Lisa Fernandez

Lisa Maria Fernandez[1] (born February 22, 1971) is an American former softball player and current associate head coach at UCLA. She played college softball at UCLA as a pitcher and third baseman, and is a three-time medal winning Olympian with Team USA.

For the politician, see Liza Fernandez Rodriguez.

Lisa Fernandez
Fernandez in 2006
Personal information
Full nameLisa Maria Fernandez
Born (1971-02-22) February 22, 1971
Long Beach, California, U.S.
EducationUCLA ('95)
Height5 ft 6 in (168 cm)
Medal record
Women's softball
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1996 Atlanta Team competition
Gold medal – first place 2000 Sydney Team competition
Gold medal – first place 2004 Athens Team competition
Silver medal – second place 2008 Beijing Team competition (alternate)

Fernandez starred on both sides of the plate for the UCLA Bruins from 1990 to 1993, and was two-time national champion and four-time first team All-American. She continues to hold the UCLA records for career shutouts, WHIP and winning percentage. She also established an Olympic record in softball with 25 strikeouts in a game as a member of the United States women's national softball team. Additionally, she is noted for having pitched in three consecutive gold medal games, getting a save in 1996, an extra-inning shutout in 2000 before concluding the run by cinching the 2004 medal in a 5–1 victory.[2] Fernandez was named the #1 Greatest College Softball Player and is a USA Softball Hall of Fame honoree.[3]

Early years

Fernandez was born and raised in Long Beach, California.[4] Her father emigrated from Cuba, where he played baseball, and her mother was of Puerto Rican descent. Fernandez's mother played, with her brother (Lisa's uncle) stickball, a street game similar to baseball played with a broom stick and a rubber ball. Fernandez began playing softball at the age of eight. When she was twelve, she played in a local children's league. She tried out as a pitcher, however, her coach told her that she would never make it because she didn't have the right size and build. At St. Joseph High School, Fernandez joined her school's girls' softball team and together with her teammates won the CIF Championship.[2]

College career

Upon graduating from high school, she was accepted to UCLA, where she played softball and earned a degree in psychology. Fernandez played at UCLA from 1990 to 1993. She was a three-time winner of the Pac-12 Player of the Year award, and four-time winner of the Honda Sports Award for softball, and became the first softball player to win the Honda-Broderick Cup in 1993, given to the outstanding collegiate female athlete in all sports.[5][6][7] A four-time, first-team All-American, Fernandez led UCLA to two national championships (1990 & 1992) and two runner-up finishes (1991 & 1993).[2][8]

U.S. Women's Olympic Softball Team

In 1990, Fernandez won a gold medal at the ISF (International Softball Federation) World Championship. Among her accomplishments are:[2][8]

  • 1991, gold medal at the Pan American Games
  • 1994, gold medals at ISF World Championships and Pan Am Qualifier
  • 1991 and 1992, Sportswoman of the Year Award[9]
  • Led UCLA to two NCAA Women's College World Series Titles
  • Four-time NFCA First Team All-American
  • NCAA Top VI Award presented to the top six senior student athletes in all divisions
  • 1993, Honda-Broderick Cup winner, country's most outstanding collegiate female athlete[10]
  • 1991-93, Four-time Honda Sports Award winner for softball presented to the nation's best softball player[10]
  • 1996, Olympic gold medal in the 1996 Olympics celebrated in Atlanta, Georgia
  • 1998, gold medal at Pan American Games;
  • 2000, Olympic gold medal in the 2000 Sydney Olympics celebrated in Australia where she established a 25 strikeout record in women's softball
  • 2002, gold medal at the ISF World Championships
  • 2003, gold medal at the Pan American Games
  • 2004, Olympic gold medal in the 2004 Athens Olympics celebrated in Greece.

Honors
Lisa Fernandez in 2016

On April 24, 2001, the Lakewood City Council recognized Fernandez as one of the most remarkable athletes ever to come from the playgrounds and ball diamonds of Lakewood. The city council named the ball field at Mayfair Park in her honor, as the Lakewood Sports Hall of Fame Athlete of the Year.[2]

Fernandez was inducted into the Baseball Reliquary's Shrine of the Eternals in 2019.[11]

Later years

She married Michael Lujan in 2002 and gave birth to their sons Antonio in 2005, and Cruz in 2008.[12] Fernandez and her family reside in Long Beach, California. Fernandez is currently an assistant coach for the women's softball team at UCLA. In 2017, she was suspended two games for bumping an umpire after being ejected from a Bruins' Women's College World Series game.[13] On August 10, 2022, Fernandez was promoted to associate head coach for the Bruins.[14]

