Lehigh University Athletics
Nine Mountain Hawks named to all-league teams
5/8/2007 1:00:00 PM | Softball
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Marvel, the spark-plug at the top of a potent Lehigh line-up, earns first team all-league honors for the third straight season. The Manasquan, N.J. native enters the Patriot League tournament as the league’s leading hitter, with a .404 average. She also ranks among the national leaders with eight triples and batted an impressive .519 in league games.
Schenbeck and Sterrett also put up impressive numbers for the Brown and White. Sterrett overcame a slow start to hit .318 with three home runs and 24 runs batted in. Like Marvel, Sterrett was an offensive force in league play, batting .491 with 13 RBI. She earns first team all-league honors for the second straight year. Schenbeck has bounced back from a rough junior season at the plate, to bat .313. An outstanding defensive outfielder, Schenbeck also boasts a fielding percentage of 1.000. This is the second all-league honor for Schenbeck, who earned second team accolades in 2005.
Also named to the first team were senior designated player Lauren Haney and sophomore pitcher Lisa Sweeney. Haney developed into one of the Patriot League’s top run producers with a .352 average, good for third in the league and a league-best 40 RBI. The
Sweeney, the 2006 Pitcher of the Year, earned first team honors for the second straight year after following up her record-breaking freshman season with another strong campaign as a sophomore. The right hander heads into the tournament with an 18-5 record and a 1.54 earned run average. Sweeney leads the league in wins and saves (three), and is second in ERA and strikeouts.
Hamasaki headlines the list of second team selections, earning her second straight honor at third base after being an all-league pitcher in her first two years at Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks’ number three hitter; Hamasaki is batting .265 with a team-leading 11 doubles and 27 RBI, which is good for second on the team.
Joining Hamasaki on the second team are senior Mendy Martin, junior Taryn Hanley and freshman Tiffany Curtis.
A model of consistency at shortstop for the Mountain Hawks, Martin was recognized with the first all-league selection of her career. Martin is enjoying a career year at the plate, with a .325 average, ten doubles and 19 runs batted in, while captaining the infield for a Lehigh team that leads the league in fielding.
Hanley put up big numbers for Lehigh hitting out of the number nine spot in the batting order. She enters the tournament hitting .282 with three home runs and 25 runs batted in. Over her last 20 games, Hanley is hitting .348, a main reason why she earned her first all-league not.
Curtis rounds out the list of honorees for Lehigh. After a slow start, the freshman right hander has bounced back to team with Sweeney to form the league’s top pitching tandem. Curtis is currently 12-7 with a 2.85 ERA, and leads all Patriot League freshmen in the major pitching categories. She was also undefeated in league games, going 7-0 with a 1.06 ERA.
The Patriot League will announce its major award winners on Wednesday.
Lehigh (33-16-1, 17-1 Patriot League) will host the Patriot League tournament, beginning Thursday at Kaufman Field. The Mountain Hawks, regular season champions and the top seed for the ninth straight year, will open the tournament against No. 4 Army at 2:00 pm. Thursday’s game, and all of Lehigh’s postseason action will be broadcast online at lehighsports.com, with streaming powered by Yahoo! Sports. Audio coverage on Thursday begins at 1:45 pm.
