Morris ties 'Tees single-season homer mark

VIERA, Fla. -- Brevard County Manatees first baseman Hunter Morris tied the franchise's single-season home run mark with his 18th homer of the season, in the second game of Wednesday night's doubleheader against the Clearwater Threshers.

Earlier this season, Brock Kjeldgaard also tied the record, but he was promoted to Double-A Huntsville before he could break it. Jose Santos also hit 18 homers for the Manatees back in 2001.

Morris has played in 122 games for Brevard County this season and is currently third in the Florida State League with 225 total bases and tied for fourth in extra base hits with 51.

He leads all current Manatees players with 28 doubles, 64 RBI, a .463 slugging percentage and an OPS of .763.

In late May, Morris was called up to Double-A Huntsville for four games and hit .353 (6-for-17).

A native of Huntsville, Ala., Morris was selected in the fourth round of the 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft out of Auburn University.

The Manatees have four games remaining in the 2011 season, all against the Daytona Cubs. The first two games of the series, on Thursday and Friday, will be at Daytona. Saturday's game will be back in Viera and the season finale will be in Daytona on Sunday.

In 16 games against the Cubs this season, Morris is hitting .284 (19-for-67) with three homers. Of the 18 home runs that Morris has hit in 2011, eight have come on the road and 10 have been at Space Coast Stadium.

For more information on the Brevard County Manatees, visit ManateesBaseball.com or call (321) 633-9200.