Fitzgerald Continues All-American Pace
5/10/2001 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 10, 2001
Editor's Note: Articles such as this one by Rob Sinclair appear in each edition of the Baylor Bear Insider Report, available upon membership in the Baylor Bear Foundation. For information on joining the Bear Foundation, click here.
Making a statement along the lines of "As Naomi Fitzgerald goes, so go the Lady Bears," is a quick way to draw a rebuke from the Baylor softball team's center fielder.
Despite her gaudy offensive statistics (.359 batting average, .420 on-base percentage and 32 runs scored at the close of the regular season,) Fitzgerald is quick to point out that she is only one of 21 links in Baylor's chain. Even after garnering All-American honors last season she was sure to spread the credit around.
"I'm proud of it, of course," she said, "but I can't be an all-American if the players behind me don't fill their roles. For example, I can't score all those runs if the people behind me don't get me home. It's an individual honor but I have to thank the team."
RECOGNIZING THE contributions from everyone in the Baylor clubhouse is just one of the ways Fitzgerald has earned the respect of her coaches and teammates, and also her status as a team tri-captain. She also plays hurt. She takes practice seriously. She helps get her corner outfielders in the correct positions. In essence, she is the definition of a leader.
"I really think she's been the biggest leader on the team this year," said freshman Brittany Baker, who has often lined up next to Fitzgerald in left field this season. "She gets everybody pumped up. Everybody follows her and looks up to her. She comes out to practice and is always ready to work. It's what we need."
For all of her accomplishments though, it's hard to believe that Fitzgerald got a late start on her career. After spending the first 10 years of her childhood in Ohio, Fitzgerald, an only child, moved with her parents to Tennessee. It was there that she, along with her father Jim, began to hone her skills.
"My dad was an awesome athlete," Fitzgerald said. "Everything I've done I owe to him. He pushed me harder than anybody ever has. I've wanted to do well for him."
AT FRANKLIN HIGH SCHOOL in College Grove, Tenn., Fitzgerald got accustomed to being on the field early and often. She started all four years, hitting .580 her junior year and hitting .620 and being selected to the All-State team as a senior. It was also in high school that Fitzgerald played with current Baylor catcher Jen Polk on the Nashville Eagles team that won the 1997 under-18 American Softball Association national championship.
"It was a very close team back then," Polk recalled. "We were very talented for an under-18 team. We had fun playing. Nay was our leadoff hitter and pretty much always got on."
Since she arrived at Baylor, Fitzgerald has duplicated her high school experience by being almost impossible to take out of the lineup. She was the only freshman starter for Baylor in 1998, getting the call in all 57 games. She followed that with 51 games in 1999, 55 games last season and has started in center for all 58 games this year.
Paula Young coached Fitzgerald for her first three seasons, and in the press box this season delivered the most succinct and accurate account of Fitzgerald's talents.
"Naomi," Young said, "is probably the best recruit I ever had."
Now with only the Big 12 Conference tournament and a potential NCAA regional bid remaining in her Baylor career, Fitzgerald looked back on her four seasons.
Freshman year, 1998: Hit .317 with one home run and 12 RBI. Named a National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-America Scholar-Athlete and first-team Academic All-Big 12.
"It was a good year for a freshman," she said. "I started every game but I was still nervous hitting. And I was extremely homesick."
Sophomore year, 1999: Hit .276 with one home run and 14 RBI. Again named an NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete.
"I probably hit the ball harder than I've ever hit it," she said, "but I had that disease where I hit the ball right at somebody. I wasn't happy with my numbers. I felt like I let the team down."
Junior year, 2000: Hit .411 with no home runs and 16 RBI. Named NFCA All-American, first-team All-Big 12, first-team Academic All-Big 12 and first-team Academic All-American.
"I took more of a leadership role that year," she said. "I had my best year here."
Senior year, 2001: Hit .359 with no home runs and 11 RBI.
"This year has been very different because after three years you're used to a coaching staff," she said, referring to the change from Young to Glenn Moore. "There are different expectations and pressures. Coach Moore is a great coach and he tries to get the most out of the girls. He's very intense, and his attitude carries over."
BECAUSE HER OFFENSIVE production has been so good and so consistent, two aspects of Fitzgerald's game, speed and defense, are often sorely overlooked. With Naomi already entrenched in second place in the Baylor record books with 17 career stolen bases, Moore gave Fitzgerald the green light and she has responded with 15 swipes this season alone.
When employed in the outfield, Fitzgerald's wheels allow her to chase down fly balls and charge grounders. The final aspect of her defense is her arm, which can accurately be described as a laser. She has collected seven outfield assists this year and has a fielding percentage of .979.
"That's very important to me and it does get overlooked with the hitting," she said. "If my hitting is off, I can still make a big play defensively to make up for it."
After working out with Fitzgerald during the off-season, Polk could see Fitzgerald improving.
"In the game of fastpitch, it's hitting, hitting, hitting," Polk said. "But you've got to have a center fielder that can get the ball. She improved a whole lot. She definitely has a gun."
Of course, Fitzgerald's hitting has not been off very often this season.
She leads the Lady Bears in runs (32), hits (65), doubles (9), triples (3) and on-base percentage. She also ranks second on the team in batting average, total bases, slugging percentage, walks and stolen bases.
"When Naomi's up to bat I know we're going to get a good hit," Baker said.
THE KEY TO FITZGERALD'S success at the plate is her attitude. She happily admits to being "probably the most arrogant batter you'll ever run into," and knows she can make something happen each time she steps into the box.
"When I go up, it's with the idea that I'm better than (the pitcher)," she said. "I'm thinking about how hard and where I'm going to hit it."
The Lady Bears will be depending on Fitzgerald come the conference tournament May 9-12 in Oklahoma City, but she knows that it will take, as always, a team effort to be successful.
"We have to go down there and play," she said. "They're not going to hand us a regional bid. We can't be satisfied. We have to do more."
And with Fitzgerald's help, they will do it as a team.
Editor's Note: Articles such as this one by Rob Sinclair appear in each edition of the Baylor Bear Insider Report, available upon membership in the Baylor Bear Foundation. For information on joining the Bear Foundation, click here.
