Laurence Manning standout Morris will play baseball for Francis Marion
Sometimes it's good to know people who know people. That is certainly the case for Morgan Morris.
The Laurence Manning Academy baseball standout has his headmaster and American Legion baseball head coach Spencer Jordan to thank for helping him get the opportunity to play collegiate baseball.
"Mr. Jordan ended up talking to them about me," said Morris, who recently signed with Francis Marion University in Florence. "He knows the coach (Art Inabinet) really good. They looked at me and ended up offering me.
"I'm just happy to get this opportunity. It's always been a dream of mine to play college baseball."
Morris was called up to the LMA varsity as an eighth-grader and was a 4-year starter. He helped lead the Swampcats to consecutive SCISA 3A state titles in 2016 and 2017.
Laurence Manning came up short of winning the title again this year, losing out in the semifinals. Morris, however, had a tremendous season.
The speedy outfielder had a .372 batting average and stole 13 bases while driving in 18 runs. He was also strong on the mound. Though his win-loss record was just 2-2, he had a 2.13 earned run average and one save.
Morris is apparently going to get the chance to do both at the collegiate level as well.
"They told me they wanted me both for the outfield and for pitching," Morris said.
Swampcats head coach Barry Hatfield thinks Morris took a really big step forward as a senior.
"He's a 4-year starter and he has always been good defensively," Hatfield said. "He has very good speed and a very good arm. He has always been good offensively, but he took it another level as a senior, and he did the same as a pitcher.
"I think the improvement he made on the mound made them (FMU) look at him as a 2-way player."
Morris said the only other school that was really showing him any interest was South Carolina Union, a junior college.
Francis Marion is a member of the Peach Belt Athletic Conference, an NCAA Division II league. The Patriots were 18-28 this past season.