Sophomore (2008): Fitzgerald was the Aggies’ No. 2 weapon in the circle last season. The left-hander made 25 appearances, while starting 14 games and had an ERA of 3.50. She sat down 40 batters in her 92.0 innings of work and capped off the season with a 3-6 overall record. One of her strongest outings of the season was against Nevada, March 29, when she saw 10 innings of action, while holding the offensively ranked No. 20 Wolf Pack to nine hits and a pair runs. Fitzgerald had a season-high four strikeouts against UT-Arlington, Feb. 17, in the 3-2 victory.
Freshman (2007): Fitzgerald was used mainly as the Aggies No. 2 starter in the circle, as she appeared in 32 games and made 10 starts. She had a 10-4 record on the year with a 2.96 ERA and struck out 41 batters. Fitzgerald threw a no-hitter in her first career start against McNeese State on Feb. 23, joining former Aggie great Jo Kord as the only Aggie freshmen to throw no-hitters. She was named the WAC Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 26 following that no-hitter. Her four saves on the year tied for the most by any NMSU pitcher in a single season and it tied for the 18th most in the nation. Fitzgerald allowed just 39 runs in 78 innings of work and opposing batters hit just .275 off of her.
High School: She was the 2004, 2005 and 2006 North Central League Most Valuable Player and the All-Redwood Empire Player of the Year in softball. Fitzgerald was a first team all-state selection in 2005, when the Cloverdale Eagles went 23-0 and were the section champions, winning the NCS Championship with her mother Margaret Fitzgerald as head coach. She was named the teams MVP in 2004, 2005 and 2006. In volleyball, she was first team all-league from 2003-2006 and her team was league champions in 2004, also under her mother’s direction as head coach.
Academics: She is majoring in communications. She was a scholar athlete and made the honor roll in high school.
Personal: Vanessa Fitzgerald was born in Santa Rosa, Calif. to parents Patrick and Margaret Fitzgerald. She grew up on Cloverdale, Calif. Both of her parents are coaches. She was an assistant volleyball coach at Washington Middle School. Her mirror twin sister Krysha, played with her here at New Mexico State her freshman year, but has since moved on to a junior college to gain more playing experience. Her brother, Justin, is a pitcher at the University of California Davis.
