TAMPA, Fla. – Susan Wysocki says she cares more about the success of the University of South Florida softball team than she does her own.
The six-foot pitcher is fully committed to her team and is willing to make sacrifices in order for the squad’s goals to be achieved.
“I’m not like a personal statistic person,” Wysocki said Tuesday at the USF Softball Stadium. “I really just want to win games for the team. We want to get to the conference championship and then go to NCAAs.”
A two-time captain of her high school team, the New Jersey native’s commitment to her South Florida teammates was tested early in her career, pitching less than one inning in her first season before being redshirted.
“I knew towards the end of the season the plan was to redshirt,” Wysocki said. “I was able to pitch bullpens during the games [and] and was mentally in the games.
“[I] worked hard on pitches. That way I could better prepare myself for the next year.”
In her second season, she had an 8-2 record with a 2.36 earned-run average and 57 strikeouts in 70 2/3 innings.
Comparing her individual strengths to those of her fellow pitchers, the now third-year pitcher avoids the subject.
“There’s not something individually that I’m better that than anybody else,” she said. “We work well as a staff. … All of us are really comfortable on the mound. Every position player out there is comfortable having each pitcher on the mound.”
Away from the softball field, the business major remains actively committed to the team. As a member of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, Wysocki attends bi-weekly meetings aimed at improving student attendance at the university’s events.
“It’s important to have to have the support of your student body in order to have a student section and have a good fan base,” she said.