May 15, 2008
2008 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-Region Teams
Two Patriot League student-athletes were recognized on the 2008 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-Region Teams in the Mid-Atlantic. Lehigh junior Lisa Sweeney was a first-team pick as a pitcher/utility player and teammate senior Kate Marvel was a second-team selection in the outfield.
This NFCA All-Region honor is the third of Sweeney's career and adds to her collection of awards from the 2008 campaign. Sweeney became the first student-athlete in Patriot League history to win both the Patriot League Softball Player and Pitcher of the Year honors and earned her third First-Team All-Patriot League nod as a pitcher and was tabbed a second-team member as an outfielder. After leading the Mountain Hawks to their ninth Patriot League Tournament title she was tabbed the MVP. She ranks first in the Patriot League in both the batting and pitching triple crowns - batting average (.416), RBI (46) and home runs (13), ERA (1.54), wins (25) and strikeouts (297). Her 297 strikeouts this year are a Patriot League single-season best as are her 40 walks drawn as a batter. She also became the League's all-time career leader in strikeouts (680) and wins (70) this season.
Marvel was honored as an NFCA All-Region pick for the third time in her career as well. The veteran outfielder moved into a company of only seven Patriot League student-athletes to be named First-Team All-Patriot League four times with her selection this season. She is batting .335 for the year with 36 runs scored and 20 RBI. Her 57 hits are the second most in the Patriot League and include seven doubles and one triple.
The Patriot League has claimed at least one NFCA All-Region Team selection in 17 of its 18 years of sponsoring softball and has had multiple honorees in 14 seasons. In total the Patriot League has had 74 NFCA All-Region mentions.
Lehigh continues its season this weekend at the Amherst Regional of the 2008 NCAA Tournament. The Mountain Hawks will face 12th-seeded Stanford on Friday and either host UMass or Princeton on Saturday. Regional play continues through Sunday.
