Raney/Hartz

Falkenberg/Stanley

English/History

2 March 2004

Lisa Fernandez

"Next game try to walk only nineteen people, then eighteen, then eight, then zero." Those are the words spoken to Lisa Fernandez after her first game at age eight. Back then she did not know how far softball would take her. Lisa started playing softball as a young girl. She had determination and potential that lead her to living her dream. Lisa is one of the greatest softball players of her time ("Lisa Fernandez Biography").

Lisa Fernandez was born to Antonio and Emilia Fernandez on February 22, 1972. Lisa grew up in Long Beach, California with her sister Elsie. Lisa’s family had a history of softball, so it’s not surprising that she is as good as she is. Her father played semi-pro baseball in Cuba, and her mom was also played slow pitch softball. Softball was always a part of Lisa’s life ("Lisa Fernandez Biography").

To begin with, Lisa was already making pitching motions when she was four years old. Then by the age of six, she could already backhand a ground ball. When she was eight, she played her first fast pitch game ("Lisa Fernandez Career"). When she got older, she got to try out for a team of thirteen to fifteen years olds. Lisa went to the tryouts. She felt very confident after she was done pitching; she thought she had done great. "Your body is just not built to be a pitcher. Your arms are just too short!" said that coach. He told Lisa that she would not be able to compete past the age of sixteen. Lisa left there broken hearted and crushed (Adams 128). Obviously, that coach was wrong. Lisa ended up playing softball all her life and in the Olympics. She attended St. Joseph High School. She is remembered there for the game in 1986. The game played for twenty-one scoreless innings. They had to stop the game due to darkness. The next day she won the game for the team. She scored the one and only run. That is just one of her unforgettable games. It’s a good thing that Lisa did not listen to that coach and give up on her dream ("Lisa Fernandez Career").

"The bigger the game the tougher it is to sleep," said Lisa. Even though she has played many games she still gets nervous and her mind races. She says that many nights she has prayed to god, "Please let me sleep" (Adams 128). Lisa’s motto is to never be satisfied. She says, " I work hard to reach my goals, and my motivation is to continue to improve on a daily basis" (Lisa Fernandez- Softball player and coach).

With her motto to motivate her, Lisa Fernandez accomplished many things in her life. In 1990, she won a gold medal at the ISF Women’s World Championship in Normal, IL. She had a pitching record of 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA with fifteen strikeouts in fourteen innings. At bat, she went three-for-three, including a double. She also had a RBI and two runs. In 1991, she was a gold medallist at the Pan America Games. She won the gold medal at the Women’s World Challenger Cup in Beijing, China, in 1992. In 1993, she was a gold medallist again at the Intercontinental Cup in Holland ("Lisa Fernandez").

While attending college at UCLA, Lisa was a four time NCAA All- American. She was a two-time NCAA Women’s College World Series Champion. She had a 93-7 career record with a .930 winning percentage, which was the NCAA record. She was also a three-time Honda Award winner for softball (1991-1993), which was only presented to the country’s best player. She was one of the six senior student athletes in all NCAA divisions to win the 1994 NCAA Top VI Award. She led the nation in hitting and pitching in 1993, with a .510 batting average and a 0.25 ERA. She was presented the 1993 Honda Broderick Cup, naming her as the most outstanding collegiate female athlete ("Lisa Fernandez").

Eventually, in 1996 she reached another one of her dreams. She was playing in the Olympic Games. There she was a gold medallist. She posted a 1-1 record with a 0.33 ERA, with a team-high thirty-one strikeouts in twenty-one innings. At that time, she had a perfect game through nine and two thirds innings against Australia, giving up a solo home run in the bottom of the tenth inning in a 2-1 loss. Finally, she picked up her first win in the semi-finals with a 1-0 decision over China and then she had the save in a gold medal game verse China. On offense, she hit a .348 with a homerun. She ended with five RBI’s and five runs scored ("Lisa Fernandez").

In her professional years, Lisa played for WPSL Gold, a team consisting of 2000 Olympians for the Tour of Fast pitch Champions in 2001. She led the team with a .400 batting average, and she also posted an 11-1 pitching record. She had a 0.31 ERA and had eighty-three strikeouts. Lisa’s national career included being a member of seven ASA women’s Major National Championship teams. She was also a nine-time ASA First-Team All-American. She was a four-time Bertha Tickey pitching award recipient at the ASA Major National. She was also a six-time MVP at the ASA Women’s Major National. In 1991 and 1992 she was ASA Sports Woman of the year. Lisa’s motto served her well in the world of softball ("Lisa Fernandez").

Likewise, Lisa has continued to be successful in the world of softball. In 2002, she was selected to the USA Softball National Training Team. In 2001, she was a finalist for the Women’s Sports Foundation’s Flo Hyman Memorial Award, and in 2000 she was a USOC Athlete of the month for July. She was also a finalist for the James E. Sulivan Memorial Award, which is annually presented to the country’s top amateur athlete. Its obvious that Lisa had continues to improve her softball skills throughout her career; otherwise she would not have been able to have been so successful. ("Lisa Fernandez")

In conclusion, Lisa Fernandez is one of the most widely respected softball players of all time. Throughout her life she has had many accomplishments. Lisa’s story demonstrates that if you work hard at something you can accomplish great things. She was told she would never make it big, but she did through hard work and determination. Today, Lisa is still a part of softball by coaching the Bruins Softball team as a well-respected coach. She is now helping others accomplish their dreams.