Jacquelyn Morrison was a four-year varsity player for the Lady Lancers with numerous accolades. Photo courtesy of Jacquelyn Morrison

RANCHO CORDOVA, CA (MPG) - A 2003 graduate from Cordova High School, Jacquelyn Morrison has fond memories of her time on the softball field. 

Morrison, whose maiden name is Gehrke-Jones, was a four-year starter on varsity from 1999 to 2003.

Among Morrison’s accolades is being a two-time All-League performer, including when she led the Lady Lancers in batting average (.421) and hits (32) during her senior season. Morrison was also named the Most Valuable Player of the 2003 North State All Star Game and went on to play collegiately at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo where she earned Second Team All-Big West honors. Reminiscing about her time playing at Cordova, Morrison said that she “had a great time” doing it. 

“I just remember having fun,” she said. “We were very good and we had a young team on varsity, so it was new and exciting for all of us. It was also a way for all of us to kind of grow together and I think that helped us to be as good as we were. It was fun; we played well together and we all got along pretty well."

Jacquelyn Morrison went on to play college softball at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo. Photo courtesy of Jacquelyn Morrison

Morrison, who was recently selected for induction into the Rancho Cordova Sports Hall of Fame, said she is looking forward to reuniting with former teammates during the induction ceremony this fall. 

"It's great," Morrison said. "I haven't been back in a long time and I've seen in the last few years a few of my teammates getting inducted and I thought it was great. This year, Keyana (Smith) is going in with me and I haven't seen her since high school, so that's going to be great."

Morrison is today a senior analyst for Duke Energy, one of the largest energy companies in the country. Now living in Indiana, Morrison looks back on her time at Cordova as a period in her life that helped her immensely when she became a member of the workforce. 

"With teams and that environment, you learn how to work together, you learn how to disagree with people but work through those differences. You learn how to read the room and that was what I feel like I took from it,” Morrison said. “When I went onto college and then the workforce, honestly one of the Number One selling points on my resume was my athletic career. It was that I played team sports, I stuck with it, I was committed and that was one of the Number One things that helped me get jobs."

Although delighted by being selected for the Hall of Fame, Morrison has a very humble perspective on the accomplishment. 

"It's a little intimidating," Morrison said. "Honestly, I kind of feel dorky. I don't know if that's the word I should use but I'm like, really? I guess you don't think of yourself that way. I'm honored."

The Cordova Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13 at Rancho Cordova City Hall, 2729 Prospect Park Drive. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased at https://form.jotform.com/cordovacouncil/rcaa-reception-tickets-2025.