Trojans close out the preseason with three straight wins

With four seniors returning including slugger Brigham Spens, the Morgan Trojans will look to improve on a season that saw them go 8-15 overall and advance to last year’s 3A play-in game. 

So far, they’re batting .750, according to head coach Jed Stuart. 

“Overall very pleased with the first games of the season, with plenty of upside still to come. Game one felt a little sluggish against an aggressive Kanab team,” said Coach Stuart. “Game two we bounced back and our bats came alive and the athletes settled into the game.”

Experience paid off in a big way for Morgan [3-1], who started the season down in southern Utah this past weekend at Kanab’s Chuckwagon Invitational. 

Amid the red rock cliffs after a rough game one [0-11] defeat at Kanab, junior Camron Talbot one-hit Providence Hall of Salt Lake City en route to an 8-2 victory to open the season, Friday March 8. Talbot struck out four and Spens nuked a grand slam in the bottom of the second inning, while Luke Bauerle added a solo shot in the win. 

The third game at the Chuckwagon Invitational was a tad more competitive, as the Trojans traded runs with Beaver in a 10-7 win. Through two innings of action, the Trojans trailed 3-4 and Beaver looked to put the game out of reach with a three-run third inning. 

After the side retired to end the third, the Trojans responded with some heat from Ryder Waldron in the fourth inning to stay within range. That was all the Trojans needed to get back in the swing of things; they got four runs in the bottom of the fourth to knot it at 7-7 and scored a dramatic comeback victory in the bottom of the fifth. 

On the final day of the Chuckwagon, the Trojans got in a slugfest with Gunnison Valley before winning 16-7, Saturday March 9. A five-run first inning ensured there wouldn’t be any letup like the previous game as Morgan ripped five doubles and 15 RBI on 19 hits to cruise to the win. 

“We are very excited to start the season with a few wins and carry momentum into the coming weeks,” said Coach Stuart. 

For the Trojans, it was their best start in several years, making the long bus ride back to Morgan County one to remember. The trip down south saw senior Brigham Spens wallop eight RBI and Tryker Jones, Luke Bauerle, and Ben Harden three runs apiece. Spens and Bauerle also smashed home runs for a Morgan squad that combined for 29 RBI in the final three games of the tourney. 

On the mound, Jones, Harden, and Easton Venz each got the wins but the Trojans showed they could trot out multiple arms for games and still have success, and six pitchers in all punched out at least one batter. λ