2021 ALL-AMERICA TEAMSNFCAFULL

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Junior pitcher Ava Fitzmaurice (Greenville, N.Y./Greenville) scored another big time honor on Tuesday afternoon when she was tabbed one of 54 selections to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-America Teams as a Pitcher/Utility.

Overall, the NFCA selects a First, Second and Third Team in its All-America program for a total of 54 selections. Fitzmaurice represents one of three players from the Northeast-10 Conference to receive All-Region accolades, while she is the first Charger to receive the honor since two-time honoree Christa Gelardi earned First Team accolades following the 2013 campaign.

Closing out the 2021 season ranked among the top-10 in the nation in earned run average, leading the NE10 in overall wins and top-four in the league in batting average, Fitzmaurice tops the Blue and Gold on both sides of the ball.

Following a run in the NCAA East Region Championship hosted by Saint Anselm, Fitzmaurice capped off her junior campaign with a 1.05 earned run average, a 21-5 overall record and a .371 batting average, all of which led the Blue and Gold. Her 21 wins on the year ranks as the fourth most in a single season, tied with Ann Regan (1987) and Breanne Gleason (2007), while she also jumped in to the top-10 all-time in career wins with 39, ninth most all-time.

At the plate, the righty collected 43 total hits across 116 at bats with 13 of those hits going for extra bases on seven doubles, a triple and a team-best five home runs. Batting second in the order, Fitzmaurice drove in 14 runs while waiting out 13 walks and striking out just 14 times. She has also been a force on the bases where she has swiped seven bags in eight attempts.

In the circle, Fitzmaurice threw just shy of 180 innings across 32 appearances, including 21 complete game starts. In addition to her conference-best 21 wins, she also has five saves which also led the league. Overall, she surrendered 42 total runs, 27 of which were earned, while she struck out a career-high 98 batters and walked just 19.

Fitzmaurice and New Haven earned one of three at-large bids to the NCAA East Region Championship, entering as the fifth seed. The Chargers opened up the double-elimination tournament with an upset of fourth seeded Molloy before falling to top seed Georgian Court and third seed Adelphi. Overall, New Haven closed out its 2021 campaign with a 28-9 record (.757), including a 20-4 mark in NE10 Conference play. The 28 wins represents the seventh time over the last 10 seasons that the Chargers have collected 25+ wins, while the NCAA Tournament bid was the second straight and 13th time overall.