April 6, 2009

Center Valley, Pa.--For the second time this season, Lehigh swept the Patriot League's weekly awards. The Mountain Hawks claimed all three weekly awards after claiming a four-game sweep over Patriot League foe Army. Lehigh enters the week with a 7-1 Patriot League mark, two games ahead of its nearest competition.

Patriot League Softball Release - 4.6.09

Patriot League Player of the Week (Mar. 30-Apr. 6)

Alisha Gonzales, Lehigh Sr., OF/DP, Marlton, N.J. Gonzales batted .636 with a 1.000 slugging percentage, helping Lehigh record four straight wins over Army. Of her seven hits, two were for extra bases. She notched a double and a home run, driving home a total of seven RBI in the four-game series. She drove in five runs in Saturday's doubleheader, then went 4-for-5 in Sunday's doubleheader. She recorded her 100th career hit in Sunday's second game.

Patriot League Pitcher of the Week (Mar. 30-Apr. 6)

Tiffany Curtis, Lehigh Jr., P, Newbury Park, Calif. Curtis started twice against Army, earning the victory in both contests. She allowed just one run during the weekend. She struck out 15 batters, while walking five and scattering seven hits. The Army bats hit just .163 against her during the weekend. She netted her fourth shutout of the season with a complete-game, two-hit effort against the Black Knights on Saturday. Curtis has now won four straight decisions. It is the second time this season that Curtis has been named Patriot League Pitcher of the Week.

Patriot League Rookie of the Week (Mar. 30-Apr. 6)

Julie Fernandez, Lehigh Fr., 1B, Moorpark, Calif. Fernandez was named Patriot League Rookie of the Week for the second time in her career after batting .500 with a 1.000 slugging percentage in four games against Army. She hit a home run and a triple. She scored five runs and drove in five more. Fernandez now leads the team with 25 RBI.

Honorable Mention Performances Last Week

Cassie Lloyd, Bucknell Sr., 1B, Mifflinburg, Pa. Was 12-for-24 with four RBI in eight games last week. Recorded a hit in all eight games, including multiple hits in each of her past five contests. Was 3-for-4 in Bucknell's 8-0 win over Lafayette in the teams' series finale.

Amanda Eccleston, Colgate Jr., DP, Roseville, Calif. Batted .500 with four RBI in Colgate's four-game sweep against Holy Cross. Was 4-for-5 with three RBI, including the game-winning two-RBI single, in the Raiders' 10-inning victory against the Crusaders.

Tiffany Medwid, Holy Cross So., SS, Imperial, Pa. Hit .417 in four games last week, including a triple. Stole two bases and scored three times.

Kasey Karr, Lafayette Jr., P, Warren, Ohio Won both of her starts against Bucknell. Finished the week 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA. Struck out 11 batters while walking just three.

Patriot League Notebook

Week In Review Lehigh maintained its position at the top of the Patriot League standings with a four-game sweep against Army. The Mountain Hawks notched two shutouts against the Black Knights, while the Lehigh lineup produced 30 runs. Colgate moved from sixth to second in the Patriot League standings. The Raiders went on the road to defeat Holy Cross four times. Bucknell and Lafayette entered the weekend tied, and that is how they finished the weekend. The Bison and Leopards split their four-game set and are currently tied for third place.

On Deck Lehigh will seek to keep its grasp on the Patriot League lead this weekend when it hosts rival Lafayette for a four-game set. Looking to keep pace with Lehigh, second-place Colgate will welcome third-place Bucknell to Hamilton for a four-game series. Army and Holy Cross will attempt to climb up the standings when the two teams meet for a four-game tilt in Worcester.

Noticing No-Hitters Two Patriot League pitchers have tossed no-hitters this season. The most recent no-hitter came from the arm of Lafayette junior Kasey Karr on March 27. Karr allowed just three base-runners in a five-inning no-hitter in the Leopards' 8-0 win against Army. It was the first no-hitter tossed by a Lafayette player since the Leopards joined the Patriot League. On March 3, Lehigh junior Tiffany Curtis threw the first Patriot League no-hitter since 2007. Curtis threw the first perfect game of her career in the Mountain Hawks' 1-0 win against St. Bonaventure.

