April 28, 2005

Army placed a League-high eight student-athletes on this year's All-Patriot League Softball teams, while the No. 1 seed in this year's tournament, Lehigh, was right behind with seven. Colgate had six named to the list, while Holy Cross earned three. Bucknell only had one All-League member, but that player made some noise around the League and the nation this season.

Bucknell's Lauren Wible (Dover, Pa./Dover) was selected by the League's head coaches as the 2005 Patriot League Player of the Year and is the lone Bison representative on the All-League list. Wible not only leads the League in batting average, hitting .516 overall and .558 in inter-League games, but she is also second in the nation in that category. Her slugging percentage makes her fourth among NCAA student-athletes and she ranks third in doubles per game. The junior first baseman was previously named to the second team twice and is serving as co-captain of the Bison who will play in the Patriot League Championship as the No. 4 seed this weekend.

The Pitcher of the Year award went to Lehigh's Emily Ling (Binghamton, N.Y./Chenango Valley), who won the same honor in 2003. Ling became the League's all-time winningest pitcher on April 22 against Army and currently has 61 career victories. She is also four strikeouts away from taking over the top spot in the League record books. In League games this season she recorded a PL-low 0.25 ERA and held opponents to a .121 batting average. She is 16-5 overall, 9-0 in League play, and has racked up 125 strikeouts this season, fanning on average 7.02 batters per game.

Lehigh's Kate Marvel (Manasquan, N.J./Red Bank Catholic), also a first team selection, was named Rookie of the Year, after excelling in League games this season. When playing League opponents she topped the charts with a League-high 27 hits (1.50 hpg) and 19 runs scored (1.06 rpg). The freshman outfielder posted the third-best batting average, hitting .466. She also stole eight bases this season.

Fran Troyan, the head coach of the Mountain Hawks, claimed his second Coach of the Year award, having previously won it in 1997. Troyan led Lehigh to a perfect 18-0 League record, marking only the second time in Patriot League history a team has gone undefeated (Army - 1991). He guided the Mountain Hawks to a No. 1 seed in the upcoming tournament, clinching the right to host. His squad will be looking to repeat as champions and take home their seventh-ever League title.

The other Mountain Hawk on this year's All-League First Team is senior Kelly Kliewer (Whittier, Calif./California). Kliewer batted .486 in League games, second to Wible. She played solid defense at third base and etched a .649 slugging percentage and a .487 on-base percentage in League action. This is her second All-League honor, having been named to the second team in 2003.

Lehigh senior Emily Ling was honored as the Patriot League Pitcher of the Year for the second time in her career, also winning the award in 2003

Army placed four student-athletes on the first team, including freshman Veronica Barth (Granada Hills, Calif./Chaminade), senior Lauren Gobar (Richmond, Texas/Stephen F. Austin), senior Lindsay March (Tucson, Ariz./Canyon Del Oro) and sophomore Veronica Lauzon (Capistrano Beach, Calif./San Clemente). Barth went 5-2 and recorded two saves in League play with a 2.01 ERA, while holding opponents to a .247 average. Together Gobar and March accounted for 29 stolen bases overall, with Gobar first in the League with 19. March was listed as the 12th toughest batter to strikeout in the latest release of NCAA statistics and scored a League-high 33 runs, tied with one of her teammates. Lauzon hit .353 in League games and blasted three home runs.

Senior Dorothy Donaldson (Lakeland, Fla./Lakeland) and junior Kate Howard (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton-Warrenville South) are Colgate's representatives on this year's first team. Donaldson posted the third-best overall average in the League this season (.376) and may be one of the most decorated student-athletes to come through the Patriot League. She was named Rookie of the Year in 2002 and went on to garner Player of the Year accolades in 2004. She has been a member of the All-League First Team since her arrival at Colgate. With 41 hits this season the veteran outfielder became only the second Raider to collect 200 career hits. Howard had the second-most wins in the League this season with 11 and was 7-4 in League games. Her 1.17 ERA in League play was second only to Ling. The right-handed hurler inked 81 strikeouts this year, moving to fourth all-time at Colgate with 246 career Ks.

