April 21, 2008
For the second time this year Lehigh's Lisa Sweeney was named both the Patriot League Player and Pitcher of the Week. Sweeney became the Patriot League's all-time strikeout leader (617) and single-season record holder (234). Lafayette's Stacey Kushner picked up her first-career Patriot League Rookie of the Week honor as the Leopards clinched a spot in the Patriot League Tournament.
Patriot League Softball Release - 4.21.08 
Player of the Week
Lisa Sweeney, Lehigh
Jr., P/OF, Lumberton, N.J.
Sweeney batted 13 runs in and scored nine of her own to have a hand in over half of Lehigh's offense last week. Six of her seven hits went for extra bases including five home runs and one double. She had four multi-RBI games, including two contests with four runs. In a win over Rider she blasted a grand slam, while hitting two out of the park in a victory over Holy Cross. Her 11 home runs this year are a Lehigh single-season record. For the week she hit .438 with a 1.438 slugging percentage and a .591 on-base percentage. This is Sweeney's second career Patriot League Player of the Week award.
Pitcher of the Week
Lisa Sweeney, Lehigh
Jr., Lumberton, N.J.
Sweeney became the Patriot League's career and single-season strikeout leader last week with 23 Ks. Sweeney now has 617 career strikeouts and 234 this season. The junior hurler won two games with a 1.34 ERA over 15.2 innings of work and limited opposing hitters to a .164 batting average. The 12-0 victory over Holy Cross on Sunday marked her seventh shutout of the 2008 campaign. She is now one win away from tying the Patriot League career mark of 65. Sweeney has been named the Patriot League Pitcher of the Week 12 times in her career - the most in Patriot League history.
Rookie of the Week
Stacey Kushner, Lafayette
Fr., C, Norristown, Pa.
Kushner batted .538 in a week that saw Lafayette clinch a spot in the Patriot League Tournament and move into first place in the standings with a 6-0 mark in League games last week. The freshman catcher scored 10 runs, batted in six and stole two bases. She was a perfect 3-for-3 in Lafayette's 5-4 win over Colgate and collected three doubles in a 7-1 week for the Leopards.
Honorable Mention
Lauren Fry, Bucknell
Fr., OF, South Plainfield, N.J.
Batted .435 over six games...Drove in eight runs and crossed the plate four times...Had a double, triple and home run last week.
Whitney Scott, Colgate
Sr., 3B/1B, Beaverton, Ore.
Hit .611 in six Patriot League games...Recorded 10 RBI and seven runs...Blasted four home runs and had one double.
Keeley Seniuk, Holy Cross
Fr., OF, Phoenix, Ariz.
Collected three doubles and three home runs...Recorded nine RBI and scored four runs.
Kristen Ruckno, Lafayette
Sr., 2B, Warrington, Pa.
Knocked in nine runs and scored five...Hit .379 for the week and .528 in the four-game sweep of Colgate.
Ali Henry, Lafayette
Fr., P, Warrington, Pa.
Earned four victories in the circle with a 2.59 ERA...Did not give up an earned run in Sunday's doubleheader win over Colgate.
Patriot League Notebook
Lafayette Earns Tourney Berth
Lafayette swept Colgate in a four-game series to take over first place in the Patriot League standings (12-4) and earn a berth into the Patriot League Tournament. This is the third-straight year the Leopards have qualified for the Patriot League tourney all under the direction of third-year Head Coach Jeanine Gunther. Lafayette is the first team to secure a spot in the 2008 Patriot League Tournament.
Other League Weekend Action
Lehigh is in second place with an 11-5 League mark after going 2-2 at Holy Cross this past weekend. Bucknell is next in line with a 9-7 Patriot League record. Bucknell took three of four from Army over the weekend. Colgate (4-8), Army (5-11) and Holy Cross (3-9) round out the standings.
Sweeney Sets Strikeout Marks
Lehigh junior Lisa Sweeney took over as the Patriot League's career strikeout leader, now with 617 career Ks. Sweeney moved past former Mountain Hawk Emily Ling to become the all-time record holder. Sweeney's 234 strikeouts this season are the top mark on the Patriot League's single-season chart. Sweeney formerly held the top spot with 228 Ks from her freshman season. Sweeney is also one victory away from tying the Patriot League career mark, currently held by Ling (65).
