SENIOR WEEKS: Oxford’s Morton had big dreams for Hornets in his senior season

The Oxford baseball team has won the Ches-Mont League American Division title the past two seasons.

The Hornets, under new head coach Tim Rector, were looking for a three-peat this spring. Unfortunately, the scholastic baseball season was scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

One of the big guns the past two seasons and a player Rector and the Hornets faithful were counting on is big hitting Jay Morton. Morton hit over .400 the past two seasons, while expertly patrolling the Oxford outfield.

“It’s been really hard waiting and not knowing if we are going to have a baseball season, and then finding out it was over,” Morton said. “This is my senior year and it is my last chance to play with my brother (Joey) and my friends. Coach Rector had us working really hard since early November. We were lifting weights really hard and working out in the gym.

“I am familiar with coach Rector because he was my coach in middle school and I really like playing for him,” Morton said. “We felt we could win the Ches-Mont League again and our goal was to get through the district tournament and make states this season. Everybody was looking forward to the season.

“We had a scrimmage in early March and I would hate for that scrimmage to be the last time I played together with all my friends,” Morton said. “We have a really close group of guys that came up through middle school and we really wanted to do something special this season. And it is beyond disappointing to not have that chance now.”

Rector replaced Andy Wendle, who stepped down after last season, and the former Avon Grove head coach was very excited to have Morton back to be one of his star players both in the field and at the plate.

“I coached Jay in middle school and when he got into high school and started lifting and getting stronger I knew he would be a very good player,” Rector said. “He was a catcher in middle school but he turned into a very good outfielder. He can really hit and he is a team player.

“We were really excited about this season because we felt we had a good chance of competing for the league title and we wanted to get to states this season,” Rector said. “I have been working with the kids since November and I hope they did not put all that work in for nothing.”

Morton originally elected not to play baseball in college. He will attend Penn State University in the fall to study nuclear engineering. But, the Hornets star has not ruled out the possibility of getting on the diamond at the collegiate level.

“I originally was not going to play baseball college but if I have time I may try to walk on,” Morton said.