenomenal year and Dylan is the best catcher I’ve ever had,” said Litevich. “They are all outstanding players and people and Will and Dylan did a great job as leaders. I couldn’t ask for more.”
Losing those five seniors will be tough for Morgan, although the Huskies had a lot of young guys gain valuable experience this season. The fact that so many underclassmen played in pressure situations can only help the Huskies chances of making another deep postseason run in 2017.
“Next year looks solid with Thompson and John Urban back. We need to find a three because you have to have a third pitcher now for the rotation,” Litevich said. “Catcher will be hard to replace. Aidan Esposito will be filling in and he can do a good job. We lose [Will] Fritz and [Liam] Neri in the outfield, so a couple kids will have to make the move, but overall, we have less questions than last year. We have a lot places filled for the future with AJ Fritz in left and at third with Caprio. Madden will man short, Walton will be back at second, so we should be pretty good next year.”
From the Sidelines
The Huskies’ baseball team’s regular season wins this year came versus St. Bernard (7-2), Portland (15-2), East Hampton (2-1), Hale Ray (15-0), North Branford (11-4), Windham (9-0), Old Saybrook (13-2), Coginchaug (2-1), Westbrook (6-0), Old Lyme (4-0), Valley Regional (3-2), Haddam-Killingworth (6-3), Coginchaug (10-1), Cromwell (6-2), St. Bernard (12-2), and Hillhouse (20-1). Morgan’s losses were to Cromwell (4-1), Haddam-Killingworth (3-2), Valley Regional (1-0), and North Branford (6-5).
In the Shoreline Conference Tournament, Morgan beat Portland 5-4 in the quarterfinals before taking 2-1 loss to Valley Regional in the semis.
For the Class S State Tournament, the Huskies defeated Westbrook (12-0), Lyman Memorial (3-2), The Sport & Medical Sciences Academy (10-0), and Cromwell (6-0). Morgan then dropped a 4-2 contest to St. Paul in the championship game.