Morrison comes up big for Cathedral

Published 1:24 am Tuesday, May 4, 2010

ETHEL — Cathedral junior left-handed pitcher Tyler Morrison was one of many Green Wave players who came up big Monday afternoon against the Ethel Tigers in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.

Morrison was on his game on the mound as he threw a no-hitter and struck out five batters. Cathedral had eight extra-base hits as the Green Wave cruised to an 11-0 win over Ethel to sweep the Tigers from the postseason.

“I knew he would be effective against them because of his off-speed pitches. But it’s hard to throw a no-hitter in the playoffs,” Cathedral head coach Craig Beesley said. “He did a good job. He threw a lot of strikes and kept the ball down in the zone.”

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Morrison only went one batter over the minimum in this five-inning game as he walked one batter. The Green Wave played solid defense behind him, committing no errors.

When the Division 7-1A champion Cathedral (17-5) was at the plate, batters pretty much had their way with Ethel’s Hunter Dempsey. The Green Wave scored one run in the top of the first inning and one in the top of the second on a solo home run by Collin Hammons.

Caleb Johnson then gave the Green Wave a 5-0 lead with a three-run home run in the top of the third inning. Things got worse for the Tigers when the Green Wave scored five runs in the top of the fourth, which was highlighted by Tyler Ballard’s three-run home run.

Cathedral added one run in the top of the fifth and Morrison completed his no-hitter by retiring the side in order in the bottom of the fifth.

“Again, I was impressed with the scoring. We continue to hit the ball up and down the lineup,” Beesley said.

Ballard went 2-for-4 with a double to go with his home run. Aaron White went 3-for-4 with a double and Daniel Huffines was 2-for-3 with a double. Rudy Lazarus and Hunter Foster also had a double for the Green Wave.

Cathedral will take on Weir in the second round of the playoffs. Beesley said he didn’t know if it what days the best-of-three series would be, but that Game 1 will be at Chester Willis Field.

“It’s big because we can keep our pitching rotation in order. We’re starting Aaron in Game 1,” Beesley said.