In the swing of things

He's been reinvented because of arm strength and relegated due to injury. He's gone from coveted pitching prospect to distinguished utility player to formidable designated hitter. And if he aspires to play professionally, the feeling is he'd be best off doing so as a catcher.

This is hardly the sequence Morris anticipated when he graduated from Madera High School in central California nearly six years ago. Nor is it one he laments.

"There have definitely been some challenges along the way," says Morris, 23, who has roughly two months left of what has been a productive though frustrating two-year stint at Lewis-Clark State.

That's productive in terms of offensive exploits: His 24 home runs and 90 RBI over this season and 2004 far surpass the numbers of any other Warrior for the same span.

And it's frustrating in regard to his injury-induced limitations: Morris has been L-C's principal DH since joining the program. He, in fact, has yet to play a defensive position for the Warriors this spring.

"It's hard when you feel you're not doing all that you can," says Morris, whose current restriction stems from a nagging groin pull. "I just want to get on the field."

That could happen this weekend. L-C, 22-4 and winner of its last 14 games, will play host to Central Washington on Saturday, and Warrior coach Ed Cheff indicates he might give the 6-foot-1, 210-pound Morris some repetitions at first base.

The first diversion Morris faced out of high school was an institutional deferment -- and he volunteered. After graduation, he joined the Air National Guard, a reserve arm of the U.S. Air Force.

"I didn't touch a baseball for nine months," says Morris, whose decision to enlist was prompted by two influences --his father, who was in the military, and a desire to make money for college. "After that, I was definitely ready to start playing again."

He enrolled at Merced College in the fall of 2000 and joined the baseball program. A left-side infielder in high school, Morris was initially expected to serve in the same capacity at the community college.

Then Merced coaches got a look at his right arm.

"They thought I had the stuff to be a pitcher, so they started working with me on the mound," says Morris, who pitched and played third base during the 2001 season.

He expected to assume a more prominent role in Merced's pitching staff the subsequent season -- that is, until Sept. 11.

Still a member of the Air National Guard, Morris was activated after the terrorist attacks. Two months later, he was released from duty because of his school commitment. Then, in an attempt to catch up on his studies, he opted to redshirt during the 2002 season.

This layoff abutted another career-altering incident. In the days leading up the 2003 season, Morris suffered an elbow injury, one that he estimates has left him with 85 percent of his original arm strength. He hasn't pitched since.

"That just about destroyed me," says Morris, whose injury kept him at designated hitter throughout '03. "But at least I was playing."

And producing. Morris led Merced with a .380 average, 48 RBI, 58 runs scored, 13 home runs and 12 doubles. That made him the co-MVP of the Central Valley Conference, and an all-league pick as a utility player.

Ironically, those statistics weren't what drew L-C's attention to Morris.

"We liked him as a pitcher," says Cheff, noting that Warrior assistant Gary Picone had seen Morris throw. "We knew he had some arm problems, but we wanted to take a look at him."

While Morris' inability to resume pitching became apparent during workouts that fall at Lewiston, so did his aptitude as a hitter. And that was a blessing for L-C, which was well-situated defensively but perilously short on right-handed batters.

So Morris found himself recast as a DH.

Nondistinctive through the first two months of the '04 season, Morris exploded in April. His nine home runs and 35 RBI over 21 days and 15 games ranks among the most dynamic tears by a Warrior in the past 15 years.

He finished with 15 home runs, matching Tyler Best for the L-C lead, and finished with 56 RBI and a .359 average, both second-best on the team.

But that success was fleeting. After the Warriors' stunning flameout in the NAIA World Series -- they won just one game -- Morris went unselected in the major league draft.

Cheff wasn't surprised.

"All he was doing was DHing, and (franchises) don't draft college DHs," the coach says. "He needed to show he could do other things."

Cheff extended him an offseason opportunity. He invited Morris to play with the Alaska Goldpanners, a summer-league team based in Fairbanks that he has managed since 2002. There he intended to focus on grooming Morris as a catcher.

That project ended in the Goldpanners' seventh game. While rounding third base, Morris wrenched his right knee, damaging the meniscus. He had arthroscopic surgery a few days later, then returned home.

Morris' rehabilitation had progressed to the point where he was able to participate in L-C's fall practices when they began in late August. About two weeks into the workouts, on a rainy day, Morris pulled his groin while fielding grounders at first base. He re-aggravated the injury just before Christmas, and it remains a source of constraint.

Not at the plate, however. Morris has been the Warriors' only consistent power source this spring, leading them with nine home runs -- no other player has more than three -- while hitting .346 and driving in 34 runs, also a team best.

What's different so far between this season and last is Morris really hasn't come upon a hot streak. But his most recent game -- two home runs and six RBI in L-C's 15-4 victory over St. Martin's last Saturday -- suggests he may be on the verge of one.

"Every time I think I'm getting into that groove, I seem to follow it up with an off game," Morris says. "It's not like I'm lacking for confidence or just not getting good pitches, things just haven't been falling into place. But maybe they'll start to."

If Morris' health ceases to be a concern, Cheff intends to use him in a defensive function, preferably behind the plate.

Sometime in April, we'd like to showcase him at catcher," Cheff says. "In what little he's been able to work at it, he's shown a lot of natural skill for the position. He just needs to learn how to play it.

"The guy's proven he can hit. He's really good at recognizing pitches, and that's the key to hitting. But if he's going to move on, he's got to show he can handle himself in the field."

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Browitt may be contacted at jbrowitt@lmtribune.com