Holyoke native Endy Morales will be making his 2019 Valley Blue Sox debut tonight against the Winnipesaukee Muskrats. Now in his fourth season with Valley, Morales will look to build off of his 2018 season in which he was named to the NECBL All-Star team and earned the Robin Roberts Top Starting Pitcher Award.

 

Last summer, the 6”1 righty finished with a 5-0 record over seven starts and a 1.12 ERA, which was the lowest mark in the league by far. Morales also started the team’s championship series opener against Ocean State, where he let up just one earned run over seven innings of work to lead the team to its second consecutive NECBL Championship.

 

With Valley just a year removed from that magical run, the Blue Sox now sit at .500 heading into the second half of the season. Morales feels that he can be a spark plug to help Valley get back to the level it was the last two years.

 

“Our team definitely has some quality starters and guys in the bullpen,” Morales said. “But if I can go in there and pitch five, six, or seven strong innings, hopefully it can inspire everyone around me and give us a chance to win.”

 

Outside of the NECBL, Morales pitched for one season at West Virginia University before transferring to Southern New Hampshire University. In his two seasons at SNHU, the Holyoke native has a 3.15 ERA in 19 career starts, including three complete games in 2019.

 

Despite joining the team just a few weeks ago, Morales still made his presence felt before throwing a single pitch this summer. During Valley’s home opener, he displayed last season’s NECBL Championship trophy to the crowd before throwing out the opening pitch. While not pitching in the bullpen, he constantly has fans, friends, and hometown supporters coming up and talking to him.

 

“It’s really a dream come true,” said Morales on playing for his hometown team. “I watched this team growing up when they were the Holyoke Giants, and to be a part of it now and make such special connections with the people in my community is incredible.”

 

The first pitch against Winnipesaukee tonight is scheduled for 6:05 PM at Robbie Mills Sports Complex. Fans can watch Morales’s debut on NECBL.com under the “Watch Live” section.