Warriors' Morawski signs with Pitt CC

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on May 30, 2014 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

Brooke Morawski apologized for bumping into the gentleman in the hallway.

Nervous about her placement tests, she asked him for directions. He obliged, she thanked him and hurried on her way.

They would soon meet again -- on the softball diamond.

Morawski had no idea she'd met Pitt Community College head softball coach Junior Bailey until someone told her after the placement tests had ended. Eager to continue her softball career, she talked with Bailey and attended a tryout for unsigned high school seniors.

A day of hitting, fielding ground balls and constant instruction from Bailey -- who eats, breathes and sleeps softball 24/7 -- kept Morawski on her toes.

"It was nerve-wrecking, but once you got into it, it was fine," Morawski said.

Once tryouts ended, Bailey talked further with Morawski and scheduled an official recruiting visit. The two talked during their meeting and Bailey laid everything out before the Eastern Wayne senior, including a national letter-of-intent.

The ink hardly had time to dry once Morawski signed it and handed it back to her future coach.

"His thing is that every day you're fighting for a spot," said Morawski, who batted .371 this season. "I could be fighting in my catcher spot or I could be fighting for a spot in the outfield. He says every day is a new day and no one is guaranteed a spot.

"I could take someone's spot or sit the bench. Either way, I'm happy to part of the team and learn a lot more. It's about the team winning and whatever it takes to get to the championship."

Pitt finished 27-7 this spring and lost to Spartanburg-Methodist in the region/district finals. The loss prevented the Bulldogs from making their third consecutive trip to the National Junior College Athletic Association tournament, and fourth appearance in the last five years overall.

Bailey has to replace 10 players.

"Brooke is a very strong player, her heart's in it," said second-year EW head coach Jackie Lewis. "Brooke's biggest downfall is Brooke because she putts too much pressure on herself and I hope next year she learns to channel that pressure out onto the field and not internalize it like she's done.

"She's got a great experience ahead of her."

And a tough one, too.

Morawski must complete a one-mile run in 8 1/2 minutes before she can even step onto the softball diamond, a requirement Bailey has for every player on the team. Once she achieves that task, she must get used to the speed of the collegiate game and the grind of playing doubleheaders.

A versatile infielder, Lewis hopes to see Morawski step further outside the box at Pitt.

"The situation we were in this year, we kind of took the 'Big Brother' motto, 'expect the unexpected,' because you're going to play anywhere we can find you (a spot) that's going to benefit the team," Lewis said.

The same could happen at Pitt.