« Softball 2012

Michelle Fuzzard

School
Chattanooga
Position
Pitcher/Designated Player
Major
Criminal Justice
AVG
.452
R
23
H
38
FLD%
.875
ERA
3.15
W-L
7-6
RBI
38

Classroom

An August 2011 graduate with a degree in criminal justice, Fuzzard is a first-year graduate student continuing her criminal justice studies. She completed her undergraduate course work with a 3.24 GPA and currently holds a 3.3 GPA as a graduate student. The six-time Dean’s list honoree has spent over 270 hours interning at the Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute providing assistance with the forensics unit and treatment team. Fuzzard plans to put her valuable education including intern experience to good use in the Chattanooga community by working with juvenile rehabilitation and mental health centers upon completing her studies.

Character

Fuzzard has developed leadership qualities by overcoming adversity. In the spring of 2010, she tore her ACL stretching for a ball at first base early in the season earning a medical redshirt. She used the 2010 season not only to rehab her injury, but she also took time to gain a better understanding of the game in helping the coaching staff chart pitches, encourage her teammates and note the reasons behind coaching decisions from a new perspective. The rehab and study paid off as she returned to earn 2011 Southern Conference Player of the Year honors in leading the Lady Mocs to a fifth-consecutive league title. Entering her final season, the ability to overcome her injury and the wisdom drawn from that experience is vital to a young team with six starters lost.

Community

Fuzzard is a three-year member of the Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC) assisting in planning community activities for the student-athletes at Chattanooga. She additionally serves on the Gender Equity Committee for the university providing a student’s perspective. She has volunteered in the local community by mentoring younger players as an assistant coach with the 14U Eagles in the summer of 2009 and the head coach of the 10U Lady Mocs in the fall of 2011. She helped organize meetings with the softball team’s Friends of Jaclyn participant, Amanda Swartout, who lost her battle with cancer during the 2011 season. Seeing Amanda fight her battle with cancer touched Fuzzard and her teammates.

Competition

Fuzzard made an impact from day one. She was the SoCon Freshman of the Year in 2008 and Player of the Year in 2011 posting first team all-league honors in all three years of competition. Chattanooga won SoCon Regular Season Championships all four years (includes her redshirt season due to injury in 2010) advancing to three NCAA Regionals along the way with three league tournament titles. She led the 2011 team to the brink of the super regionals for the first time in the program’s history earning NFCA All-South Second Team mention. In 2011, Fuzzard bounced back from ACL surgery in a big way with a team-best 18 wins in the circle including seven shutouts. She drove in a school and league-record 75 runs as well as becoming the clear player of the year choice for the conference. The career .368 hitter has set the Lady Mocs RBI record with 178 in her career and is on the brink of the conference mark of 184. She was the first player in the SoCon to earn First Team (1B) and Second Team (P) honors in the same season (2009). She has multiple conference mentions from all-tournament (2008-09, 11), player of the month (Feb. and May 2010, Feb. 2012) and player of the week (seven times) during her illustrious career.