Morse Strikes Out 12 In Crusaders 3-1 District Win Over Westminster

Coral Springs Christian and Westminster Academy came into Saturday with just one game separating them in the District 14-2A standings. By the end of the afternoon, the Crusaders assured themselves they would be no less than the number two seed when the district tournament begins.

C.S. Christian was led by senior pitcher Ryan Morse, who threw five innings, giving up only one run and one hit, in the Crusaders 3-1 victory over the Lions. Morse dominated in his five innings of work, finishing his day with twelve strikeouts.

“Just made some adjustments,” said Morse, when asked the difference between this outing and others this year. “I worked on some mechanics with my pitching coach, and tried to throw more strikes.”

The control is a work in progress for Morse and pitching coach Steve Carp. Morse walked five batters, one intentionally, and hit two other Lions hitters. Despite the number of base runners allowed, Morse was unhittable when in the strike zone.

“They hit him hard one time,” said Head Coach Matt Cleveland. “He still needs to throw strikes more consistently, but when he does throw strikes, he’s tough to hit. He’s got talent and he’s getting there. That was a good outing for him.”

Westminster scored first in this one when Will Buschmann walked in the opening inning, moved to second on a Morse wild pitch, and scored on a single by James Cote. That would be all the offense on the day for the Lions.

Zach Butler and pinch runner Colin Hunt provided the recipe for success offensively for the Crusaders. Butler was hit by a pitch three times in the game, and each time Hunt came in and stole second base. The recipe proved its worth when Hunt came around to score on Kyle Pitts’ single in the third, and Jesse Fayers double in the fifth.

The Crusaders other run was scored in the fourth when Derek Barra hit a one-out double. After a pop single to short center put runners on first and second, two consecutive fielder’s choice ground balls scored Barra.

After Morse left the game, Ryan Milner and Kevin Knapp threw a scoreless inning each. Milner gave up a harmless single in the sixth. In the seventh, Knapp walked the lead-off batter before inducing an around-the-horn, 5-4-3 double play. After another walk, Knapp got Cody to line to second to end the game, picking up the save for the Crusaders.

For Westminster, Buschmann went the distance on the mound, giving up only four hits and striking out five, while issuing no free passes. Despite taking the loss, Buschmann impressed the opposing coach.

“He pitched very well,” said Cleveland, of Buschmann. “If you can throw three pitches for strikes you can get people out, and he did that today. He kept us off balance.”

As for the young Lions, they had a game plan against Morse that didn’t quite work out. Head Coach Nick James tipped his cap to Morse after the game.

“We tried to take a patient approach at the plate and it worked for a little while,” said James. “But then he got dialed in and made the big pitches when he needed to make them.”

Leave a comment using your facebook account!