On Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017, Cheltenham senior Morgan Gianelle was recognized for signing a letter of intent to continue her softball career at Marist College. (Photo provided by Cheltenham High School)
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Morgan Gianelle – Marist College (Softball)
Major: Chemistry
Final list of colleges: Marist, Delaware, Binghamton, Syracuse, Boston College
Reasons for choosing Marist: “I chose Marist because of the coach, the campus, and the Physician Assistant program they have at the school. The Marist Coach, Joe Ausanio, recruited and brought me onto the campus, and I absolutely fell in love with it. The campus is along the Hudson River in Poughkeepsie, NY. Coach Joe was very welcoming and represented what the program was about. Also, Marist has the degree in the career I want to pursue which is Physician Assistant. I knew I made the right decision to attend Marist when the school had all the aspects I want in my future academic and athletic careers.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in softball at the collegiate level? “I knew I wanted to play in college in the middle of my ninth grade year. And by sophomore year, I was playing in the top college showcases from Florida all the way to California. I began to attend multiple campuses on my open weekends and attended softball camps at the schools. I made multiple phone calls, and sent many emails to let schools know that I was interested in them and to invite them to see me play in the college showcases. By the summer of 2016, Coach Joe invited my family and I onto the campus and I made a verbal commitment to Marist College.”
Coach Ron Perlstein says: “She’s just a great ballplayer, and she’s in every sense of the word the real deal. She can hit, she’s a fabulous fielder - she works endlessly on her fielding, going to her right and her left. She’s quick, and her power at the plate - I’ve never had anybody with that kind of power, and she just works on getting more power. When she gets in a rhythm, she’s a pretty tough at-bat. She plays the hot corner, and she has very good hands, a very quick release. She’s capable of going to her right on her knees and getting up and making an out. She loves to get dirty. She’s just as aggressive as you can be at a position you have to be really, really aggressive. She’s a dynamite hot corner player.
“I have three real good seniors who are four-year starters. Morgan leads by example. She’s very composed all the time. She’s not as vocal as some of the other seniors, but she has a look in her eyes that the underclassmen and all the other players admire and follow. She’s earned that. As a coach, you live for ball players like this that live this game – that hit the ball hard every time and field as well as they can field. Every hop to them is personal. She’s that kind of player, and it’s just a great experience to see this kind of softball players.”
About Morgan
Favorite food: Buffalo Wings
Favorite movie: The Dark Knight
Favorite music: Alternative
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