Statistics

[15][16][17][18]

UCLA Bruins
YEAR W L GP GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER BB SO ERA WHIP
1990 11 1 15 12 12 8 0 83.0 33 6 3 10 51 0.25 0.52
1991 20 3 26 24 23 16 1 165.2 68 9 6 22 165 0.25 0.54
1992 29 0 30 27 27 22 0 196.1 77 7 4 25 220 0.14 0.52
1993 33 3 36 33 33 28 0 249.2 80 10 9 46 348 0.25 0.50
TOTALS 93 7 107 96 95 74 1 694.2 258 32 22 103 784 0.22 0.52
YEAR G AB R H BA RBI HR 3B 2B TB SLG BB SO SB SBA
1990 67 213 27 66 .310 22 1 2 7 80 .375% 12 6 1 1
1991 63 205 25 70 .341 32 2 1 9 87 .424% 17 2 0 0
1992 56 177 47 71 .401 29 1 4 10 92 .520% 21 5 2 2
1993 54 157 43 80 .509 45 11 2 12 129 .821% 35 3 0 0
TOTALS 240 752 142 287 .381 128 15 9 38 388 .516% 85 16 3 3

[19][20][21]

Team USA
YEAR W L GP GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER BB SO ERA WHIP
1996 1 0 3 2 1 1 1 21.0 4 2 1 0 31 0.33 0.19
2000 2 1 4 4 2 1 0 29.2 7 3 2 4 52 0.48 0.37
2004 4 0 4 4 4 3 0 24.0 9 1 1 3 10 0.29 0.50
TOTALS 7 1 11 10 7 5 1 74.2 20 6 4 7 93 0.37 0.36
YEAR G AB R H BA RBI HR 3B 2B TB SLG BB SO SB SBA
1996 9 23 5 8 .348 5 1 0 0 11 .478% 5 2 1 1
2000 9 31 2 3 .097 2 1 0 0 6 .193% 3 4 0 0
2004 9 22 3 12 .545 8 1 0 3 18 .818% 4 0 0 0
TOTALS 27 76 10 23 .302 15 3 0 3 35 .460% 12 6 1 1

See also

References
  1. "Salary information for Lisa Maria Fernandez". TransparentCalifornia.com.
  2. "Lisa Fernandez - Famous Softball Player". SoftballPerformance.com. Archived from the original on June 25, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
  3. "DI Softball: Greatest Players". NCAA.com. National Collegiate Athletic Association. May 31, 2017. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  4. Olmsted, Frank J. (2004), Porter, David L. (ed.), "Lisa Fernandez", Latino and African American Athletes Today: A Biographical Dictionary, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, pp. 105–107, ISBN 0313320489 – via Google Books
  5. "Fernandez Is College Female Athlete of Year". Los Angeles Times. January 11, 1994. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  6. "Softball". CollegiateWomenSportsAwards.com. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  7. "Past Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year Winners (Honda Cup)". CollegiateWomenSportsAwards.com. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  8. "Lisa Fernandez". U.S. Olympic Team. Archived from the original on January 13, 2006.
  9. "Sportswoman of the Year Award". WomensSportsFoundation.org. Archived from the original on July 22, 2009. Retrieved August 3, 2009.
  10. "Lisa Fernandez - Softball Coach". UCLA Bruins. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  11. "Shrine of the Eternals – Inductees" Archived September 19, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. Baseball Reliquary. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
  12. "Fernandez adds to lineup", Long Beach Press-Telegram, January 10, 2006; "Son Gives Much Joy to Busy Fernandez", Long Beach Press-Telegram, April 1, 2007.
  13. "UCLA assistant softball coach Lisa Fernandez suspended 2 games". ESPN.com. June 3, 2017.
  14. "Lisa Fernandez Promoted to Associate Head Coach". uclabruins.com. August 10, 2022. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
  15. "Final 1990 Women's Softball Statistics Report" (PDF). NCAA.org. National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  16. "Final 1991 Women's Softball Statistics Report" (PDF). NCAA.org. National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  17. "Final 1992 Women's Softball Statistics Report" (PDF). NCAA.org. National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  18. "Final 1993 Women's Softball Statistics Report" (PDF). NCAA.org. National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  19. "Olympic Games Atlanta, Georgia". TeamUSA.org. United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on December 29, 2015. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  20. "Olympic Games Sydney, Australia". TeamUSA.org. United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on December 29, 2015. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  21. "Olympic Games Athens, Greece". TeamUSA.org. United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on December 29, 2015. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
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