All About Sports: Lisa Fernandez

Lisa Fernandez (born February 22, 1971, in New York City) is a right-handed softball pitcher of Cuban-Puerto Rican descent. She established an Olympic record in softball with 25 strikeouts in a game as a member of the United States Women's team.Lisa's father immigrated from Cuba, where he played baseball. In New York, he met Lisa's mother, who had migrated from Puerto Rico and whom he married. Lisa's mother played stickball, a street game similar to baseball played with a broom stick and a rubber ball, with her brother in the streets. Lisa began playing at the age of eight. At twelve, she played in a local children's league; when she tried out as a pitcher, her coach told her that she would never make it because she didn't have the right size and build. In 1986, Lisa and her family moved to Lakewood, California, where she attended St. Joseph High School. She joined her school's girls' softball team and she and her teammates won the CIF Championship.

UCLA vs USA softball Lisa Fernandez

Upon graduating from high school, she was accepted to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where she played softball and earned a degree in psychology. Fernandez played at UCLA from 1990-93. A three-time winner of the sport's Honda Award, Fernandez became the first softball player to win the Honda-Broderick Cup in 1993, given to the outstanding collegiate female athlete in all sports. A four-time, first-team All-American, Fernandez led UCLA to two national championships (1990 & 1992) and two runner-up finishes (1991 & 1993).On April 24, 2001, the Lakewood City Council recognized Lisa 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.Lisa is currently an assistant coach for the women's softball team at UCLA. She married Michael Lujan in 2002 and gave birth to their son Antonio in 2005. Fernandez and her family reside in Long Beach, California.