Lehigh University Athletics
Two Mountain Hawks named to All-Region team
5/20/2010 4:10:00 PM | Softball
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh placed a pair of student-athletes on the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Mid-Atlantic All-Region teams, which the NFCA announced on Thursday. Sophomore first baseman Julie Fernandez picked up her second-straight All-Region honor as she earned a spot on the second team. She was joined on the second team by senior pitcher Tiffany Curtis, who earned her first career All-Region recognition. The All-Region teams are voted on by the region’s head coaches.
The two selections mark the eighth straight year that Lehigh has had an All-Region selection in softball and the fifth straight season that the Mountain Hawks had multiple All-Region honorees.
Fernandez picks up her second All-Region nod after being named to the first team last year. The 2009 Patriot League Rookie of the Year, Fernandez became the league’s Player of the Year in 2010 after leading the league with a .442 batting average. The Moorpark, California native also topped the league in hits (61), walks (35) and on-base percentage (.554). Her 14 doubles were one shy of a school single-season record, while Fernandez did set a school record with her 27-game hitting streak from March 9 to April 17.
In just two seasons, Fernandez has put up some impressive numbers with 124 hits and 28 doubles, plus a .409 career batting average which ranks second in school history.
Curtis earned the first All-Region award of her career after being named Patriot League Pitcher of the Year last week. A three-time All-Patriot League selection and two-time first team member, Curtis put the finishing touches an outstanding career by going 17-9 with a 3.54 earned run average in her senior season. Curtis struck out 100 batters and limited opponents to a .252 batting average, while tossing four shutouts and leading the Patriot League in victories.
For her career, the Newbury Park, California native racked up 56 victories and 489 strikeouts, which places Curtis third in Lehigh history in both categories and ranks fifth in Patriot League history in strikeouts and is tied for sixth in wins. Curtis’ selection marks the eighth straight year that Lehigh has placed a pitcher on the All-Region team.
The Mountain Hawks finished the 2010 season with a 31-19 record, Lehigh’s tenth straight season with at least 30 victories.
