Sandburg coach Jim Morsovillo had a pretty good idea the 2018 baseball season would be special.
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The Eagles returned their entire infield and had one of the area’s top pitchers in Evan Tenuta, a Notre Dame recruit.
“We knew we had the pieces coming back from a sectional championship team to make a run,” Morsovillo said. “But we needed the seniors to lead the way.”
Sandburg also needed a coach who could push the right buttons that would allow the Eagles to maximize their potential.
Morsovillo was that guy.
Morsovillo, the Daily Southtown 2018 Baseball Coach of the Year, led the Eagles to a fourth-place finish in Class 4A along with titles in the SouthWest Suburban Blue, regional, sectional and the Do It Stevie’s Way Tournament.
Senior catcher Ryan Hampe credits Morsovillo’s coaching style for the Eagles’ impressive resume.
“He held us to a high standard,” said Hampe, an Illinois-Chicago recruit. “If you were doing something wrong, he’d make you run. But he wouldn’t scream at you. We could make mistakes and he would make sure we would learn from them. He would look at things with a positive attitude, no matter what the score was. He always had the attitude that we were winning even if we weren’t.”
Morsovillo, 44, acknowledged that age and experience have altered his coaching style. What hasn’t changed, however, is his passion for the game and Sandburg.
Morsovillo was an all-area shortstop for the Eagles. He was a hard-nosed player, willing to sacrifice personal glory for team success.
After graduating in 1992, he starred at Western Illinois before returning to his alma mater.
He bided his time on the lower levels until veteran Sandburg coach Doug Sutor retired in 2011. Morsovillo is 163-64 in seven seasons, including 28-8 this season.
“Playing the game hard, hustling all the time, that’s something Doug pushed on all of us as players,” Morsovillo said. “That’s something the coaching staff still demands.”
It’s a tight-knit staff that includes hitting coach Chuck Peters, who like Morsovillo had a solid career at Sandburg, and pitching coach George Fear.
“Chuck has done an awesome job with the hitters,” Morsovillo said. “He spends time before every game going over how the hitters are going to approach the starting pitcher. George has done a phenomenal job with the pitchers. You look at this season how we had multiple pitchers step up.”
Shortstop Branden Comia was a four-year starter. He said Morsovillo puts a premium on playing the game the right way.
“Right out of the (batter’s) box he wants you thinking two (second base),” said Comia, an Illinois recruit. “During practice, he wanted us to act like it’s a game. Do your business the right way, on and off the field. I don’t think any other school would have prepared me for college better than Sandburg.”
The Eagles came up a bit short in their quest to win their first state championship since 2002. But Morsovillo was proud of his team.
“This group worked extremely hard, especially during the offseason in the weight room,” he said. “They put themselves in position to have a very successful season. We had different guys step up. We preach to take pride in wearing the blue-and-gold (school colors) and representing the school and community the right way. These guys did an outstanding job of that.”