Complete All-MIAC Team

WINONA, Minn. — When it comes to fastpitch softball post-season honors in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, there's a youth movement afoot.

The 22-player All-MIAC First Team, announced Thursday, included just two seniors — while five freshmen were among those named to the all-conference squad.

Among those five freshmen was Saint Mary's University's Alex Raske (Chicago, Ill.), while SMU's Erin Stenseth (Eau Claire, Wis.) — one of six juniors honored — joined her Cardinal teammate on the All-MIAC First Team.

And the duo weren't the only Cardinals honored by the MIAC, as Hailey Ohl (Bloomington, Minn.), Melanie Hamilton (Homewood, Ill.) and Kayla Peterson (Lewiston, Minn.) were named honorable mention.

Stenseth closed out her junior year boasting a team-leading .381 batting average. She was also second on the team in doubles (10), home runs (2), total bases (59) and slugging percentage (.522). Stenseth also owned the team's longest consecutive-game hitting streak — hitting safely in a career-best 12 straight games — while collecting at least one hit in 28 of the team's 38 games.

Stenseth's offensive prowess came as no surprise around the MIAC. After all, the junior outfielder was no stranger honorable-mention All-MIAC selection — not to mention third-team all-region pick — a year ago. Raske, on the other hand, turned more than a few head during her first collegiate season.

Raske enjoyed a memorable first season as a Cardinal, leading the team in at-bats (135), runs (34), hits (50), doubles (12), home runs (5), total bases (77), slugging percentage (.570) and on-base percentage (.415). Raske recorded two of the Cardinals' four four-hit games — going 4-for-4 against both Bethel and Luther — while also compiling a team-leading eight multiple-RBI games.

Ohl finished third in batting (.343) and was second to Raske in runs (32), hits (46). The junior first baseman also stole a team-best 10 bases and boasted a .997 fielding percentage, committing just one error in 287 chances at first. Hamilton, meanwhile, owned a .283 batting average (32-for-113) with 15 runs scored, seven runs, one triple and one home run.

Peterson was the workhorse for the Cardinals in the pitching circle, closing out her junior season with a 15-15 record and a 5.35 ERA. She collected career highs in nearly every statistical category — including wins (15), appearances (37), complete games (16), shutouts (3), innings pitched (197.0) and strikeouts (73).

Regular-season and conference tournament champion St. Thomas nearly made it a clean sweep of the conference's top honors, as Kimmy Hassel was named MIAC Player of the Year and Kendra Bowe was selected MIAC Pitcher of the Year, while John Tschida landed the conference's Coach of the Year honor. Gustavus' Sarah Rozell, meanwhile, was tabbed MIAC Rookie of the Year.

As part of the conference-wide sportsmanship initiative, the MIAC also announced the sixth annual All-MIAC Sportsmanship team for fastpitch softball, which included SMU's Ohl.