April 8, 2011
By Art Garcia for UTAMavs.com
ARLINGTON, Tex. - Sometimes getting a break is about who you know. And other times it's about who the who you know knows.
Make sense?
In the case of UT Arlington junior transfer reliever Michael Morales, his former junior college pitching coach once played for Mavericks coach Darin Thomas. A call from the former to the latter helped land Morales at UTA.
"He told Coach Thomas I could pitch a little bit," Morales said of Chandler-Gilbert Community College pitching coach Robbie McClellan.
Turns out that McClellan was underselling the 5-foot-10 righty big time. Morales has gone from not knowing if he would be an integral part of the Mavericks staff to being perhaps the most effective arm out of Thomas' strong bullpen. Morales has given up one earned run this season going into this weekend's critical Southland Conference series with Southeast Louisiana (20-10, 7-5) at Clay Gould Ballpark.
Morales' microscopic 0.54 ERA is easily the best on the team for anyone with more than one inning pitched. He leads the team with 14 appearances and is also 2-0 with a save and 15 strikeouts in 16.2 innings. The 20-year-old Arizona native is often in for multiple innings and has the stuff to close if needed.
Despite two solid seasons at CGCC, Morales wasn't sure he would get to showcase that stuff after an uneven fall at UTA.
"I didn't have the best preseason outings," he admitted. "I've never been a good bullpen thrower. It didn't bother me, but I didn't think I was going to get the chance because my fall wasn't the greatest."
If it wasn't for a blowout loss on Opening Day, maybe he would not have gotten that chance. The Mavericks were down 10-0 to Houston in the fifth when Thomas, who already knew the game was out of reach, turned to Morales. The transfer ended up pitching 1.2 innings, striking out three and was the only UTA pitcher not to give up a run in the eventual 15-5 loss.
The loss wasn't pretty, but Morales' performance proved eye-catching.
"I just went out there to throw strikes when we were down 10 and tried to get guys out," he said.
He has continued to do just that as the Mavericks (16-13, 7-5) have rebounded from a slow start. Morales chose UTA over Oral Roberts and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi based on the opportunity to win and openings on the staff after three Maverick pitchers were drafted last year. The McClellan-Thomas connection helped.
Not that there wasn't competition for spots in the rotation and bullpen. Lance Day leads the starting staff and Adam Boydston has a team-high five saves.
"I thought a bunch of guys were really good and everyone was going to have to battle and try to win a spot," Morales said. "It was open to everyone. Competition pushed everyone to win a spot."
Morales closed as a freshman and started the following year in junior college. He's comfortable in either role and doesn't necessarily have a preference. His go-to pitches are the slider and curve, setting both up by spotting the fastball down in the zone. If needed, Morales feels he can start in a pinch and go 5-6 innings.
"Wherever the coaches need me to pitch, I'm fine with," said Morales, who went 6-2 with a 3.21 ERA last season. "I like starting and I like coming out of the bullpen when it's a close game and the adrenalin is going. I like it when the game is close and keep it where it's at."
Winning the game is what's important to him. So is winning overall, and the Mavericks are giving him that chance.
"We feel like we have a really good team and could do a lot this year," Morales said. "Our hitting has been there, our (starting) pitching has been there and our bullpen has been really good. We feel like we can make a regional. We just have to keep playing the way we can."
