By Jim Hague
There’s a deep rooted secret why Rutgers-Newark softball standout Elena Morge has been so successful in her young career.
It can be traced to her background in gymnastics. Morge was a highly competitive gymnast through her childhood into her days at Cranford High School and she firmly believes that her days as a gymnast have helped her as a softball player.
“It definitely kept me in shape and helped my endurance,” said Morge, a sophomore outfielder and pitcher with the Scarlet Raiders. “Gymnastics is a lot about balance and I think it helped me with my balance, both when hitting and pitching. I really think it did help me out a lot.”
Nowadays, Morge strictly concentrates on her softball talents as one of the most versatile performers in the New Jersey Athletic Conference.
As a freshman last season, Morge earned First Team All-ECAC Metro and All-NJAC as a utility player, becoming the first freshman in Rutgers-Newark history to earn that distinction. She batted .455 with a school record seven home runs and led the Scarlet Raiders in practically every offensive category.
Morge also won seven games on the mound and led the team with 78 strikeouts in 108 innings.
While Morge’s offensive numbers have dipped a little this season, she’s still leading the team with a .355 batting average and five homers with 19 RBI.
“I know I had a better season last year,” Morge said. “I really worked hard to try to keep it going from last year. I take a lot of pride in my hitting and worked a lot in the summer and fall.”
Morge has a 3.61 earned run average and two victories on the mound in 14 pitching appearances this season.
“It’s really hard to be a pitcher in college,” Morge said. “There’s so much pressure. You have to pitch well every single time you’re out there. I think everything was a little harder for me this year than last year. I don’t know why that is.”
Regardless, first-year Rutgers-Newark head softball coach Patty Clarke will take whatever Morge has to give her program.
“She’s just a superior athlete,” Clarke said. “She was a steal for this program. She’s definitely our best athlete and our strongest athlete. I was very impressed with her ability right away. When I researched our returning players, I knew that she was remarkable in her versatility. She’s a very good outfielder and we knew we had to put her in the best position to help this team.”
Clarke said that the Scarlet Raiders struggled when Morge missed eight games this season due to an injured hand.
“She has been the mainstay of our offense and when we didn’t have her, things got really tough,” Clarke said.
“That was so hard for me, sitting on the bench and not being able to do anything to help,” Morge said. “I really wished that I could play.”
Since Morge has returned from the injury, she’s been leading the Scarlet Raiders through a very tough season.
“Even though it’s been a tough season, I think we’ve hung in there and played together,” Morge said.
Clarke is grateful to have Morge for two more seasons.
“She’s as smooth as silk,” Clarke said. “Nothing seems to faze her. You could stand before her with a weapon and she wouldn’t react. She doesn’t get frazzled and upset. And she loves competition. She wants to win more than anyone. I can see her emotions that she would rather smile than sneer, but when it comes down to playing, she can be tough. She’s really been a pleasure to work with.”
Morge didn’t know what to think when the school didn’t have a softball coach for so long.
“I was really worried that we weren’t going to have a season,” Morge said. “I had been working out, pitching with my Dad, going to the batting cages. But we didn’t know anything and that was tough.”
However, things changed for the better when Clarke was hired in early February.
“I definitely like her a lot,” Morge said. “We get along well. She knows the game well and takes pride in the program.”
Clarke feels like Morge can be one of the people to lead the R-N program back to respectability.
“I’m hoping once we’re able to bring a few more players on to campus, we can bring the program to a different level and Elena will be a huge part of that,” Clarke said. “It will only enhance her talents. I truly believe that the sky’s the limit with her. She really could become an All-American. She’s that talented. But you need to have a successful program to have that happen. We need the people to compliment her. She has unbelievable potential.”
When Morge heard that her coach thought she had the potential to be an All-American, she was moved.
“It’s very flattering and I appreciate it a lot,” Morge said. “It’s very nice of her to say that.”
“Elena’s also a great teammate,” Clarke said. “No one says a bad thing about her. I just think she needs to work a little harder. The only thing she has to improve is her work ethic.”
“She’s right about that,” Morge said. “I think I just have to keep working to move forward.”
So does gymnastics help to produce better softball players?
“I really do think there’s a correlation between the two,” Clarke said. “Gymnastics is very stressful and if you’re able to handle that stress, then you can play softball. There’s a strength factor that also carries over in all phases of both.”
Maybe it could lead to different workout regimen in the future.
In any case, Morge, who is a psychology major at Rutgers-Newark, has retired from competitive gymnastics. The dreams of becoming the next Nadia Comeneci are gone.
“Not in this lifetime,” Morge said. “I’ll settle for being a great softball player.”
