All-MIAC Team

WINONA, Minn. — Kathi Opsahl (Elk River, Minn.), Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.), and Brittney Birkhauser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) were been the leaders for the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota fastpitch softball team all season.
 
So it was only fitting that all three collected conference hardware when the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference handed out its post-season awards on Wednesday.
 
Opsahl and Betzold were named to the All-MIAC First-Team—Betzold for the second straight season—while Birkhauser was an honorable-mention selection.
 
Opsahl enjoyed the most productive offensive season of her collegiate career this season, leading the team with a .324 batting average in 22 conference games. The senior right-fielder collected a team-high 22 hits, and also led the team in total bases (26) and slugging percentage (.382). She chipped in five runs, four doubles, five RBIs, and five walks, while boasting a .958 fielding percentage.
 
Overall, Opsahl started all 38 games for Saint Mary's, compiling a .317 batting average (39-for-123), with seven runs, four doubles, one triple, one home run, 15 RBIs, a .390 slugging percentage, and a .351 on-base percentage.
 
Betzold was a dual-threat for the Cardinals, making her presence felt both at the plate and in the pitcher's circle. The senior appeared in 21 of the Cardinals' 22 MIAC contests, compiling a .292 batting average (19-for-65), with one double and five RBIs. Betzold also boasted a 3.03 ERA and 6-14 record in 20 pitching appearances—including 18 starts. She tossed 104.0 innings, recording 12 complete games and finishing with 46 strikeouts.
 
In 37 overall games, Betzold hit a team-leading .333 (39-for-117), with 16 runs, five doubles, two home runs, 13 triples, a .427 slugging percentage, and a .365 on-base percentage. Betzold finished her season senior 12-20 with a 2.95 ERA in the pitcher's circle. She made 32 appearances—including 30 starts—tossing 182 2/3 innings. She posted 22 complete games—tying the single-season program record—and collected 92 strikeouts. Betzold, who recorded her first collegiate no-hitter against Concordia on April 29, finished her collegiate career with a school-record 78 complete games. She also owns the career record in innings pitched (699.1) and batters faced (3066).
 
Birkhauser, who, like Opsahl, started all 22 conference games, finished her junior season with a .292 conference batting average (21-for-72), sharing the team lead in doubles (4), while leading the Cardinals in walks (10) and on-base percentage (.373).
 
Birkhauser started all 38 games a shortstop for Saint Mary's this season, boasting a .320 batting average, while leading or sharing the team lead in runs (24), doubles (9), triples (1), home runs (3), RBIs (17), total bases (61), walks (17), and slugging percentage (.477). Birkhauser compiled 11 multiple-hit games and put together five multiple-RBI contests.
 
St. Catherine's Jenna George was named the MIAC's Player of the Year, while St. Olaf's Julie Graf was named the conference's Pitcher and Rookie of the Year. Colleen Powers, who guided St. Catherine to second-place regular-season finish and the MIAC Playoff championship, was selected the MIAC Coach of the Year.
 
As part of the conference-wide sportsmanship initiative, the MIAC also announced the 10th annual All-MIAC Sportsmanship team for fastpitch softball, which included Saint Mary's Amber Trendle (Chicago, Ill.).