With mom's support, Morissette hits for cycle

With his mother in the stands for the first time in his professional career, Marlins No. 20 prospect Cody Morissette hit for the cycle in Double-A Pensacola's 12-9 victory over Mississippi on Tuesday night.

"Definitely a really, really cool experience for me and my family," Morissette told MLB.com of his mother, Kristen, seeing him play. "Every time she tried to come out, it just hasn't worked out. She's been coaching softball. My dad's seen me play a few times. But having her here today, I definitely wanted to do something special. I didn't know it was going to be like this, but it was definitely really cool. I definitely gave them one to remember today."

Morissette, whom Miami selected in the second round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Boston College, is the third player in the organization to achieve the feat this season. Luis Arraez became the first Marlin to do so on April 11, and Victor Mesa Jr. followed suit a week later for the Blue Wahoos.

The 23-year-old Morissette flied out to right in the first, but he collected hits in each of his next four at-bats for the cycle. He produced an RBI double to center in the third, knocked a two-run homer to right-center in the fourth, led off the sixth with a triple to right and reached on an infield single to third in the seventh.

"I really wasn't thinking much," said Morissette, whose line ended with an eighth-inning flyout into foul territory. "I thought I hit it hard enough where they might give it a hit. Not the best way to get it. But again, it's one of the cooler things I've done in my baseball career, so I was very happy that the booth gave it to me."

Cody Morissette has hit for the cycle! And what a way to cap it off!@CodyMorissette pic.twitter.com/YHqxSMQm7Q

— Pensacola Blue Wahoos (@BlueWahoosBBall) June 14, 2023

Tuesday easily marked the best performance of the season for Morissette, who underwent reconstruction of his right ankle toward the end of last year and then sustained a setback early in camp that made him miss all of Spring Training.

After playing at High-A Beloit in 2022, Morissette rehabbed for 14 games at Single-A Jupiter to open '23 before being promoted to Double-A. Through 37 games with the Blue Wahoos, he is batting .234 with a .703 OPS. But in eight games this month, Morissette is 12-for-30 (.400) with three doubles, two homers, 11 RBIs, two walks and four strikeouts.

Morissette has needed to get used to better pitching and a more sped-up game. He has leaned on his more experienced teammates, who have reminded him to slow things down, have fun and make adjustments.

"Definitely been struggling coming back from injury last year, making the jump to Double-A this year," said Morissette, who had never hit for the cycle before. "But making some adjustments right now, starting to see the ball better, swinging the bat better. Just talking to some of the older guys here has definitely helped me adjust to this level, and I finally feel like I'm playing at a pretty high level."

Primarily manning second and third base for a good Pensacola infield, Morissette's goal for 2023 is fairly simple.

"I want to keep winning, that's the biggest thing," Morissette said. "We have a really talented team here. The end goal for all of us is to get to Miami. But right now, we're all locked down on making adjustments here. We're a couple games away from winning this division. That's the biggest thing. Let's chase after championships, whatever level we're at. That's the goal this year."