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Feb. 25, 2003

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. With five All-League performers back in the fold from a year ago, the Lehigh Mountain Hawks are the pre-season favorite to win their fifth-straight Patriot League softball regular-season title in a pre-season vote of the League’s head coaches and sports information directors. LU edged defending League Tournament Champion Army and º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½ for the top spot in the pre-season rankings.

The Mountain Hawks, who were 36-16-0 overall and 17-3 in League play a year ago, earned six first-place nods en route to 46 points. Leading the pack for Lehigh this year will be three-time All-League honorees Stephanie Digneo (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Jenny Bender (Flemington, N.J.). Digneo collected first-team honors a year ago after ripping a League-best 71 hits, including six triples. The senior shortstop crossed the plate 41 times in 2002, the most of any player in the League.

Bender was a second-team selection after leading the PL in batting with a .425 average. The senior pitcher/utility player was also first in the League in runs batted in (43) and hits (71) and was third in the PL in pitching with a 1.55 earned run average.

Joining Bender on the All-League second-team in 2002 were junior first baseman Liz Gripp (Columbus, N.J.), junior outfielder Shana Treon (Orefield, Pa.) and sophomore pitcher Emily Ling (Binghamton, N.Y.). Gripp had 48 hits a year ago to go along with 35 runs scored, which was second in the League. Treon belted 61 hits, including five triples, en route to a .321 batting average. She was also among the League leaders in steals with 11. Ling took to the mound as a rookie and posted a 1.69 earned run average to finish fifth in the Patriot League.

The defending Patriot League Tournament Champion Army Black Knights finished second in the pre-season voting with 44 points via five first-place votes. The Academy (31-19-1, 14-4 PL) earned the League’s automatic berth in to the NCAA Tournament, where it posted a 2-0 victory over fifth-seeded Utah.

With the loss of 2002 Patriot League Player of the Year Nicki Robbins and 2002 PL Pitcher of the Year Shauna Evans, head coach Jim Flowers will expect sophomores Lindsay March (Tucson, Ariz.) and Lisa Huntington (Newport Beach, Calif.) to step up. The duo were All-League performers as rookies. March was third on the team in hitting with a .318 average. The second baseman was also second on the squad in runs batted in with 22.

On the mound for the Black Knights this season will be junior Ashlie Christian (Payette, Idaho). She led the League with a 1.24 earned run average a year ago. Christian will team up with sophomore Leigh Harrell (Windsor, N.C.) to take command of most of Army’s innings on the mound. Harrell had a 1.81 earned run average in 50.1 innings of work as a rookie.

Last season, a combination of experience and youth lifted º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½ (28-20-0, 12-6 PL) to a third-place finish in the regular-season. The Raiders were selected to come in third in the pre-season poll with 36 points, including the final first-place vote. CU returns a League-best five first-team all-stars from a year ago, including 2002 Patriot League Rookie of the Year Dorothy Donaldson (Lakeland, Fla.).

Donaldson was fourth in the League in hitting with a .366 average. The sophomore outfielder, who smacked 12 home runs in 2002, led the PL in slugging percentage with a .683 mark. Donaldson was also among the League leaders in runs scored (31), runs batted in (33), doubles (9), on-base percentage (.428) and walks (16).

Joining Donaldson on the list of returning first-teamers are junior pitcher Elena Issac (Chandler, Ariz.), senior first baseman Melissa Rawson (Palmdale, Calif.), senior second baseman Amanda Brickell (Leawood, Kan.) and sophomore designated player Caitlin Thistle (Tenafly, N.J.).

Issac tallied 20 victories a year ago to break the school record. She was also seventh in the League in earned run average with a 1.94 mark. Rawson, who had a .341 batting average with 18 runs scored and 25 RBI, and Brickell, a .299 hitter in 2002, each made their third-straight appearance on the first-team. Thistle garnered first-team accolades after posting a .405 batting average in League contests.

Natalie Rawson (Palmdale, Calif.), whose sister is first baseman Melissa, took home second-team All-League honors after breaking the League’s single-season home run record with 13 bombs. The sophomore shortstop was among the League leaders in hitting (.340), hits (49), runs scored (25), RBI (34), stolen bases (7), total bases (96), on-base percentage (.379) and slugging percentage (.667).

Holy Cross, which tallied a 14-35-0 overall record and an 8-12 League mark in 2002, was selected by the League’s coaches and SIDs to finish fourth with 22 points. The Crusaders’ pitching staff remains intact from a year ago, led by junior Nicole Vitti (Stamford, Conn.) and sophomore Michelle Green (Woburn, Mass.). Vitti posted a 2.25 earned run average and struck out 73 batters, while Green had a 2.67 mark in 86.2 innings on the mound.

Bucknell (19 pts.) edged Lafayette (13 pts.) for fifth-place in the pre-season voting. The Bison ended the 2002 campaign with a 12-32-0 mark, including a 5-15 record against League foes. Junior catcher Angela Stackhouse (Muncy, Pa.) and senior shortstop Meredith Gill (Hampstead, Md.) will lead the BU offense. Last year, Stackhouse owned a .261 average with 29 hits in 111 at bats, while Gill ripped 28 hits in 116 attempts for a .241 mark.

The Leopards (6-31-0, 2-18 PL) will rely on senior shortstop Mara Shainheit (Mt. Holly, N.J.) and senior pitcher Jackie Fitzgerald (Toms River, N.J.). Shainheit led the team in batting a year ago with a .286 batting average. She also scored a team-best 16 runs, while knocking in 14 others. Fitzgerald was LC’s No. 1 starter in 2002, compiling a 3.88 earned run average with 41 strikeouts.

The 2003 season opens this weekend when º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½, Lehigh and Holy Cross take to the field. The League season opens March 29 with Army taking on Lafayette, Bucknell at Holy Cross and Lehigh travelling to º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½.

2003 Patriot League Softball Pre-Season Poll