Vicky Lattanzio

Classroom

Vicky Lattanzio holds a 3.25 grade-point average as a marketing major. A two-year member of the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll, Lattanzio has twice made Lehigh’s Dean’s List with a semester GPA of 3.6 or better, including the recently completed fall 2016 semester. On five occasions, Lattanzio has received seven Lehigh Faculty Athletics Council Academic Awards for posting semester GPAs of 3.20 or better. She was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Academic Team following the 2015 season. Lattanzio has already landed a job with Fortitude Systems/AIM Group in Falls Church, Virginia, following her anticipated graduation in May.

Character

Lattanzio is well-respected by her teammates and is a member of Lehigh softball’s leadership unity council, which acts in place of team captains, with representation from each class. Her character is also shown by her selflessness. Lattanzio’s best position is first base, but with other first basemen in the program she has moved around the field in her time at Lehigh. As a freshman, Lattanzio played right field almost exclusively. The last two seasons, she served primarily as Lehigh’s designated player, while also contributing some in right field and at first base. Lattanzio pitched in high school, and while she was not recruited to pitch at Lehigh she has contributed 30 innings in the circle over the last two years, providing depth when Lehigh dealt with pitching injuries.

Lattanzio has been heavily involved in Lehigh’s athletic department. She has interned for Lehigh’s Cable Center for Athletics Leadership Development. In Lehigh’s Leadership Academy, Lattanzio graduated from the Emerging Leaders program, and the Leadership Legacies program where she learned how to interact with coaches and teammates in order to effectively lead a team as a captain. She also is involved in Lehigh’s Student-Athlete Mentor and PRIDE programs, which help Lehigh first-year student-athletes adapt to college life.

Last spring, Lattanzio was recognized with the Lehigh’s Class of 1904 award, which is awarded on the basis of character, scholarship, qualifications indicating promise of future leadership, and extracurricular activities as a scholarship award for a student’s senior year.

Community

Lattanzio has been involved in several community outreach programs at Lehigh, most notably the annual Adopt-A-Family initiative around the holidays. Each Lehigh Athletics team adopts an underprivileged family, and they then raise money throughout the semester to purchase holiday presents for their adopted family. The initiative wraps up with an event at which all of the student-athletes present the gifts to the families. Last year, the Lehigh student-athletes raised more than $30,000. As part of a summer internship experience with Lehigh’s Global Village for Future Leaders of Business and Industry, Lattanzio volunteered with the Miracle League of the Lehigh Valley, an organization that organizes baseball games for children with special needs. Lattanzi also has worked as a softball instructor, both privately and with Extra Innings in her hometown of Fishkill, N.Y.

Competition

Lattanzio enters her senior season as a three-time All-Patriot League selection (two-time first-team) selection. In her sophomore and junior seasons, Lattanzio batted cleanup and earned all-league laurels as a designated player. As a junior, Lattanzio led the Mountain Hawks with 37 runs batted in and finished second on the team with 14 doubles and 31 walks. She was also named to the All-Patriot League Tournament team. As a sophomore, Lattanzio batted .291 with 20 RBIs and was a contributor to Lehigh’s most recent Patriot League Tournament title and NCAA Regional appearance. Lattanzio is a .310 career hitter with 30 doubles, five home runs and 86 RBIs. She has appeared in 143 games with 135 starts in her Lehigh career to date. Lattanzio also owns a 2-0 record and a 2.97 ERA in 30.1 innings of work in the pitcher’s circle. Lattanzio’s Lehigh team has won five straight Patriot League regular season titles (including her first three years) as well as the 2015 tournament crown.