Complete All-MIAC Fastpitch Softball Teams
WINONA, Minn. — The post-season honors keep rolling in for Saint Mary’s University’s
Cassie Otte (Randolph, Minn.).
And this time, the senior outfielder isn’t alone.
Less than a week after being named SMU’s lone representative on the NFCA/Louisville Slugger Second Team All-Region, Otte was selected to the All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference First Team for the third straight season, it was announced Wednesday.
Mallory Betzold, All-MIAC
Joining Otte on the conference’s post-season podium is Cardinal pitcher/first baseman
Mallory Betzold (Farmington, Minn.), who is making her first appearance on the all-conference squad.
Otte started all 22 conference games for the Cardinals, who finished tied for fifth in the league standings with a 10-12 record. Her 38 hits not only led the team, but were also tops among all MIAC players, while her team-leading .458 batting average ranked seventh in the conference. Otte also scored a team-high 17 runs, while boasting 10 RBIs, 38 total bases, a .458 slugging percentage, a .477 on-base percentage and a perfect 15-for-15 in stolen bases.
Betzold, meanwhile, was second to Otte in team batting average (.361), while adding 22 hits, seven RBIs, 23 total bases, a .377 slugging percentage and a .443 on-base percentage. She was flawless in the field, posting 50 putouts and 29 assists, while going 7-7 with 36 strikeouts in a team-leading 87 innings on the mound.
Regular-season conference champion Gustavus — which earned a berth in its first-ever NCAA Division III Finals by winning the Simpson Regional — boasted the conference’s MVP (Rachael Click), Rookie of the Year (Lisa Klass) and Coach of the Year (Jeff Annis), which MIAC Tournament champion St. Thomas’ Marta Radcliffe was the conference Pitcher of the Year.
As part of a conference-wide sportsmanship initiative, the MIAC announced the third annual All-MIAC Sportsmanship team for softball, which included Cardinal sophomore
Katy Gannon (Roselle, Ill.). Members of the All-MIAC Sportsmanship team are selected by their coaches and teammates as individuals who demonstrate ideals of positive sportsmanship both on and off the field of competition.