« Ellsbury back in lineup for Red Sox | Main | Grzebien earns Open berth »

June 10, 2008

Warwick's Morse named Gatorade Softball Player of the Year

The Gatorade Company, in partnership with RISE Magazine, announced Steph Morse of Warwick Veterans High School as its 2007-08 Gatorade Rhode Island Softball Player of the Year. Morse, the state’s returning Gatorade Softball Player of the Year, is the first Gatorade Rhode Island Softball Player of the Year to be chosen from Warwick Veterans High School.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Morse as Rhode Island’s best high school softball player. Morse is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year award to be announced this month.

The senior catcher produced a .525 batting average, 20 RBI, 15 runs scored and two home runs this season, leading the Hurricanes (7-11) to the Division I state tournament. A three-time First Team All-State selection, Morse compiled a .533 on-base percentage and a slugging percentage of .847 this spring.

Also a 2007 All-American as named by the National Softball Coaches Association of America, Morse has maintained a 3.92 GPA in the classroom. She donates her time as a peer tutor at Warwick Veterans High in addition to volunteering as part of multiple community-service initiatives on behalf of the National Honor Society and Spanish National Honor Society.

“She’s the kind of person who can single-handedly change the course of a game,” said Dennis Kennedy, head coach at rival Bay View Academy. “She’s the scariest hitter to face in the state. She’s got every tool you could want. That’s the kind of player who can impact a game in a lot of different ways.”

Morse has signed a National Letter of Intent to play softball at Assumption College this fall.

Two-time winner Morse joins recent Gatorade Rhode Island Softball Players of the Year Samantha Shawn (2005-06, Westerly HS) and Kayleigh Lotti (2004-05, St. Raphael Academy) among the state’s list of former award winners.

Posted by Corey Bourassa  at 4:27 PM to High School | Permalink

Comments

Post a comment

Please be civil. Vicious comments, personal attacks and profanity won't be published.

Name:

Email Address:

URL:
Remember Me? YesNo

Comments: (you may use HTML tags for style)