CASSIDY HERMAN
Special to The Leader
Eva FitzSimmons, a freshman from Rochester, N.Y., has begun her first softball season at SUNY Fredonia.
FitzSimmons came to Fredonia with 15 years of softball experience under her belt.
Throughout her 15 years, she played shortstop, third and first base. Never once did she catch in those 15 years.
Her experience on the field led her to believe that she was capable of playing any position if she tried hard enough.
When she arrived at Fredonia, the positions that she had played for so long had been filled by upperclassmen.
She realized that she probably wouldn’t win those spots over.
FitzSimmons decided that she would have to find a position elsewhere on the team. Being the outgoing person she is, FitzSimmons stepped up and decided to help the team out by learning the catching position. Since that position had been filled by two senior catchers that graduated the year before, the spot had been left wide open.
She decided to buy a catchers mitt and practice on her off days. She picked up the techniques and caught on quickly.
Tony Ciccarello, head softball coach for Fredonia, said that FitzSimmons is an all-around great player and an even better person.
“She has a good head on her shoulders and you can really tell that she cares about her teammates. She also really cares about learning the game,” he said.
“Eva is so energetic and encouraging. She always pushes you to do the best that you can. She’s the first person to tell you that you did a good job or try to cheer you up,” said Sydney Merkley, freshman outfielder for Fredonia.
During the fall season, FitzSimmons was successful on the field as a catcher.
After 15 years of softball, she had found her place on the team behind the plate.
She helped her team win by blocking balls in the dirt, gunning girls out at second and being a key communicator on and off the field.
“I was a catcher for my entire life. I started when I was 6, and I caught until I graduated from Fredonia last year,” said Madison Stavish, a Fredonia softball alumna. “I have never seen a person catch on to a position as fast as Eva did. She really is a great learning catcher, and she will definitely see a lot of playing time this year.”
FitzSimmons recalled a time where she was playing third base, when a rocket of a grounder was hit at her. She said she didn’t know why, but for some reason she dropped to her knees to the catching position.
Her coach called out to her and said, “Hey, if you want to block a ball like that, I’ll put some shin guards on you and put you behind the plate.”
Eva remembered laughing it off and thinking, “Yeah, right, I will never catch.”
Even though FitzSimmons was perfectly happy playing her normal positions, being a catcher remained a thought in the back of her mind. Obviously, that thought came to fruition and has worked out well for her so far.
FitzSimmons success comes along with a healthy support system.
“My dad is the biggest influence I have in my life. He supports me in everything I do, especially softball,” she said. “My dad was always proud of me; he made it very obvious that he was.”
She shared that her parents’ divorce at a young age taught her to keep pushing to achieve what you want.
“My parents rekindled their love after all of those years. They never gave up on each other and I couldn’t be more grateful that they were able to work everything out,” she said. “Their time apart showed me that you really have to keep fighting to improve yourself as a person but still fight for the people or things you love and care about.”
Her parents’ decision to split made her slightly scared to invest herself solely in another human. She worried about getting into relationships or friendships.
“I worry about putting that much trust and reliability into someone because people could walk out at any moment, and that scares me way too much,” FitzSimmons said.
Instead of investing all of her love and passion into someone that could leave, she turned to softball. She figured that she could always turn to softball on a bad day. Softball could never leave her, and that gave her the drive to accomplish all of her goals.
“One of my biggest goals in life was to play softball on a college team,” said FitzSimmons. “Softball became my entire life. It was able to get me through the toughest times in life. Whatever ups and downs came my way, I always had softball. So playing softball in college was very important to me.”