SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga softball team went 2-3 on the opening weekend, but the brightest part for the Lady Mocs was the pitching performances of junior Michelle Fuzzard (Huntington Beach, Calif.) after rehabbing the entire offseason following knee surgery. The Southern Conference Monday honored Fuzzard as the pitcher of the week for Feb. 10-13.
The Huntington Beach, Calif., native opened her season in the circle on Feb. 12 against Florida Atlantic throwing a complete game four hitter and striking out three. She was relieved to see that all of her hard work finally paid off.
“I was most worried about being mentally and physically ready to go back,” said Fuzzard following the Florida Atlantic loss. “I was not sure that I was going to be able to finish an entire game, but I was pretty proud of myself to go the distance. It was a big confidence booster for me.”
As Fuzzard was the most impressive pitcher through the first four games, she was given the nod to close the weekend against Fordham, who was receiving votes in the two national polls. Fuzzard continued to impress going 5.2 innings and totaled two strikeouts in picking up the victory. Senior Kandice Irwin (Knoxville, Tenn.) notched her second save of the season and finished up the shutout of the Rams.
“I think that Michelle Fuzzard did an awesome job of pitching today,” said Head Coach Frank Reed after the 1-0 victory against Fordham. “She should have come away with two wins and is showing so much promise in moving her pitches around.”
Starting the campaign at first base on Feb. 11, Fuzzard went 3-for-5 at the plate in a doubleheader against Florida Atlantic and Georgia Tech. She doubled in the third against the Owls after drawing a walk in her first at bat.
Last season, Fuzzard ended her year with a knee injury that required surgery stretching for a ball at first base in the Lady Mocs 15th game against UMass. The junior was able to redshirt and has two more years of eligibility remaining.
This is the first pitcher of the week selection for Fuzzard, but the second time that she has earned SoCon weekly honors. On May 4, 2009, she was selected player of the week after a 7-for-9 performance in a three-game series at College of Charleston.
The Lady Mocs are headed to Mobile, Ala., on Friday for a doubleheader starting at 3:45 p.m. (EST) against No. 22/23 Ohio State and Evansville. South Alabama, UT Martin and Southeastern Louisiana are the other teams Chattanooga faces in the South Alabama Mardi Gras Tournament. All Lady Mocs games this weekend will have live statistics and audio on GoMocs.com.
