Vinny Messana
PBR-NY Contributor
@axcessbaseball

Shoreham-Wading River RHP Brian Morrell struck out 15 in his fifth career no-hitter on the way to a 7-0 victory over rival Bayport-Blue Point. The Notre-Dame commit struck out the final batter with a wicked curve ball to send his dugout into a frenzy. He hit 95 MPH with his fastball on two occasions.

"I was hyped up," said Morrell. "All my teammates were going crazy and they supported me all through the way this game. Everything was working," he added.

He allowed only three base runners–all on walks–but was electric for the duration of the game. He did so in front of a hand of MLB local scouts and regional cross checkers.

His offense gave him plenty of runs to work with.

Cleanup hitter, Nick Manesis, smacked his Suffolk County-leading sixth home run–a lead off shot in the top of the second inning–to give the Wildcats an early 1-0, which was all Morrell would need on this afternoon.

They added two runs in the third inning on an RBI single by Kyle Baylous to score Ryan Mullahey (3-for-3). They added their third run on a very bizarre play. With Manesis batting and the bases loaded and one-out, Bayport starter Josh Monturo struck him out on a wicked pitch and he began to jog into the dugout thinking it was three outs. The catcher rolled the ball back to the mound, which allowed John McCarrick to scamper home easily.

Morrell had lights-out stuff from the get-go, but he really kicked it into gear in the middle innings when he fanned six batters in a row in the third and fourth innings.

The Wildcats added another run in the fifth inning on an RBI single by Thomas Brady (3-for-4) to score McCarrick once again. They broke the game open in the sixth inning with a three-spot. After consecutive hits by Miles Kelly, Alex Bettenhauser and Mullahey, Morrell was hit with a pitch to bring in a run. Brady drove his third hit of the day into right field to score two runs and open up a 7-0 lead.

At that point the only question was whether Morrell would give up a hit.

There was a moment when it nearly was broken up, when a pinch-hitter ripped a ground ball to the right side, but second baseman Kyle Baylous made a full-extension dive to his left and fired from his knees which was dug out of the dirt by Kelly on a bang-bang play.

Morrell was fired up and he was just three outs away.

In the seventh, he struck out the first two batters before issuing a two-out free pass. He was able to bear down and fan the final batter on a nasty hook to complete a no-hitter for the fifth time in his decorated high school career.

With the victory, the Wildcats are now in the drivers seat in League 7 with a 13-1 overall record.

"We have such a great group of kids," said Morrell after the game. "We're doing something good this year," he added.

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