Before entering the 4A regional championship game against High Point High on May 18, Eleanor Roosevelt High School’s softball Head Coach Delton Fuller asked his players if they still wanted to keep playing. His message came across loud and clear as the team dismantled High Point 11-0 in a match that only took five innings to complete.

Morgan Ottley bats for Eleanor Roosevelt in a regional championship game against High Point High. The Roosevelt Lady Raiders won 11-0. (Photo by Daniel Kucin)

Ranked as the No. 1 seed in the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA) postseason competition, the Lady Raiders enjoyed an exemption from the first round — and then took down Henry A. Wise Jr. High School 14-4 in the second round of play.

Eleanor Roosevelt followed up that masterful performance against rival Bowie High School in the next round by defeating the Lady Bulldogs with a score of 9-3 before asserting its dominance against High Point.

Part of the Lady Raiders success can be attributed to its trio of seniors. Infielder Morgan Ottley, starting pitcher Renee Rodgers, and Rebecca Lorente led the Greenbelt-based school to a 15-1 regular season record, and its squad is undefeated against all Prince George’s County challengers.

Nicknamed “silent but deadly,” Ottley is considered one of the strongest offensive threats on the team. “She makes some tremendous plays, and I wish I had at least three Morgans,” Fuller told the AFRO. “She has done everything that I’ve asked her to do, and she has been a good leader. When I told her that I need some seniors to step up, she filled right in. I wish I had her for another year.”

Ottley has played multiple positions all year. She currently boasts a batting average of .547, with 29 hits, 23 RBI and 24 runs scored.

Rodgers has been a nearly unstoppable force on the pitching rubber for the Lady Raiders. The senior has recently notched nine strikeouts against High Point in the regional championship game and only allowed three hits in the complete game performance. She also notched two hits and drove in three RBIs to dismantle the Eagles.

“It is a great feeling to give a boost to your team after swinging the bat,” Rodgers said about her performance against the Eagles. “I felt pretty good today even after throwing yesterday. My changeup and my screwball were working today to keep the batters off.”

Rodgers “has been killing the ball,” said Fuller. “She knows that with her senior leadership that everything goes through her and one thing that I’m not worried about is when we go to Bachman (Sports Complex) that she is going to give me 110 percent. She is a gamer, and I’m going to need her to rally up some of these girls.”

Last but not least, Lorente rounds out the big three for the Lady Raiders. Lorente hit an inside the park homerun to knock off High Point, and she has shown no signs of stopping anytime soon. She has a batting average of .400, 24 hits, 22 RBI and 32 runs so far.

“We are a close-knit team. We show up and give it our all every year so I like our chances,” Lorente told the AFRO.

Eleanor Roosevelt faced Northwest (who recently defeated Montgomery Blair 14-11 in the regional match) in the state semifinal game on May 23. They won/lost by a score of TK.