July 22, 2007

Morse boys a hit for Hitmen

BY WILL LARKIN

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

STERLING - It's picture time at the grassy lot behind the Morse house.

Dustin and Stacey Morse's three sons are getting ready to take a photograph. Trey, at 7 the youngest, wants to go first, so he menacingly shakes his baseball bat at 8-year-old Turner.

"We have a lot of brotherly love going on here," Stacey Morse says. "That's for sure."

Tanner and Trey are the younger two-thirds of a brother trio that lives and breathes baseball. Their older brother, Tanner, 12, blazed a travel-team trail that the other two are just taking up. All three Morse boys play for the Quad City Hitmen, an elite youth program that travels across the Midwest for as many as 80 games a year.

"We saw the talent Tanner had, and he thought Little League wasn't enough for him," Stacey Morse says. "We did some exploring. We went and tried out not knowing what we got ourselves into. Tanner made the team, and four years later I got three of them in it."

Tanner plays shortstop for the Hitmen's 12-and-under team. He helped the club win first place at the USSSA Iowa state tournament in Des Moines, and he's also traveled to Michigan, Kansas and Nebraska with the team. While in Nebraska, the Hitmen stopped by the College World Series in Omaha.

"I got to see North Carolina, and I don't know the other team," Tanner says as Turner whispered "Louisville" in his ear. "Those guys hit the ball hard, and they don't make many errors.

"I want to play college baseball someday," Tanner says, "hopefully at Arizona State."

"Me too!" Trey adds enthusiastically.

"They're all big Seth Blair fans," Stacey explains.

"I like Cal State Fullerton, though," Turner says.

Turner and Trey both play for the 8-and-under team. Turner pitches and plays the infield, and Trey is an outfielder. The two have the typical brotherly ups and downs as teammates, but they're both glad they get to play at a higher level.

"The kids pitch faster and they hit the ball harder," says Turner, who doesn't mind the travel. "It's not so bad because my mom has a DVD player in her car."

It costs around $450 per kid to play for the Hitmen, but the Morses are getting a three-for-two discount. Fundraising takes care of a lot of the expenses, but every time Stacey Morse drives by a gas station, she's reminded of the sacrifice she and Dustin are making so their sons can face top competition.

"We don't think anything of it," Stacey says. "It's become our way of life. We look forward to the hotel stays and the 'Where are we going next?'

"We just have fun with it."

Meet the Morses

Tanner, 12

Team: Quad City Hitmen 12-under

School: Challand, 7th grade

Favorite team: Cubs

Favorite player: Ryan Theriot

Future goal: Air Force pilot

Turner, 8

Team: Quad City Hitmen 8-under

School: Lincoln, 3rd grade

Favorite team: Cubs

Favorite player: Carlos Zambrano

Future goal: Baseball or football player

Trey, 7

Team: Quad City Hitmen 8-under

School: Jefferson, 2nd grade

Favorite team: Cubs

Favorite player: Derrek Lee

Future goal: Actor