Doc Morris would be mighty proud of the handiwork done in his name to benefit Northern Kentucky high school baseball players.
The man whom the annual Doc Morris Invitational is named after passed away in 1990. Morris was a civil engineer who worked for the Kentucky State Highway Department. He was also an admired baseball umpire and football official. He was so well known that a fellow umpire and a local baseball coach created a baseball tournament in his name soon after his passing at the age of 50.
“John Finn at Simon Kenton got the ball rolling on the coaches end with Mike Foulks who was an umpire and a school principal,” said Dixie Heights coach Chris Maxwell, head of the Doc Morris Invitational Foundation Committee. “Back then when it started, there were 16 teams mostly from the area at a few sites and they were all bigger schools. It was a single-elimination tournament, so everybody played one game and we gave out one $500 scholarship.”
More than a generation later, the tournament has more than doubled in size and tripled its impact. It’s also expanding its reach as a key fundraiser benefitting local baseball players in need.
35 years and counting
This is the Doc Morris Invitational’s 35th year. The event gets underway Thursday and runs through Saturday. The tournament does not crown a champion but in the end most everybody feels like a winner.
“What it does is give teams a chance to get together and play some baseball for a good cause,” Maxwell said. “It’s come a long way.”
The Doc Morris tournament is a large-scale baseball invitational attracting quality out-of-town teams guaranteed three games of action over three days. It’s a transformative event capable of changing lives in part by the giving of three $1,000 awards to local players showing a specific need.
Tournament awards are presented at the Northern Kentucky Baseball Coaches Association East/West junior and senior all-star games June 10 at Dixie Heights.
“This year, we have 36 teams in eight brackets at nine sites because Beechwood and Campbell County have to share hosting in one of the brackets,” Maxwell said. “Beechwood has prom on Friday and Campbell County has a track meet Saturday so they’re helping each other out.”
If anything, the Doc Morris tournament is a collaborative effort. It involves players, coaches and umpires. It involves high schools and whole communities desiring a better future for ballplayers who could use a helping hand.
“We used to call it the Doc Morris Scholarship Tournament, but we removed the scholarship part a few years ago,” Maxwell said. “It doesn’t necessarily have to be college scholarships we give out and it doesn’t have to be given to a player in the tournament.”
Scholarships were previously awarded to local high school graduates already in college. Scholarships can now be had before college, depending on the situation. There have been further modifications to make the tournament foundation’s special funding more accessible.
“We’ve expanded it to include kids not only going to college but also trade schools and other ways you can learn to get a job,” Maxwell said. “We opened it up for kids who aren’t playing in the tournament and kids who maybe aren’t going to college or trade school right away because of something that happened.”
Small schools included
The foundation committee consists of current and former local high school baseball coaches. They opened up the event to small schools three years ago, much to the satisfaction of longtime Bellevue baseball coach Rob Sanders.
“In Northern Kentucky, a big portion of smaller schools are more disadvantaged compared to some bigger schools and there are many kids who have a real need,” Sanders said. “Adding small schools not only gives players from those schools an opportunity in terms of dollars, but it also gives these small teams a chance to play against big teams and compete on a higher level.”
It didn’t take Sanders long to reap benefits of tournament change. His Tigers look forward to the Doc Morris event as much as any other. Bellevue is one of four local small schools hosting games this year. One of Sanders’ former Bellevue players, T.J. Southwick, is a one-time $1,000 recipient.
“It helped a lot, believe me,” Sanders said.
Coach Maxwell and the rest of the foundation committee and their associates accept recommendations for players with a wide variety of needs.
“We receive consultation on candidates,” Maxwell said. “One year we were able to give money to a kid whose house burned down. Another year, we gave a scholarship to a kid whose dad died.”
Sanders applauded the foundation committee’s thoughtfulness and open-minded attitude. When the committee began awarding funding to players at smaller baseball programs in 2020, all three recipients were from small schools. Represented were Ludlow, Newport and Silver Grove.
“The tournament has been a real positive influence on Northern Kentucky baseball,” Sanders said. “The inclusion of small schools has only enhanced that.”
36-team field set
This year’s Doc Morris field features 12 smaller programs including local public schools Bellevue, Holmes, Lloyd and Newport. In the small-school field as well are Beechwood, Bishop Brossart, Holy Cross, Newport Central Catholic, St. Henry, Villa Madonna and Walton-Verona.
There are 24 bigger schools including Campbell County, Conner, Cooper, Dixie Heights, Highlands and Scott. Participants feature teams that have enjoyed state-ranked or near-ranked status including Covington Catholic. There’s also Great Crossing, Rowan County, Ryle and Simon Kenton.
Additional out-of-town teams include Bethlehem, Bracken County, Carroll County, Lewis County, Lexington Lafayette, Nicholas County, Owen County and Paintsville.
Cincinnati-area schools in the tournament include West Clermont, Western Hills and Williamsburg. Batesville from Indiana is also in the event.
Other local schools hosting brackets include Dixie Heights, Scott, St. Henry and Simon Kenton.
A top early game is Thursday’s 5 p.m. battle between host Beechwood and Ryle. They met in last year’s 9th Region tournament with Beechwood coming out on top. Ryle avenged the loss with an early-season win this year. Highlighting Friday’s action is host Simon Kenton vs. Highlands at 7:30 p.m. CovCath and nemesis Conner square off Saturday at 2 p.m. at St. Henry, highlighting final-day action.
Top players on hand
Some of the top hitters expected to suit up incude Ryle’s A.J. Curry, who ranks second in Kentucky in batting average (.619). There are four other .500 hitters ranking in the top 20. They are Bracken County’s Josh Hamilton (.556), Rowan County’s Chance Furnish (.537), Lafayette’s Brady Binder (.511) and Carroll County’s Aden Stephenson (.500).
Furnish and Scott’s Trevor Pulsfort rank tied for ninth in Kentucky with 25 RBI. Curry ranks 15th in slugging percentage (.881). Binder and Beechwood’s Michael Detzel are in a tie for sixth with nine doubles. Rowan County’s Hayden Mains leads Kentucky with seven triples. Teammate Caleb Cooper is third with five triples.
State home run leaders looking to do some damage include Bracken County’s Ross Lucas. He ranks tied for third with five homers. Walton-Verona’s Bronson Corpus is seventh with four blasts.
Top pitchers in the tournament feature some of the stingiest in Kentucky. They include Covington Catholic’s Marcus Suwinski (0.41 ERA). There’s also Great Crossing’s Landen Walters (0.42 ERA) and Simon Kenton’s Logan Cones (0.56 ERA). Cones is in a tie for fourth statewide with five wins. Local strikeout specialists such as Holmes’ Landon Turner (51 strikeouts in 29 innings) are here. Bracken County’s Hank Krift (43 strikeouts in 23 innings) is also here.