April 29, 2004
Oklahoma City, Okla. - The Amateur Softball Association, the National Governing Body of Softball in the United States and USA Softball announced today the selection of Stanford sophomore Lauren Lappin (Anaheim, CA) as the National Player of the Week for her performance from April 19-25. Leading the Cardinal to a 4-1 record, the shortstop hit .471 going 8-for-17 while she was perfect in the field with 10 putouts and 10 assists.
"I am definitely excited and this is a great honor to be named by USA Softball as the Player of the Week," Lappin said. "There are so many incredible players in the country and to be recognized this week shows how hard our team worked. We had three really good team wins this weekend because everyone showed up and contributed. This is such an honor for our program as we continue towards our goal of making the World Series."
The 5'7" athlete aided the now No. 7 Stanford Cardinal to three road wins over nationally ranked No. 4 UCLA and No. 8 Washington. Against UCLA she had a 2-for-3 performance knocking in the winning run in the top of the sixth inning of the 1-0 victory. In game one against Washington, she recorded a 2-for-4 outing with two RBI in the Cardinal 12-9 win followed by a 1-for-3 performance in game two's 3-2 victory.
"This is an outstanding honor for Lauren," Stanford head coach John Rittman said. "She had a great week against some very good teams and played well at the plate and in the field. Not only did she lead our team offensively, she was perfect defensively. She is just a tremendous player and this is a great honor for her and our program."
Earlier in the week, Lappin led Stanford in a split two-game series with St. Mary's going 3-for-7 with three RBI. For the year, she is hitting .338 and is second on the team in doubles (12) and RBI (38).