SPOKANE, Wash. – “Being up there kinda relaxes me, brings out any other distractions I have in my life,” Gonzaga freshman pitcher Tre Morse said. “I’m focused on pitching only, not worried about what’s going on in school, what’s going on in life. Really just relaxes me, keeps me focused in the game.”
Morse won the Idaho state player of the year and then took his talents to Spokane to play for Gonzaga.
“He’s doing a good job, and we’re really excited to have him,” Gonzaga head coach Mark Machtolf said. “He’s going to be a quality guy. I know it sounds kinda corny, but they like each other, they like being around each other, and I think that goes a long way.”
“I kinda like how it’s close to home, and these coaches are just awesome,” Morse said. “Brand-new field, facility, everything we have here, team, basically everything, I just love it here. A great spot to be as a baseball player, not only as a baseball player, but also as a student. Great academics, so really like that as well.”
Morse joins a Zags club coming off three-straight losing seasons, but they improved year-by-year to now just one game below .500.
“Just got to keep them mature about if they drop a couple here and there, they’re not going to panic, and just continue to get better, because in the long run, if you handle it properly, it’s going to make you better,” Machtolf said.
Morse helps a Gonzaga pitching staff that led the WCC in ERA last year and now closes the book on the conference on their way to the Pac-12.
“I think just going in with the mentality that we have a chance to go and win every series that we play, even in the non-conference, and being able to start that now and take that into WCC is super important for us being able to go out and win the WCC,” pitcher Finbar O’Brien said.
“I think the team’s pretty close, like overall around,” pitcher Erik Hoffberg said. “We all fight for each other, and we’re going to work really hard this season.”
Now the Zags start their season at the Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors, their first meeting in the islands in over a decade.
“They’re definitely a tough team with a good environment,” O’Brien said. “And also, the fact that it is Hawai’i, and maybe some of us haven’t been there before and kinda see it as a vacation spot.”
“Yeah, I mean, I’m excited,” Morse said. “Going to Hawai’i, can’t really say no to going to Hawai’i to play baseball. So, yeah, I’m pretty excited.”
First pitch for Game 1 of the series begins tomorrow at 8:35 p.m. PST in Manoa.
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