A Dynamic Diamond Duo

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS YOUR BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT TO DATE (NOT NECESSARILY SOFTBALL RELATED)?

Morgan Decker: My greatest achievement would be winning Rookie and Player of the Year in my freshman season, which is something I never would have thought I would do.

Emily Brusher: My biggest accomplishment would be scoring over 1,000 points in basketball and having over 1,000 strikeouts in softball throughout my high school career. I’ve been told it’s the first time anyone in New Jersey has done it but I, honestly, am not sure. I love this because it encompassed my two favorite sports.

FROM WHAT OR FROM WHOM DO YOU DRAW YOUR MOTIVATION?

MD: I’m motivated by my teammates and my family, but I am also naturally a very competitive person, so I would say a huge motivator for me is my hatred of losing. I want to be the best on the field every day in every at bat, and I think that is what keeps me motivated the most.

EB: I am motivated by my family. I consider myself to have two families; my blood family and my softball family.  My parents and my sister have done everything they could to provide and give me the best childhood I could have imagined. They’ve sacrificed so much for me with sports and I am motivated to show them it was all worth it. There have been so many great softball players, both present and now alumni that have motivated me. One in particular is Lisa Sweeney. She had an amazing career as a pitcher at Lehigh and now coaches at Prince-ton. She is also an amazing woman who has, probably unknowingly, motivated me to keep pushing forward and challenge her astonishing accolades.

MORGAN, WHAT’S ONE FUN FACT ABOUT EMILY? EMILY, WHAT’S ONE FUN FACT ABOUT MORGAN?

MD: Emily is a huge cat lover.

EB: A fun fact about Morgan is that she watches Bull Durham before the start of every season.

WHO WOULD YOU SAY HAVE BEEN YOUR BEST MENTORS?

MD: My parents, who have always supported me and who have always guided me through when I feel like I’m not playing my best. They always know what to say to lift my spirits and remind me who I am as a person and as a player. My upperclassmen and teammates are also mentors in the sense that I learn from all of them on a daily basis.

EB: I would say my biggest mentor would be my first softball coach. She taught me so much about the game, that it was so much more than physical.  The first lesson she taught me was that the game of softball was 90 percent mental. Her first lesson has stayed with me until this day.  

HOW DOES THE LEADERSHIP FROM ALL THE PLAYERS AND COACHES IN THE PROGRAM PLAY A ROLE IN SUSTAINING YOUR LEVEL OF ACHIEVEMENT?

EB: I think that everyone on our team knows their role and fulfills that role to the best of their ability, and that all starts with strong leadership by the coaches as well as the players on the field who make sure everyone is getting their job done. This understanding and organization is something that is key to all successful teams, including our program.

MD: It all starts with the type of girls coach strives to bring into the program. He knows that cohesion isn’t just important on the field.  He has recruited girls who have meshed and learned to become a family off the field. I swear that’s why we’re so successful, because we live and die for each other on and off the field. The leaders in the past have paved the way for me and for those after me.  I have learned how to approach situations and how to lead by example and vocally in my first two years, enough that a captain role was bestowed upon me. I am so honored to have this position this year and will continue to pave the way for leaders in the future. Our success, though, doesn’t just come from the appointed leaders, it comes from the fact that the whole team strives to be leaders themselves. I truly believe that everyone in the program has developed a bond that nothing will ever compare to. Lehigh Softball is a pretty amazing program to be a part of.