See also Biography Index (L) :: Filmography Index (L) :: Discography Index (L)

Lisa Fernandez (born February 22, 1971, in New York City) is a renowned softball pitcher of Cuban-Puerto Rican descent who established an Olympic record in softball with 25 strikeouts in a single game as a member of the United States Women Olympic Softball Team. Lisa`s father immigrated from Cuba, where he used to play baseball. In New York he met Lisa`s mother who had immigrated 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. Even though Lisa was a good student at school, it was only natural that she developed a love for baseball with the encouragement of both her parents. She began playing in 1979 at the age of 8. In 1983, when she was 12 years old, she played in a local children`s league and when she tried out for the position of 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 girl softball team and she and her teammates led the school to the CIF Championship.

Upon graduating from high school, she was accepted to the University of California, Los Angeles, where she played softball and earned a degree in psychology. She led her team to the 1994 Women`s College World Series Championship. Not long afterwards, she was recruited by the representatives of the U.S. Women`s Olympic Softball Team. 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.[1] Fernandez and her family reside in Long Beach, California.