Elsa Morrison was ready for the moment and delivered
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – Imagine stepping to the plate on softball’s biggest stage for the first time and blasting a three-run home run off one of college softball’s best pitchers. You would think there’d be nerves at least.
“Everybody was talking about nerves, breathing, whatnot,” Elsa Morrison said after Tennessee’s win over the Texas Longhorns. “I had complete peace in the box knowing that the girls in the dugout would have my back no matter the outcome.”
Morrison, the freshman catcher from Knoxville, Tenn., came into the day with just six home runs on the season and quickly put her mark on the game in the second inning of Thursday’s win.
After Teagan Kavan made quick work of the Lady Vols in the first inning, she issued a hit-by-pitch to Alannah Leach and a walk to Makenzie Butt that set up a game-changing opportunity. Morrison knew what to look for, and on the first pitch of her at-bat, she got it.
“Everything we prepared for was that up-spin speed, trying to win the belt today,” Morrison told Southeastern Softball Wire. “We had talked about being aggressive early in the count because we knew she would want to try and get up on us early. Just working down through the ball.”
Morrison has taken things in stride her freshman season. She is someone head coach Karen Weekly has trusted from the start. The work and mature approach Morrison displays is part of what impresses coaches and spectators. She does not seem like a freshman at all.
“It’s really her maturity,” Weekly said. “The season hasn’t been easy for her. It’s not like she’s batted .400 all year. You can tell everything about somebody when they’re struggling. When you watch her continue to work, there’s no drama with her.”
Her work and determination produced a 2-for-3 day in her Women’s College World Series debut. Morrison didn’t wait; she learned from past experiences and took what Kavan gave her.
“She used to take a lot of pitches early and get behind,” Weekly said. “She responded to the challenge. If they’re going to throw you something good early, you need to get on it, and you’re going to get results. Today that’s what she did. She got a pitch right away. She drove it for us.”
Now, Morrison and the Lady Vols have earned a day off Friday before returning to Devon Park to face the 2025 National Runner-Up, the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Tennessee will have the chance to propel itself into the National Semifinals with a win and battle against the high-caliber arms of NiJaree Canady and Kaitlyn Terry.
“It means the world getting to have an at-bat with the girls that I love and go to war with every single day,” Morrison said.
