MANCHESTER, N.H. – Morgan Perry '21, a recent graduate of Saint Anselm College and a member of its nationally-ranked softball team, was awarded the institution's Hawks Soar Higher Female Student-Athlete of the Year on Friday.
A Nursing major at Saint Anselm, Perry concluded a decorated career with an impressive 2021 season that saw her earn the nation's highest pitching honor, picking up Schutt Sports/National Fastpitch Coaches' Association Division II Pitcher of the Year plaudits in early June.
With Friday's announcement, Perry becomes the first member of the Hawks softball team to win Female Student-Athlete of the Year honors since Andrea Messina '03, a standout pitcher in her own right, did so in 2003.
The most decorated pitcher in Saint Anselm softball history, Perry won D2CCA Ron Lenz National Pitcher of the Year honors last week and was a two-time D2CCA East Region Pitcher of the Year (2019, 2021). Additionally, she collected NFCA First Team All-America honors on May 25 and was a First Team All-Region selection by the same organization.
Within the Northeast-10 Conference, Perry has won the league's Pitcher of the Year honor twice (2019, 2021) and helped Saint Anselm win its third consecutive Northeast Division Regular Season Championship. The Hawks have also won the program's first two Northeast-10 Conference postseason titles with her assistance (2019, 2021). In the last four seasons, the Hawks own a 134-34-1 (.796) overall record.
"Morgan has helped to elevate the softball program at Saint Anselm to new heights," said Head Coach Jill Gagnon. "She has broken virtually every pitching record established across our program's 40-yaer history. She leads by example and works harder than any student-athlete on the team – she is never satisfied with her performance."
In 2021, Perry posted a 1.01 earned-run average across 138.2 innings of work, winning 20 of her 23 starts for Saint Anselm. Striking out 222 batters on the season, she fired 12 shutouts, registered two no-hitters and tallied the program's first-ever perfect game. Her 11.2 strikeouts per seven innings rate is third among NCAA Division II pitchers.
She began the season with 19 wins in 19 starts, logging an 0.48 earned-run average and 209 strikeouts in her first 116 innings pitched. In her first five starts alone, she pitched 33 innings and allowed no earned runs, striking out 73 batters – she threw a no-hitter in her team's season debut, her first start in 378 days.
In the NE10 Tournament, Perry yielded just three runs and struck out 27 batters to lift Saint Anselm to its second NE10 postseason championship on May 14. Due to her effort in that tournament, Perry was named to the All-Tournament Team shortly after earning the second NE10 Northeast Division Pitcher of the Year award in her career.
During the NCAA Division II East Region Championship, Perry pitched three games and struck out 25 batters in 19 innings, winning two games and conceding only four runs in total. She struck out 13 batters against No. 22 Georgian Court on May 21, just one day after fanning six batters versus Adelphi, which set up the Hawks to win the team's second regional championship on May 22.
Allowing three earned runs or more on just three occasions, including once to the eventual NCAA Division II National Champions from West Texas A&M, Perry limited her opposition to two or less runs in 20 starts. In total, she registered 12 starts with 10 or more strikeouts, including a season-high 18 against Saint Michael's on Apr. 23.
Firing three complete games in the East Region Championship, Perry broke the program's all-time record for shutouts (76 – Lori Cillo '94), establishing a new career record at season's end with 80 shutouts. Her 12 shutouts in 2021 is a single-season record, as is her .164 batting average against in 2021.
She capped the season ranked within the top-10 nationally in several statistics, including hits allowed per seven innings (4.04 – sixth), strikeouts (222 – sixth), earned-run average (1.01 – ninth), WHIP (0.85 – ninth), and complete games (20 – 10th).
Off the field, Perry was a key part of the College's athletics COVID-19 response. A Nursing major on the Hilltop, she was one of a select group of student-athletes hired to provide assistance with the student-athlete NCAA surveillance testing program. Regularly waking up at six in the morning for 7 a.m. testing, Perry helped to ensure the safety of student-athletes across the College's 17 varsity sports during the spring semester.
Perry wraps up an illustrious career with program records in career pitching victories (87), appearances (122), starts (114), complete games (80), shutouts (37), innings pitched (704.2) and strikeouts (776).
"Morgan is respected by her teammates both on and off the field," said Gagnon. "She has undoubtedly left her mark not only on the Saint Anselm softball program, but on NCAA Division II softball history as well."
She was joined on the ballot by Julia Hand '21 (field hockey), Elise Jolly '21 (volleyball), Katy Meehan '21 (women's ice hockey) and Peyton Steinman '21.
