The recruiting pitch from Morgan State head softball coach Larry Hineline to then-Pensacola State two-way player Victoria Fletcher was a simple one.
“Tori was a good high school player,” Hineline said. “She was contemplating not playing anymore, so I convinced her to come to Morgan State. I thought it was a good deal. She had all the athletic skill. That’s how and why we recruited her. … Coming back home was 98 percent of our selling point.”
Fletcher, a native of Huntingtown, Md., had an opportunity to return to her home state, though as she decided to come back home, her parents did the opposite, moving to Florida.
Despite her parents moving down to the Sunshine State, playing in Maryland on a team that was making a name for itself in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference truly made the decision a no-brainer for her.
“When I first committed out of high school, I wanted to go far from home,” said Fletcher, whose college career actually began at Lehigh. “Once I went down to Florida, I was like, ‘I think I’m ready to come back up to Maryland.’ It’s nice being in my home state. I’ve had a lot of success within Maryland in high school and now through college.”
She made the move following the 2021 season at Pensacola State. Since then, Fletcher has taken the MEAC by storm. The 5-foot-8 two-way star was MEAC Player of the Year in 2023 after going 9-5 in the circle with a 2.20 ERA in 70 innings pitched and hitting .345/.383/.561 with seven home runs and 43 RBIs.
Fletcher found out she earned second-team All-MEAC honors as an infielder and third-team honors as a pitcher prior to learning she won Player of the Year.
“I was in shock,” Fletcher said. “When they went through awards, I was on third-team and second-team all-conference, but not on first team in anything. I was like, ‘There’s no way I got it at this point.’ When they called me for it, it was so surreal. Being there with all my teammates and seeing how they reacted to it was the best part of it.”
Fletcher was as big of a star at Huntingtown High School as she has become in college, and Hineline wanted to get her into the program from the jump. The coach luckily got his chance a few years later, and since joining the program, Fletcher has brought with her a high-caliber work ethic and a desire to get better that has not only pushed her but other teammates as well.
“She’s a prize,” Hineline said. “The transfer portal is a mixed bag. Generally speaking, the transfer portal is not really good for Morgan State and other teams in our situation. … Tori was a local girl and we had some idea of how good she was. It was a big plus for us in finding her and we’ve been happy to have her. She’s done really well here.”
The rise of MLB superstar Shohei Ohtani has caused an uptick of two-way players in baseball, but the role has always been common in softball. And in the world of college softball, Fletcher is one of the best at it right now.
She struggled with the bat in 2022 but posted a 2.30 ERA in 90 innings pitched.
“I really started the two-way thing when I was a freshman at Lehigh,” Fletcher said. “I started playing the field there and started hitting more. It took a few years to get to where I am now, but I learned then that I could do so much more and contribute more than just pitching.”
The 2023 season proved to be a breakout year at the plate, as she led the Bears in home runs, RBIs, slugging percentage, OPS, hits, doubles and total bases.
“I’m proud that we’ve been able to deliver everything we’ve promised her,” Hineline said. “… In the beginning, she was a little rusty, but she’s just a dominant hitter right now. She can really, really rake, and she’s got power, unbelievable power.”
With a combination of contact and power at the plate and an effective arsenal of pitches and a desire to shut teams down from the circle, Fletcher has proven she is an elite player.
The accolades speak for themselves in that regard, but more than anything, Fletcher wants to bring home hardware.
It has been three years since Morgan State won the MEAC and went to the NCAA Tournament. With Fletcher and two-time reigning conference Pitcher of the Year Anaya Hunte leading the way, the Bears are determined to make it back there.
“Luckily, I have another year, but this graduating class, they want to go out with a bang the way they came in,” Fletcher said. “They’re the first class to have made it to the NCAA regionals. … Going into this season, I’m hungry to start playing and getting into conference play. We have a lot to prove this season.”
Photo Credit: Courtesy of MSU Athletics
Issue 285: February/March 2024
Originally published Feb. 21, 2024