Morrill settled in quickly as leadoff hitter
STILLWATER — Starts were infrequent for Oklahoma State freshman second baseman Hueston Morrill at the beginning of the season.
Hits, on the other hand, were not.
Starting just three of the Cowboys' first nine games, Morrill piled up seven hits. Then coach Josh Holliday put him in the lineup for both ends of a doubleheader against Iowa and he went 5-for-10 with a pair of doubles and two stolen bases.
Since then, the rookie from Suwanee High School in Live Oak, Florida, has been a staple atop the lineup.
As the Cowboys open Big 12 play with a three-game homestand against Kansas State beginning Friday at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium, Morrill has adjusted quickly to the jump from high school to college pitching.
He has 21 hits in 16 games, and a team-best six stolen bases. He's tied for the team lead with a .333 batting average and is among the best with a .419 on-base percentage.
“I think everybody has that transition period when you come from high school to a big university like Oklahoma State,” Morrill said. “You know you're gonna have some bumps in the road. But with the information you learn here, it really helps the transition.
“I'm just glad to be able to do my job.”
Though the Cowboys are coming off a pair of losses, they've won six of the last nine games to move to 12-7 overall. The pitching staff has a team-wide earnedrun average of 3.36, but the offense has been even better, averaging 6.7 runs per game, including 47 runs in the last nine games.
“Our confidence in the box has been really strong this season,” Morrill said. “We've had a good approach throughout the lineup. We've got good diversity in there. We still have some work to do, but I think everything's pretty steady with the bats.”
After Kansas State, the Cowboys will host Reynolds Stadium's final Bedlam showdown when Oklahoma visits Tuesday.
Morrill didn't know much about the celebrated Allie P. Reynolds Stadium before he arrived, but he has learned quickly.
“I didn't have a clue about what Allie P. was until I stepped into the locker room,” Morrill said. “It's been a fun thing to learn about. This place is awesome.”