Getting Close
Three Patriot League student-athletes are on the brink of breaking into the top-10 on three different career charts. With 108 career RBI, Lafayette senior Kristen Ruckno is four RBI shy of tying for 10th all-time. She is already fourth on the League's all-time home run list with 26. Lehigh junior Lisa Sweeney needs three more round trippers to tie for 10th on the career chart with 14 already. Bucknell's Christie Wiest has 343 career strikeouts and needs seven more to move into a tie for the 10th-place spot.
2008 Patriot League Championship
The 2008 Patriot League Softball Championship will take place Thursday-Saturday, May 8-10 at the site of the highest seed. The top four teams in the regular-season standings will advance to the Patriot League tourney. The winner of the championship will represent the Patriot League in the NCAA Tournament as its automatic qualifier. Colgate is the defending Patriot League Champion.
Team Notebooks
Army Army went 1-3 versus Bucknell over the weekend and dropped two games to Colgate on Wednesday in Patriot League action. Sophomore Erin McClain batted .438 for the week with two runs, two doubles, one home run and three RBI. McClain hit .545 in the Bucknell series going 6-for-11. Sophomore Nicole Talarczyk recorded the first win of her career in the 7-5 defeat of Bucknell in game two on Saturday. Senior Veronica Barth earned her fifth career save in the victory. Freshmen Chava Bobb and Angela Deger blasted their first career home runs against Bucknell.
Bucknell After going 3-1 versus Army this past weekend, Bucknell has now won its most Patriot League games since going 12-8 in 1999. The Bison dropped two to Towson on Wednesday. Bucknell's 18 wins this season are its most since going 19-26-2 in 2001. Freshman Lauren Fry posted three multiple-hit games in the four-game series with Army and was 3-for-4 with five RBI in the 7-0 win over Army on Sunday. Fry led team with eight RBI last week and batted .435. Senior Christie Wiest broke the Bucknell career record for strikeouts that had stood since 1991 on Saturday and now has 343 in her career. Wiest also broke the Bucknell innings pitched record. Wiest has hurled 531.2 innings in her career. Senior Erin Curatola now has 31 RBI this season, just four shy of equaling Bucknell's single-season record.
Colgate Colgate took two games from Army on Wednesday but was swept by Lafayette over the weekend. Senior Whitney Scott hit .611 in six League games last week and extended her hitting streak to eight-straight games. Scott had 10 RBI with four home runs, one double and seven runs scored. Scott became the first Colgate player since Natalie Rawson in 2004 to hit two home runs in a single game, doing so in the first contest against Army on Wednesday. Junior Ashley Rowe batted .438 in five games with two doubles, three RBI and three runs scored. She leads Colgate with a .415 batting average. Senior LaPorscha Albert hit .333 in six games.
Holy Cross Holy Cross split its series with Lehigh over the weekend, won two against Hartford on Tuesday and lost two to Lafayette on Monday. Senior Kelly O'Neil broke the Holy Cross career home run record with her round tripper against Lehigh in the Crusaders' 8-5 win on Saturday. O'Neil has four home runs this season and 14 in her career. She batted .357 for the week with six RBI, two runs scored, four doubles and one home run. Freshman Keeley Seniuk hit .364 over eight games with nine RBI, four runs scored, three doubles and three home runs.
Lafayette Lafayette's four-game sweep of Colgate earned the Leopards a spot in the Patriot League Tournament and moved them into first place in the League standings at 12-4. The Leopards posted two wins over Holy Cross on Monday and split a doubleheader at Delaware State on Wednesday. Lafayette set a program record with 22 wins in a single season. The team has set a new record for wins in each season under third-year Head Coach Jeanine Gunther (20 wins in 2006 and 21 wins in 2007). The Leopards have won 11 of their last 12 contests, including a current five-game winning streak. Senior Kristen Ruckno became Lafayette's single-season RBI leader with nine last week and 35 on the year. Freshman Ali Henry won four games last week with a 2.59 ERA. Rookie Stacey Kushner batted .538 with 10 runs scored and six RBI.
Lehigh Junior Lisa Sweeney became the Patriot League's all-time strikeout leader with 23Ks last week and 617 in her career. Sweeney also set the League's single-season strikeout mark at 234 in a 3-3 week for Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks went 2-2 versus Holy Cross in League action and 1-1 versus Rider. At the plate Sweeney had seven hits, six of which went for extra bases, including five home runs and one double. She totaled 13 RBI for the Week. Her 11 home runs this year are the most in the Patriot League and are a Lehigh single-season mark.
