'Captain' Morgan goes out in style

[NewsCopy]

NEW ORLEANS - Justin Morgan was about a foot away from being the hero of heroes for the University of Louisiana's baseball team Sunday.

Had John McCarthy's liner found the Turchin Stadium turf in the eighth inning of the Ragin' Cajuns' NCAA Regional elimination contest against Alabama, instead of finding the webbing of diving Crimson Tide center fielder Emeel Salem's glove, the Cajuns would have been tied 4-4 going to the final inning.

That means that Morgan's leadoff homer in the bottom of the ninth would have been a game-winner, instead of only getting UL within one run in what ended up a 4-3 loss to the Tide.

"One day I'm going to tell stories about it, and I'm sure it's going to be a lot longer than it was today," Morgan said. "You never want to lose, but if you're going to go out it's nice to go out like that."

The Cajun dugout came en masse to the plate to greet "The Captain" when he finished a home-run trot that wouldn't have even been a wild dream one year ago.

One person in that group was head coach Tony Robichaux, who almost always leaves the home-plate greetings to everyone else.

"He just deserves it," Robichaux said. "This is a guy that started as a walk-on, a bullpen catcher, a very light hitter but a very good catcher. Over time, he turned himself into a good hitter, and turned himself into the team captain. Most team captains are the guys that are the best athletes on the field, and here's a bullpen catcher that walked on."

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By Dan McDonald
Louisiana Gannett News Service

[NewsCopy]

NEW ORLEANS -- The tough thing about the University of Louisiana at Lafayette getting eliminated by Alabama on Sunday in a regional at Turchin Stadium is that it ends a dream career for catcher Justin Morgan.
But Morgan went out with one last bolt, punching a home run to left field to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning, though the Cajuns wouldn't score again in falling 4-3.

"It's just deserving," UL-Lafayette coach Tony Robichaux said. "I've never seen an individual in my 17 years come to practice every day and work as hard as he does, with no chance to play."

Morgan, from East Ascension High in Gonzales, followed his dad's footsteps to the school. His dad, Jamie Morgan, had been a catcher for the Cajuns, a battery mate of Robichaux, then a pitcher.

"It's always been a dream of mine to come here," Morgan said. "And all of my dreams came true. It's a great place. I just wouldn't trade it for anything in the world."

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By JOSEPH SCHIEFELBEIN
jschiefelbein@theadvocate.com
Advocate sportswriter

[JMV JustMyView]

NEW ORLEANS -- The tough thing about the University of Louisiana at Lafayette getting eliminated by Alabama on Sunday in a regional at Turchin Stadium is that it ends a dream career for catcher Justin Morgan.
But Morgan went out with one last bolt, punching a home run to left field to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning, though the Cajuns wouldn't score again in falling 4-3.

"It's just deserving," UL-Lafayette coach Tony Robichaux said. "I've never seen an individual in my 17 years come to practice every day and work as hard as he does, with no chance to play."

Morgan, from East Ascension High in Gonzales, followed his dad's footsteps to the school. His dad, Jamie Morgan, had been a catcher for the Cajuns, a battery mate of Robichaux, then a pitcher.

"It's always been a dream of mine to come here," Morgan said. "And all of my dreams came true. It's a great place. I just wouldn't trade it for anything in the world."

The rest of the story

By JOSEPH SCHIEFELBEIN
jschiefelbein@theadvocate.com
Advocate sportswriter

It was great to see Justin finish his career that way I don't think it could have been drawn up better...Justin has a future in coaching...