When the aces take the hill, the offenses tend to go dormant.
That was the theme today as Brian Morrell (Shoreham-Wading River ’17, Notre Dame-commit) and Josh Rovner (Pat-Med ’17, Adelphi-commit) both fired no-hitters, while Ben Brown (Ward Melville ’17, Siena-commit) and Brian Morrisey (Commack ’17, Stony Brook-commit) fired two-hit shutouts with double-digit Ks.
This year is especially heavy on power-throwing right-handed pitchers and you can also throw Nic Luc (Farmingdale ’17, Adelphi-commit) and Nicholas Trabacchi (Smithtown West ’17, UMBC) to the mix who both fired gems today
Brown has been close to perfect this year.
Through three starts, he is yet to allow a run and has fanned 30. It will be a fascinating race between he and Morrisey to see who will win the coveted Paul Gibson Award. Brown is a very inspiring story, as he had a fantastic sophomore campaign but was forced to have a shortened-season in 2016 when it was discovered that his appendix burst. He lost 25 lbs and spent a week in the hospital.
“One thing that has really helped me this year was the confidence that my teammates, coaches and training staff have given me,” said Brown. After I got hurt last year I really needed all the help I could get to get back to a 100% and everyone went above and beyond to make sure that happened,” he added.
Morrisey has slipped under-the-radar, because he wasn’t nearly this dominant during last season but he turned a lot of heads this past summer when he was stellar during the tournament circuit. His Head Coach told me back then that this was the best pitcher on Long Island. I hadn’t seen him yet, but this coach was not one for hyperbole so I didn’t dismiss the statement. To this point, the early returns do not lie.
“The performance Brian put together against Team Elite Prime, which featured the No. 1 2018 recruit in the country–among other kids committed to top programs–was incredible. He dominated from start to finish and showed how good he was,” said the coach.
He also happened to watch Brown throw bullpen sessions this winter and noticed a change from Ward Melville‘s ace.
He stated that when the two began to throw bullpen sessions together, something clicked for Brown.
Each starter is three starts in, they are really separating themselves from the rest of the pack. It will be a thrilling finish to the season and if today was any indication–it will make for some tremendous baseball.
