May 7, 2009

THE STORY LINE: For the fourth-consecutive season under 2006 Patriot League Coach of the Year Jeanine Gunther, Lafayette's softball team finds itself in position to claim its first Patriot League Tournament title as the No. 4 seed. The Leopards finished the regular season with a 15-27 overall record.
Lafayette earned the final seed over Army, both of which had an 8-12 Patriot League record, by winning the tiebreaker. Since the teams went 2-2 against each other and had identical records against top-seeded Lehigh, their records against Colgate were used to break the tie. Lafayette owned a better mark against the Raiders, giving the Leopards the final tournament berth.

LAFAYETTE IN THE PATRIOT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT: From 1991-1997 and again in 2000, the double-elimination Patriot League Tournament was played as a full-field event. The remaining years have been a four-team format, of which Lafayette participated in 2006, 2007 and 2008. The Leopards are 9-21 in Patriot League Tournament play.
Lafayette advanced to the title game last year for the first time in program history.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Junior shortstop Christina Giambrone was named the Patriot League Softball Player of the Year on Wednesday afternoon, becoming just the second Lafayette player ever to win the award. Jen Rothrock '97 was honored with the distinction in 1996 and 1997.
Giambrone was a three-time Player of the Week in 2009, making her the first player in the league since 2003 to achieve the feat in a season. She owns a .398 batting average this year and became Lafayette's career home run leader (27) last week after belting her 14th bomb of the year - which is not only a school record but also ties for second in the Patriot League record books for most home runs in a season.

CLASS OF THEIR OWN: A pair of Lafayette juniors was named to the All-Patriot League First and Second Teams on Tuesday afternoon. Shortstop Christina Giambrone earned a nod to the first team for the second straight year, and pitcher Kasey Karr was selected to the second team for the third straight season.

MAKING HER MARK: Though she's just a junior, Christina Giambrone is rewriting Lafayette's record books. She became Lafayette's career home run leader in game one of a doubleheader versus Fairleigh Dickinson on April 30 with a two-run bomb over the centerfield wall. The homer, her 14th of the season and 27th of her career, edged Kristen Ruckno '08 for the record.
Giambrone has also claimed the career walks (93) and runs (106) records. Her 45 hits, 34 RBI, 34 runs and 32 walks in 2009 all rank in the program's top 10 season record lists. (See Page Four for a complete records list)

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK: Freshman Gwen Turner picked up her first career accolade by earning Rookie of the Week on Monday. As the Leopards' leadoff hitter, Turner is riding a seven-game hitting streak and capped last week with a season-high 4-for-4 outing against Fairleigh Dickinson in game two of the doubleheader. Turner went 7-for-15 (.467) overall and scored a career-high three runs vs. FDU in a 12-0 win. The Danville, Va., native has started all 42 games this year.

TURNING IT UP: Lafayette freshman Gwen Turner tripled for the first time in her career in the top of the fourth inning against Bucknell in game two of a double header on April 5. Turner went on to triple in two more games that week against St. Joseph's and Lehigh and belted another on April 18 against Holy Cross. Her four triples catapulted her to No. 8 on Lafayette's all-time single season leaders list. Jessica Biamonte '87 holds the record with six in 1985.

LEOPARDS IN LAW: Two members of the senior class are moving on to law school after their careers come to a close at Lafayette. Sara Bussiere will be attending the Dickinson School of Law and Emma Kline will become a Hurricane at the University of Miami in the fall.

OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN: Senior centerfielder Emma Kline, senior first baseman Sara Bussiere and junior shortstop Christina Giambrone were chosen by their teammates in October to serve as captains for Lafayette's 2009 softball season. Kline, who is a four-year starting outfielder, and Bussiere are four-year letterwinners. Giambrone also served as captain in 2008 with Kristen Ruckno '08 and Sarah Price '08.

TOURNAMENT BOUND: Prior to head coach Jeanine Gunther's arrival in 2006, the Leopards never made a postseason appearance in the four-team field that the league adopted in 1998. Under Gunther's direction, the Leopards have earned a berth every year.

FOUR SEED: Lafayette earned its first berth to the Patriot League Tournament as a No. 4 seed this year. Three No. 4 seeds have appeared in the title game during the tournament's history, but all have fallen short of claiming a championship. In 1999, Holy Cross lost to No. 3 seed Colgate, 9-2. In 2003, Army lost to No. 2 seed Colgate, 2-0. In 2006, Army lost to No. 1 seed Lehigh, 5-1.

KARR'S NO-NO: Lafayette junior pitcher Kasey Karr threw the Leopards' first no-hitter since the inception of the Patriot League on March 27, in an 8-0, five-inning win over Army in the conference season opener. Of the 18 batters she faced, Karr struck out three and walked one.
Karr ranks sixth in the league this season for wins (8-13) and fourth for strikeouts (4.37 per game). She owns a 3.36 ERA in conference action.

NATIONAL RANKINGS: Lafayette's Christina Giambrone ranks among the top 20 players in the country in four different statistical categories. She ranks 10th for home runs (.33), 15th for both walks (.76) and on-base percentage (.534) and 16th for slugging percentage (.832).

MISS YOU, MATCHETT: Lafayette senior Robyn Matchett suffered a season-ending ankle sprain with bone bruising during practice prior to the Leopards' final home conference series against Holy Cross on April 18 and 19. The four-year letterwinner had started all 167 of her career games.
Matchett was an All-Patriot League Second-Team selection in 2007 and a two-time Patriot League Honor Roll member. Her 123 career hits and 69 career runs rank seventh and eighth, respectively, in program history.

DID YOU KNOW?: Lafayette has won 14 of the last 16 meetings against the Raiders. The Leopards took three of four from Colgate this year to end the conference season.

ENDING ON A HIGH NOTE: In game two of Lafayette's final regular-season doubleheader vs. Fairleigh Dickinson on April 30, the Leopards set season game highs for runs scored (12), RBI (12) and hits (17). Ali Henry kept the Knights quiet, allowing a season-low two hits.

ON A ROLL: Four Leopards head into the tournament riding their longest hitting streaks of the season. Christina Giambrone and Gwen Turner are on a seven-game streak and Kerry Griffin and Kasey Karr are right behind them six-game streaks.

WINNER, WINNER: For the second consecutive season, pitcher Ali Henry broke the school record for most strikeouts in a season. She topped her 103 Ks in 2008 with 108 so far in 2009.

PRESEASON POLL: The Leopards were projected to finish second in the Patriot League preseason poll behind Lehigh. Lafayette returns 12 letterwinners, including five All-Patriot League honorees and seven players who started at least 25 games, from last year's team, which made the program's first-ever appearance in the Patriot League championship game.