To most females, the thought of being considered a tomboy would be a major insult. But, to softball second baseman Sara Fitzgerald, the label serves more as a compliment to where she learned how to play softball.
“[Being called a tomboy] never bothered me,” Fitzgerald said. “I don’t even think I ever wore a dress until I came to college.”
Fitzgerald’s tomboy image comes from the days and hours she spent playing baseball in the streets outside of her house with her brother Cecil.
Cecil, Sara and two other male friends would play baseball every day in the street with a tennis ball until the sun went down.
“Playing with them helped me develop as a player,” Fitzgerald said.
Fitzgerald began to play competitively at the age of 12 and realized she wanted to play at LSU two years later when the University reinstated its softball program in 1996.
“I can remember practicing in the street with my dad every single night saying ‘I just want to go to LSU — I will walk on at LSU, whatever it takes, that is where I want to go,'” Fitzgerald said.
LSU Coach Glenn Moore, who coached the Tigers from 1998-2000, recruited Fitzgerald during her senior season at Kingwood High School. Moore eventually offered a scholarship to Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald said putting on the LSU jersey for the first time during her freshman season was an emotional experience.
“It was unbelievable,” Fitzgerald said. “I grew up in Port Allen until I was five years old and you heard noises over here at LSU and you always wanted to be a Tiger. My mom bawled her eyes out and I had a few tears.”
Third baseman and senior co-captain Julie Wiese said Fitzgerald has been the ideal teammate during the past four seasons.
“She is a very dedicated person,” Wiese said. “She loves the sport and you can tell that when she plays because she plays with her heart. And that is one of the biggest compliments you can give an athlete, because they persevere through the easy times and the hard times.”
This season Fitzgerald has hit a steady .295, while hitting 12 doubles and three triples.
As a co-captain, alongside Wiese, Fitzgerald has been able to guide the Tigers to a Southeastern Conference best 16-4 record — which puts them a half-game ahead of Georgia for the SEC lead. The Tigers are currently atop the Western Division — ahead of the Alabama Crimson Tide by 3.5 games — and tied for third in the USA Softball/ESPN.com poll.
“I just want to win,” Fitzgerald said. “I just want to come out on top and I want a ring so bad. I will do whatever it takes.”
The four-year experience at LSU has been incredible for Fitzgerald. But like all great stories and experiences, it must eventually come to an end, she said.
“Now that it has gotten down to the end, every time I put on my jersey I think about the fact that there are only so many games left and I try to soak it all up,” Fitzgerald said.
Wiese said Fitzgerald’s drive and determination will help the Tigers down the stretch.
“She has that never-quit attitude and she is going to do whatever it takes to get what she wants,” Wiese said.