Gloucester’s Zach Morris and his University of Rhode Island baseball team are headed to the Division 1 College World Series.
The Rams (38-20) earned an automatic bid by capturing the Atlantic 10 Championship this past weekend with a 4-1 win over George Mason. That marquee victory came after URI topped Davidson (5-3) and Saint Louis (8-2) in previous conference tournament rounds to punch its ticket to the finals.
Now it’s on to Baton Rouge, La., where Morris and his teammates will take on Dallas Baptist University to kick things off in World Series Regionals action. Louisiana State University (LSU) and Little Rock are the other two teams competing in the Baton Rouge region.
A former All-Northeastern Conference selection with the Fishermen, Morris has been making a name for himself on the diamond for quite some time now. In 2017, he helped Gloucester Little League’s Williamsport All-Star team reach the Massachusetts State Finals for the first and only time ever. And as a senior at GHS, Morris captained the team while hitting .435 and boasting a 1.73 ERA with 83 Ks in 33 innings.
After appearing in eight games (including one start) as a true freshman at URI last spring, Morris became a staple in the Rams’ bullpen this past season. He trotted out to the mound in 17 different games (21 total innings), striking out 21 batters and throwing 13 scoreless innings along the way.
Morris will now look to make an impact at the highest of levels, beginning with Friday’s World Series playoff opener against Dallas Baptist at 7:30 p.m. The game can be streamed on ESPN+.