Nansemond River High School senior Morgan Lowers saw a softball game on television when she was 5 or 6 years old, and it ignited a dream of hers to play the sport at the college level.

A signing ceremony this past week at Nansemond River served as a public announcement that her dream is becoming a reality. The Lady Warriors standout committed to attend and play softball for Winthrop University before a group of family, friends and coaches.

Commanding the respect of a Division I program and having the opportunity to sign “was a big deal to me just because of all the hard work,” she said, adding she was relieved to have achieved the milestone.

Her softball journey to this point has spanned roughly a decade, starting when she was 7 years old playing for Bennett’s Creek Little League.

She eventually left there, and the first travel ball organization she played with was Galaxy Fastpitch, with which she competed from ages 10 to 15. After that, she moved over to the Virginia Legends, with which she still plays now.

Her college search boiled down to two schools — Winthrop and Jacksonville University. She visited both but ultimately went with Winthrop.

“Winthrop was just a newer school and everything was just completely brand new, and it just seemed like more of a fit to me,” she said.

Her parents, Mike and Kim Lowers, expressed their joy in seeing their daughter’s hard work pay off.

“It means a lot,” said Mike Lowers. “To be able to play at a Division I level is a significant accomplishment, in my view anyways, that’s playing with the best of the best out there, and she has worked hard to do that.”

In the past, he noted while some youths were going to the beach, Morgan was going to practice, or to a tournament “or just going to hit to try to get better.”

She said her commitment to Winthrop involves a partial scholarship for both athletics and academics.

“I was actually fortunate that I even got a scholarship,” she said, noting they were out of money to give but found some somewhere to make it work.

She plans to major in mass communications and broadcasting and would like to be a talk show host.

“I just love communications and dealing with other people,” she said, agreeing that these strengths have made her a good centerfielder.