One of the driving forces on the OC Batbusters-Haning team that won this year’s 2014 PGF 18U Premier National Championship was a catcher who’s Pac-12 bound and tells a great story of when she struck out six straight times and thought she’d be benched.  Not only did she start the next day, she came back with a… well, I’ll let her tell the story!

 

Name: MORGANNE FLORES
Grad Year: 2015
Pos: catcher
High School: Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.)
SAT: 1490
Club: OC Batbusters-Haning
Key Stats: hit .500 at PGF Nationals
Honors: 2013: All-State 2nd team, 1^st Team All-County, All-Trinity League and Woodbridge Tournament MVP; 2014: 2^nd Team Trinity League 2014
College: Washington

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FullCountSoftball.com: I’ve talked to several of your Batbuster teammates, like Taylor McQuillin and Amanda Lorenz, about their perspectives on the year and the National Championship… what’s the first thing that comes to mind for you when you reflect upon the past year?
Morganne Flores: The first thing that comes to my mind when I reflect upon this past year is how much hard work as a team we put into the entire season. The reason that we were so successful was because every weekend we worked our butts off so we wouldn’t have to revisit the feeling of being second place like last year. We held onto that feeling and used it as motivation to become successful this year.

FCS.com: As they say, you had the best seat in the house as the catcher of pitchers like Taylor, Kaylee Carlson and Mariah Lopez. What traits make these pitchers so good and among the best in the country?
MF: The traits that make these pitchers so good is their drive to compete and their work ethic. Each pitcher is successful in different ways with different styles and that’s what I love about this pitching staff.

FCS.com: For the Batbusters, who makes the calls on the pitches… the coaches, Taylor or you? And how often, if ever, do you “override” a call?
MF: In the beginning of the season I would call pitches, but during the end of the season, as Taylor started to throw a lot (Coach) Gary (Haning) would call pitches. He knows Taylor best and has worked with her and been around her longer than I have. I occasionally override a call when I know that a particular pitch would work better in a situation and I usually get a gut feeling about it.

 

FCS.com: What do you love most about catching and what is the most difficult part about the position?
MF: What I love most about catching is being able to help my pitcher be successful. There are many things that tie into helping your pitcher be successful like calling time out in the middle of the game to calm her down, or letting her know what pitches really aren’t working today. I have to say the best feeling is catching the last pitch of the strike out on a great hitter. The most difficult part about my position is making decisions about a play on the spot and trusting myself to lead the field, for instance, on a play going home, when you should yell to cut the ball and go to another base or letting the ball go through because you know for sure that you have a play at the plate. The hardest thing for me is trusting myself that I will make the right decision and not second guessing my judgment.

 

FCS.com: Let’s talk recruiting… do you remember when you first learned that a college was interested in you? Who was it and how did you find out?
MF: The first time I learned a college was interested in me was in 8th grade. It is actually a pretty funny story. Class just got out and my name was called over the loud speaker to please come to the front office because I had mail. So I walked to the front office and all my friends followed me and I got a huge letter from the University of Missouri. I was bouncing off the walls because that was my first letter from a school that I had looked into. All my friends were really happy for me because they knew how badly I wanted a letter and everyone huddled around me looking at the letter with me. It was a pretty cool experience receiving my first letter.

 

FCS.com: Tell us how you were first seen by the Husky coaches, then how long until they offered?
MF: I was first seen by the Husky coaches at an Allister camp (OnDeck Softball) I had done. They invited me to a camp and I decided to go. Then, I called Coach (Heather) Tarr a couple times and got invited to take an unofficial. A month later I went to Seattle and then they offered on my unofficial which was April of my freshman year.

 

FCS.com: When did you decide to commit and what led into the decision?
MF: I committed on the spot right after they offered. I knew right when I saw the campus that this was the school for me. What set Washington apart from the other schools I visited was the campus and how well I clicked with the coaches. I love Seattle, the beautiful campus, and how excellent the education is.

 

FCS.com: How did you tell the coaches, in person, on the phone, on an unofficial visit?
MF: I told my coaches on my unofficial visit in person.

 

FCS.com: You’ll be a couple hours away by plane… was the distance a factor in your decision at all?
MF: The distance was a factor. I wanted to be away from home and experience something other than California. I know I will definitely be home sick for awhile, but I feel that I need to experience something different.

 

FCS.com: What do you think you do well that earned you the scholarship to Washington?
MF: I think that I earned my scholarship by putting in all the extra work, by going to EM constantly, by busting my butt in every practice, and by overcoming my failures. One weekend we played at Huntington Beach Sports Complex in the beginning of the season. On Saturday I literally got six at bats and struck out each time and didn’t even put my bat on the ball. I was devastated and didn’t know what I should do at this point. I told myself that I need to push myself through this and that everyone has their bad days. My teammates helped me and told me that I was a great player and that they knew I could come back from what happened. My teammates were very supportive. So the next day we played Marty Tyson’s Corona Angels and I was thinking that there was no way I was going to start this game after what happened the day before. But I have a great coach, Mike Stith, who believed in me, so I started and I know that I needed to have some type of confidence in myself or I was going to have another bad day. So I went 3-for-3 with a solo home run and a grand slam to win the game. I was so proud of myself that I was able to mentally come back from a situation like that. Reflecting on that weekend gives me motivation that I can come back from any situation. That has definitely helped me to receive my scholarship from Washington.

 

FCS.com: What are you most proud of in your softball career?
MF: I am most proud of winning this years 18u Premiere National Championship with my amazing teammates.

 

Quick Hitters

 

What do you want to major in?
Business.

Fill in the blank… I love softball because:
… it has taught me many life lessons.

If you were President of the United States, what’s the first thing you’d work on?
Helping the homeless.

Favorite musical artist:
Jhene Aiko.

Least favorite chore:
Cleaning the cat litter box!

Favorite place to get away from the world:
The river.

What’s your ideal day look like?
A typical summer day: I wake up, brush my teeth, do the chores, workout, hang out with friends, come home, eat dinner, then go to bed.

What type of bat do you use (and why do you like it)?
I use a Mizuno bat because we are sponsored by Mizuno and they have really nice pop.

What’s your favorite movie of all time and why?
My all time favorite movie is the Notebook because I can watch it 100 times and it never gets old.

What’s something unusual or different about you that few know?
Something different about me is that I love to wakeboard.

Would you rather be a singer, painter, dancer or comedienne?
A dancer.

If you were stranded on a desert island and could only take one thing with you, what would it be?
A box of pizza.

Do you have any softball superstitions or rituals?
I always read my favorite page in Heads Up Baseball and pray.

What’s your philosophy on life?
Some people are meant to be great, and some are destined to fail.