Lehigh University Athletics
Seven named All-League, three major awards for Lehigh
4/28/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Leading the way for the Brown and White was senior Emily Ling, who was named Patriot League Pitcher of the Year for the second time in her illustrious career. Ling, who also captured the award in 2003, is 16-5 on the year with a 1.35 earned run average. In league play she’s been even better, going 9-0 with a miniscule 0.25 ERA. After becoming Lehigh’s all-time winningest pitcher in March, Ling picked up her Patriot League record 61st career win over Army on April 22. The first team All-Patriot League selection is also the Mountain Hawks career leader in strikeouts with 576 and needs just four more to become the Patriot League’s career leader.
Joining Ling on the first team is Patriot League Rookie of the Year Kate Marvel. The Mountain Hawks leadoff hitter and primary table setter led the league in hits (27) and runs scored (19) in league games while hitting .466 in Patriot League contests. Marvel leads the Mountain Hawks with eight stolen bases and she hit in 13 consecutive games earlier this season. She is Lehigh’s first ever softball rookie of the year.
Lehigh’s third major award winner was head coach Fran Troyan, who was named Coach of the Year for the second time in his ten seasons. Troyan also won the award in 1997. This year, he guided the Mountain Hawks to their seventh straight regular season title as Lehigh became just the second team in Patriot League history to finish the league regular season undefeated, along with the 1991 Army Black Knights.
The Mountain Hawks placed seven players on All-League teams. Joining Ling and Marvel on the first team was senior third baseman Kelly Kliewer. Hitting a team-leading .359 on the season, Kliewer turned it up in league play hitting .486 to rank second in the Patriot League in league games. Kliewer also slugged a team best .500 while playing solid defense at the hot corner. She was also named to the second team in 2003.
Four Mountain Hawks garnered second team recognition. Sophomore pitcher Heather Hamasaki leads the way. Hamasaki is a perfect 7-0 on the season and leads the Patriot League and ranks 15th nationally with a 0.97 earned run average, as she received second team accolades for the second straight season. She was joined by senior second baseman Jessica Young, junior catcher Mary Wieder and sophomore outfielder Whitney Schenbeck.
Young batted .293 overall for the Mountain Hawks and scored 17 runs in league games. She was a second team All-League selection last year and a first team selection in 2003.
Wieder has been one of the hottest hitters in the latter part of the season, smashing three home runs and leading the league with 17 RBI in league games. Another two-time All-League selection, Wieder was the Patriot League Tournament MVP a year ago.
Schenbeck makes her first appearance on the All-League team as she hit .381 in league games with a .458 on base percentage. She also came through in the clutch, delivering a walk-off single to beat league rival Holy Cross on April 10.
Bucknell’s Lauren Wible was the only non-Lehigh player to win a major award as she was named the league’s Player of the Year. Wible is the nation’s leading hitter with a .516 average. The junior first baseman is also fourth in the country in slugging percentage and third in doubles per game.
Lehigh returns to the diamond this weekend when the Mountain Hawks will host the 2005 Patriot League Championships at Kaufman Field. Lehigh is the number one seed and will play fourth seeded Bucknell in its first game. Second seeded Army and number three seed Colgate will open the tournament at 9:00 am on Saturday. Lehigh’s game with Bucknell will follow at approximately 11:00 am. The tournament continues Saturday with the Championship round set for Sunday at 1:00 pm. Lehigh is looking to repeat as tournament champions and head back to the NCAA Regionals for the second straight year. All Lehigh games will be broadcast on the Lehigh website at lehighsports.com with streaming provided by Yahoo! Sports.