Rounding out the 2005 first team is a trio of Holy Cross student-athletes. Seniors Alycia FitzPatrick (Lake Forest, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) and Mary Beth Ryan (Holden, Mass./Notre Dame Academy) both added to their All-League resumes, while freshman Jayme Elliott (Gardena, Calif./Mira Costa) picked up her first honor. Two Crusaders have made their way onto the national scene with FitzPatrick ranked 18th in toughest to strikeout and Elliott fifth in sacrifice hits and 15th in toughest to strikeout. In League games Ryan was second in hits (26) and tied for third in runs (16), while FitzPatrick was second in RBI (15) and third in doubles (7).

Lehigh claimed four All-League second team members to bring its total to seven. Sophomore Heather Hamasaki (Glendale, Calif./Glendale) is 15th in the NCAA in ERA, leading the League with a low 0.97 and is undefeated this season with a 7-0 record. Senior second baseman Jessica Young (Center Valley, Pa./Southern) scored 17 runs in League games, good enough for second, while junior catcher Mary Wieder (Emmaus, Pa./Emmaus) batted in a League-best 17 runs and smashed three over the fence. Sophomore outfielder Whitney Schenbeck (Parker, Colo./Ponderosa) sported a .381 batting average in League games and a .458 on-base percentage.

Four Black Knights found themselves on the All-League Second Team, one from each class. Senior first baseman Lisa Huntington (Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Harbor) earned her fourth second team nod after hitting .395 in League contests, while scoring 15 runs. She also had the second-best on-base percentage (.527) and slugging percentage (.791). This the third second team honor for junior Nikki Posey (Midlothian, Texas/Midlothian) who batted .348, collected six doubles and stole four bases in inter-League action, while last year's Rookie of the Year, outfielder Lindsey Gerheim (Alpharetta, Ga./Milton), had a .364 average with 20 hits, 15 runs scored and 11 batted in. Freshman Kelly Trout (Anaheim, Calif./Loara) did a little bit of everything for the Black Knights, making it on this year's all-star list as a utility player. Trout posted an average of .375 in 26 games, coming up with 21 hits.

Colgate also had four student-athletes named to the second team, including a pair of twins, third baseman Nichole Rawson and shortstop Natalie Rawson (Palmdale, Calif./Highland). The Rawson sisters were among the best in League outings with Natalie collecting 12 runs and Nichole with 11 RBI. Natalie is currently fourth all-time in the League with 130 career RBI. Also on the second team were senior Kelsey Nordstrom (Salina, Kan./Salina South) and freshman Erin O'Keefe (Millersville, Md./Severna Park). Nordstrom owned a 2.62 ERA in League action and ended the regular season second overall with 106 strikeouts. O'Keefe was most often found in the designated player role for the Raiders and saw action in 29 games.

2005 Patriot League Softball All-League Teams
First Team
Player, School, Cl., Pos.
Veronica Barth, Army, Fr., P
Kate Howard, Colgate, Jr., P
Emily Ling, Lehigh, Sr., P
Alycia FitzPatrick, Holy Cross, Sr., C
Lauren Wible, Bucknell, Jr., 1B
Lindsay March, Army, Sr., 2B
Kelly Kliewer, Lehigh, Sr., 3B
Lauren Gobar, Army, Sr., SS
Dorothy Donaldson, Colgate, Sr., OF
Mary Beth Ryan, Holy Cross, Sr., OF
Kate Marvel, Lehigh, Fr., OF
Veronica Lauzon, Army, So., DP
Jayme Elliott, Holy Cross, Fr., UT

Second Team
Player, School, Cl., Pos.
Kelsey Nordstrom, Colgate, So., P
Heather Hamasaki, Lehigh, So., P
Mary Wieder, Lehigh, Jr., C
Lisa Huntington, Army, Sr., 1B
Jessica Young, Lehigh, Sr., 2B
Nichole Rawson, Colgate, Sr., 3B
Natalie Rawson, Colgate, Sr., SS
Nikki Posey, Army, Jr., OF
Lindsey Gerheim, Army, So., OF
Whitney Schenbeck, Lehigh, So., OF
Erin O'Keefe, Colgate, Fr., DP
Kelly Trout, Army, Fr., UT

Player of the Year: Lauren Wible, Bucknell, Jr., 1B
Pitcher of the Year: Emily Ling, Lehigh, Sr.
Rookie of the Year: Kate Marvel, Lehigh, Fr., OF
Coach of the Year: Fran Troyan, Lehigh (second award - 1997)