Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

SOLON – Over the course of a brilliant prep career Marcus Morgan has shown time and time again the ability to control a game from the mound.

On Wednesday Morgan gave a resounding reminder he can dominate in other ways as well.

Morgan doubled, homered and drove in seven runs to help West High (20-12) outlast Class 3A fourth-ranked Solon 18-17 in a wild non-conference contest in Solon.

“I want to be the best player I can be all-around and if that means I have to put in the time to hit that’s what I need to do,” Morgan said. “Being a hitter is a big part of my game as well and something I enjoy doing.”

One of the state’s best pitchers, Morgan did his damage in the batters box on Wednesday.

The University of Iowa recruit had three hits and accounted directly for 10 of the Trojan’s season-high 18 runs, driving in seven and scoring three more as West High won for the third time in four games.

“I’ll talk to (Iowa coach) Rick (Heller) but I think he should get a chance at being a two-way player,” West High coach Charlie Stumpff said of Morgan. “From a physical standpoint he’s better than the guys we’ve had. I hope they give him a chance.”

Morgan launched a towering three-run home run to right field in the third and added a two-run double to center in the fourth as West High built a 9-4 lead.

With his 3-for-3 effort on Wednesday Morgan raised his season average to a team-high .392 and leads the Trojans with five home runs and 39 RBI.

“I’ve spent a lot of time working on hitting, just as much as anything else,” Morgan said. “It’s a part of the game and it’s a part where I want to have a big impact so I work on that as much as anything else.”

Solon (24-10) rallied from the early deficit and led 13-10 heading to the seventh after a two-out, two-run single by Blake Timmons in the sixth.

Timmons led a 16-hit attack for Solon going 4-for-4 with two doubles, three RBI and three runs.

“It’s a tough matchup because they swing the bat really well and the top of their lineup is really good so it’s a tough matchup for our guys pitching,” Stumpff said. “Our guys just kept coming.”

Trailing 13-10 entering its final at bat West High sent 12 batters to the plate and had five hits in an eighth-run seventh inning.

Ian McAreavy, Alex McKay and Nathan Stephens all had RBI singles in the inning that featured three Solon errors.

“We talk about next man in because we were out three starters,” Stumpff said. “We are very resilient. That’s what I know. We just keep coming back and we came up with a lot of big hits.”

Solon nearly came all the way back.

The Spartans had the winning run on first in the bottom of the inning after an RBI single by Timmons cut the lead to 18-17 but Stephens got Brett White to bounce out to shortstop to end the game.

Seven different West High players drove in a run and nine different Trojans scored a run int eh win.

McAreavy had two hits and scored four runs, Ben Hoefer had a hit and scored two runs and McKay had two hits, drove in a run and scored a run.

Schuyler Houston earned the win on the mound and had a hit, scored two runs and drove in a run.

“That might be the craziest game I’ve ever been in,” Morgan said. “It was a long game and I’m just proud of the guys that gutted it out.”

West High               103  501  8  –  18  13  4

Solon                         301  423  4  –  17  16  3

W – Schuyler Houston                       L – Austin Schwake           SV – Nathan Stephens

2B – SOL: Blake Timmons (2), Kinnick Pusteoska, Brett White, Gehrig Turner. ICW: Marcus Morgan, Alex McKay, Ian McAreavy, Noah DeSaulniers

HR – ICW: Marcus Morgan

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