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MORRIS – Entering the baseball season, it was well known that Morris would have a good lineup. Morris returned six starters from a team that finished third in Class 3A last season.
Not surprisingly, those six – Brett Bounds, Colin Pfeifer, Jack Wheeler, Nazim Baftiri, Griffin Zweeres and Merek Klicker – are the first six hitters in the Morris batting order.
On Tuesday, however, it was the bottom two in the order, Bryce Lee and Lorenzo Dzanwic, who stepped to the forefront in a 12-1 win over Bradley-Bourbonnais.
Lee went 2 for 3 and scored twice as well as pitching a scoreless inning in relief of starter Pfeifer, while Zdanwic was 2 for 2 with three RBIs, including a walk-off, two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth.
“It was a hanging curve,” Zdanwic said about his shot down the left field line to end the game. “Honestly, I didn’t think it was going to go out. I thought maybe it would hit the top of the fence. Or, knowing my luck, it would go foul.
“Having all those guys at the top of the order getting on base helps a lot because we get to hit with guys on. Then, if we get on, that brings the top of the order back up with runners on. We work a lot on our two-strike approach and just want to get on base. Everyone wants to do whatever is needed to win.”
Morris (2-0) scored a run in the bottom of the first on an RBI groundout by Baftiri that scored Bounds, who led off with a walk and went to third on a single by Pfeifer. Morris padded the lead with five runs in the bottom of the second as Zdanwic had an RBI single to score Klicker, who led off with a single. A walk to Bounds and a hit by pitch by Pfeifer loaded the bases for the University of Illinois-bound Wheeler, who lined a two-run double to right-center. Another RBI grounder to short by Baftiri brought home courtesy runner Landon Norris for a 6-0 Morris lead.
The Boilermakers, playing in their season opener, got a run back in the top of the third on a sacrifice fly by Ty Alderson, scoring Kason Bynum, who reached on an error and went to third on a single by Cody Freitas. Eric Rainbolt paced the Bradley-Bourbonnais offense, going 2 for 2 with a double.
“Morris is a very good team,” Bradley-Bourbonnais coach Brad Schweigert said. “They are going to be a 3A state contender. They are always a good program, and that’s why we schedule them. We know we are going to play a well-coached team.
“Eric Rainbolt had a couple of good at-bats, going 2 for 2 and going the other way for a double. When you lose 12-1 there’s not much to single out. But we’d rather be tested and see what we need to work on.”
Wheeler (2 for 3, double, HR, 4 RBIs) launched a two-run homer to cap a four-run fourth for Morris, giving it a 10-1 lead. Lee led off the bottom of the fifth with a single, then rode home on Zdanwic’s homer to end it.
“Coming into the season, we had some question marks at the bottom of the order, but the first two games, they have swung the bat well,” Morris coach Todd Kein. “For two straight days, we have had a lot of RBI opportunities up and down the order. What I was most impressed with today was that we saw a couple of lefties and hit well. We had good two-strike at-bats, fouled off some pitches and got pitches we wanted. When guys put up a good fight like that, good things happen as a result.
“Jack’s two hits were vintage Jack. He can use the whole field with power. There are guys that go up there and swing, and there are hitters. Jack is a hitter.”