Three Times Two All three of the Patriot League's weekly honors went to Lehigh players this week, marking the second such occurance this season. Lehigh won all three weekly awards during the opening week of the softball season. Julie Fernandez was the common bond. The Mountain Hawks' first baseman won Rookie of the Week on both occasions.

A New Coach--Sort Of Army Director of Athletics Kevin Anderson has decided to stay within the Army softball program to find a replacement for Jim Flowers, who will retire following the 2009 season, his 19th at West Point. Anderson announced last week that Michelle DePolo will become the eighth head coach in Army Softball history. DePolo is in her second season as an assistant coach at West Point, and will assume her new role on July 1. She will be the program's first female head coach since moving to Division I in 1991.

Lehigh Picked To Win 10th Patriot League Crown Lehigh was a unanimous selection to win its 10th Patriot League softball championship. The Mountain Hawks received 10 first-place votes, the most possible, in a preseason poll of the Patriot League's coaches and sports information directors. Coaches and SIDs were not allowed to vote for their own team. Lafayette received one first-place vote and was tabbed to finish second. Bucknell received the other first-place vote and was picked to finish third. Colgate, the last team to defeat Lehigh for the Patriot League crown, was fourth in the poll, followed by Army and Holy Cross.

2009 Patriot League Championship The 2009 Patriot League Softball Championship will take place Thursday-Saturday, May 7-9 at the site of the highest seed. The top four teams in the regular-season standings will advance to the Patriot League tournament. The winner of the championship will represent the Patriot League in the NCAA Tournament as its automatic qualifier. Lehigh is the defending Patriot League Champion.

Team Notebooks

Army The Black Knights played six road games last week, winning once. Army will play six more road games this week, wrapping up a 16-game road swing. The Black Knights will open the week with a Tuesday doubleheader at Siena. Army will then travel to Holy Cross for a four-game weekend series. With 18 games remaining on Army's regular season schedule, the Black Knights have 12 victories, one short of last season's win total.

Bucknell The Bison have split both of their first two Patriot League series. Bucknell went 1-1 in both of its weekend doubleheaders against Lafayette. The Bison claimed their two wins against the Leopards by an average margin of 6.5 runs per game. Their two losses were by an average of 2.5 runs per game. Bucknell will host St. Francis (Pa.) on Wednesday before traveling to Colgate for a four-game weekend series.

Colgate The Raiders moved from sixth place to second place in the Patriot League standings with four straight wins at Holy Cross. Colgate gave head coach Vickie Sax her 275th victory in Sunday's first game. Sax now has 276 career wins. Junior pitcher Jesse McCarrick pitched in three of the Raiders' four weekend games, earning the victory in two of them. Colgate will not play against until hosting Bucknell for a four-game weekend set.

Holy Cross The Crusaders dropped all four games of their weekend series against Colgate. As a result, Holy Cross dropped into a tie for fifth place with Army. The Crusaders were outscored by a 27-8 margin during the weekend series. Sophomore shorstop Tiffany Medwid batted .417 with a triple during the weekend set. Holy Cross is the only Patriot League team that has not played a Patriot League series on the road. The Crusaders will remain at home for a weekend series against Army.

Lafayette The Leopards split their four-game weekend series with Bucknell, putting them in a tie with the Bison for third place. Freshman Gwen Turner put together the best weekend of her young career. The second baseman batted .400 with two runs scored. She had two multi-hit games, including a 3-for-4 effort in the Leopards' 6-4 win. The Leopards will make the short trip to Bethlehem this weekend to take on rival Lehigh. Prior to the weekend series, Lafayette will host Saint Joseph's on Wednesday.

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks remain on top of the Patriot League standings after notching a four-game sweep against Army. The Mountain Hawks outscored the Black Knights by a 30-6 margin over the weekend. Senior Lisa Sweeney and junior Tiffany Curtis each tossed a shutout on Saturday. Senior Alisha Gonzales, who was 7-for-11 for the weekend, belted her fourth home run of the season in the series opener. Lehigh will remain at home to take on rival Lafayette this weekend. Prior to the teams' four-game set, the Mountain Hawks will host Marist on Wednesday.