CDO's Fowler calls national honor 'a dream'
Pitcher 1st junior ever to be named Player of the Year
 Although no more than 85 percent healthy, Kenzie Fowler struck out more than two batters per inning.
Kenzie Fowler unfolded a few pages of notes and laid them carefully on the podium in front of her.
The Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year had a lot of people to thank.
Her parents and her sister. Her high school coach. Her mentor. Her teammates and friends. The surgeon who saved her life, and the physical therapist who made her whole again.
Fowler, 17, received high school softball's most prestigious award Wednesday in a sunkissed ceremony at Canyon del Oro High School.
The celebration, like Fowler's recovery from life-saving surgery a year ago, was a group effort. More than 60 family members, friends and school officials cheered as Fowler — the Dorados' right-handed ace pitcher — received a giant trophy from the sports drink company.
Fowler is the first junior to ever win Gatorade's softball award, and just the second Arizonan to take home the national honor in any sport. CDO's Bre Ladd was named Gatorade's National Volleyball Player of the Year in 2002.
"This is a dream," a blushing Fowler said following the 30-minute ceremony. "I just want it to hit me so I can wake up. I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would be national Player of the Year. Player of the Year for Arizona … was such an honor, but I never thought anything about national. I'm representing everyone. Crazy."
Fowler was selected from 51 finalists representing approximately 373,000 high school softball players nationwide. Fowler went 24-1 with an 0.28 ERA for a CDO team that won the Class4A-I state championship.
Fowler's dominant season came less than a year after she underwent life-saving surgery to unclog a vein near her heart.
Fowler was taken to University Medical Center on May 31, 2007, after her right arm had swelled during a routine workout. She was diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome, a condition that limits blood flow between the collarbone and rib cage.
Surgeons removed a rib to open blood flow into her shoulder, then patched a six-inch long vein along her collarbone with a vein from her right leg.
Fowler was in the hospital for 13 days; eight were spent in intensive care. She was released a year ago this week.
"I think that we as a family learned about not taking anything for granted," Fowler's father, Lance, said. "It's a blessing."
Fowler finished the season with 12 shutouts, four no-hitters and one perfect game. She struck out more than two batters per inning pitched, amazing numbers considering she and her therapist suspect she is 80 percent to 85 percent healthy.
"I have a lot of hard work to do this summer," said Fowler, who will head to Missouri this weekend for a national qualifying tournament. "I'm not satisfied with myself. I know that in my eyes, I'm not 100 percent." |
