Lehigh University Athletics
Mountain Hawks sweep weekly softball awards
4/6/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – One day after completing a four-game sweep of Patriot League rival Army, Lehigh swept the league’s weekly softball awards which were announced on Monday. Senior Alisha Gonzales earned the first Player of the Week award of her career, junior Tiffany Curtis was honored as the league’s Pitcher of the Week and freshman Julie Fernandez nabbed Rookie of the Week honors as Lehigh took four games from the Black Knights to move to 19-14-1 overall and 7-1 in league play.
Gonzales was a blistering 7-for-11 at the plate in four games to lead the Mountain Hawks in last weekend’s series with Army. She also led the Mountain Hawks with seven runs batted in as Lehigh extended its winning streak to six. In Saturday’s first game, Gonzales capped a three-run inning with a two-run home run, her fourth of the season. Gonzales continued her torrid pace on Sunday, going 3-for-3 with an RBI in the day’s opening game and adding an RBI single, the 100th hit of her career, in the first inning of game two.
After batting .636 in the four games last weekend, Gonzales raised her season average to .380, which ranks second in the league behind Fernandez. The Marlton, N.J. native ranks third on the Mountain Hawks with 19 RBI this season.
Curtis nets her second Pitcher of the Week award this season and the fourth of her career. In Saturday’s start versus the Black Knights, Curtis fired a complete game two hit shutout, her fourth of the season, and struck out 11 in Lehigh’s 4-0 win. The next day Curtis yielded just a run on five hits for her second victory of the weekend, as she moves to 8-5 on the year.
The Newbury Park, California native lowered her ERA to 3.39 by allowing just one run in 14 innings of work. Opposing batters are hitting a league low .237 against Curtis.
Fernandez was honored for the third time this season, including her second time as the Rookie of the Week after picking up five hits in 10 at-bats over the weekend. The Moorpark, California native did most of her damage on Sunday, as her three-run home run was the catalyst for a 10-run fourth inning in Sunday’s first game. Fernandez added a RBI triple in the first inning of game two and scored Lehigh’s second run of the game on Gonzales’ single.
For the season, Fernandez is batting a league-best .392 with four home runs and 25 RBI. She and Gonzales are tied for tops in the league with nine doubles apiece.
The Mountain Hawks will be back in action on Wednesday when they welcome Marist to Kaufman Field for a non-league doubleheader. First pitch for game one is set for 3 p.m. and both games can be heard live on Lehighsports.com with streaming audio powered by Yahoo! Sports College Broadcast.
