Biography
2023: Followed up on her extraordinary debut year with a second consecutive All-Big South postseason accolade, this time earning a First-Team grant from the league after putting up more home runs than any other player in the conference (13)...Needed only two years at the collegiate level to become PC's new all-time leader in total homers (29), balancing duties as the team's number two pitcher with DP and outfield responsibilities...Tallied a slugging percentage of .603 as a sophomore, both the fourth-highest mark in the Big South and fourth-highest clip over a single year in Blue Hose history...Her 29 RBI and 76 total bases were both team-high numbers, ranking second on the squad in runs scored (23) as well as third in hits (34) and walks (14)...Gathered eight multi-hit efforts as a sophomore next to eight different instances with two runs batted in or better, equaling a career-high five RBI in a visiting capacity at East Carolina (March 19)...Went yard twice in the same contest on three occasions, batting .270 beside a team-best .955 OPS...Tossed 54.2 innings during Big South meetings when in the circle, claiming a personal win against eight schools overall next to 98 strikeouts...Pitched the entire seven frames 13 times while earning a pair of shutouts, the highlight of which came in her first starting role on Feb. 10 in a 14-K one-walk blanking of Bellarmine, a contest where she also secured two runs, two RBI, and her first dinger of the year...Threw four consecutive complete games from Feb. 26-March 11, a sequence capped off with another silencing of Queens at home...Opponents batted .257 off Hess, the second-lowest mark among the PC bullpen, allowing the second-year star to reach 31 punchouts strictly in league affairs with two conference W's to her name...Named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District lineup after posting a 3.5 grade-point average, one of three players on the team to gain that recognition for combined efficiency on the field and in the classroom.
2022: Generated arguably the greatest freshman season in the history of Presbyterian softball, setting a new school record in five separate offensive categories while splitting time between the designated player spot and the pitcher's circle...Her .379 batting average, 50 RBI, 112 total bases, 16 home runs, and .848 slugging percentage all stand as the most by any Blue Hose member across a single season in PC history, while simultaneously leading all players in the Big South over the latter three categories...Beyond placing first in the league in homers, slugging, and TB, finished inside the top three in the conference with 14 doubles (2nd) and a .453 on-base clip (3rd), the latter sitting in a tie for 2nd-place for a single year in Presbyterian's history...Started 50 bouts at the DP slot with 26 separate appearances as a hurler, collected an astonishing 30 extra-base swings as a collegiate rookie while drawing 22 walks...Completed 12 multi-hit performances, including a perfect 3-for-3 in a trio of meetings against NC Central (Feb. 18), Saint Peter's (March 4), and Winthrop (April 24)...Helped send PC to the Big South Tournament Semifinals by virtue of a 4-for-4 dissection of Charleston Southern (May 12) that included a pair of home runs, a double, and a season-best five RBI to land the freshman on the league's All-Tournament team...Found home plate twice in the same contest on eight different dates, driving in a total of eight runs in a four-game window during non-conference competition...Reached base in 12 consecutive games midway through the semester, blasting two doubles and two homers in the postseason alone...Proved to be just as formidable defensively as she was with a bat in her hands, piling up 144 strikeouts when enacting pitching duties - the second-most in a single year in school history - while grabbing 15 individual victories, ranking third all-time in Clinton for a single campaign...Ranked inside the Big South's top five in ERA (1.76, 3rd), K's per game (7.94, 4th), and opposing batting average (.212, 5th)...Tossed 12 complete games to the tune of six shutout wins in 127 innings, conceded two hits or less against seven different opponents while going the full distance in four Big South meetings, all victories...Pitched at least five innings while giving up two runs or less against 11 separate teams, retiring eight batters or more against nine different lineups...Named Big South Player of the Week on Feb. 22 following four straight W's by a combined margin of 40-2, batting .637 in those matchups on seven scores, two doubles, and eight runs batted in, pitching an additional 8.1 frames with 11 strikeouts on two hits allowed in back-to-back shutouts...Earned Big South Freshman of the Week status on three separate occasions (March 21, April 25, & May 2)...Punctuated her phenomenal freshman season by earning All-Big South 2nd team status.
High School: Named All-State, All-Region, All-Conference and All-Loudoun County in both 2018 and 2019 … 2019 All-Metro honorable mention … Team was conference runner-up, region runner-up and qualified for the state tournament in both 2018 and 2019 … Posted a 1.80 ERA with 205 strikeouts and hit .385 with five home runs … Was the Team MVP in 2019 and won the Coaches Award in 2018 … Carried a 4.0 GPA and was enrolled in AP, Dual and Honors classes … Member of the Freedom Eagles Leadership Team and the school orchestra.
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Club: Played with Stars National – Belfield … Had a 1.01 ERA while also hitting three home runs in the summer of 2020 … Named a 2020 Summer All-American … Helped the team finish as runner-up at the Florida USSSA Invitational and in third place at Myrtle Beach Nationals.
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Personal: Born Morgan Catherine Hess in Alexandria, Va., to Kimberly and Raymond Hess … Older sister, Kensley, plays softball at Christopher Newport University … Chose PC because it offered the majors I was looking for, it felt like home and being around the team was a good environment … Intends to major in Psychology and Sociology and wants to work for the FBI.
