By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — Justine Schultz (Winona, Minn.) hit the ground running as a freshman for the Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team a year ago.
 
And there would be no sophomore slump for the Cardinal catcher, as she picked up right where she left off — and then some.
 
Schultz proved to be the Cardinals' offensive leader — and defensive field general — during her sophomore campaign. And Tuesday afternoon, Schultz was recognized for those efforts, being named First-Team All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
 
And she wasn't alone on the MIAC post-season podium, either, as teammates Amber Chow (West St. Paul, Minn.) and Haley Williams (Littleton, Colo.) were both named honorable-mention All-MIAC.
 
Regular-season and tournament champion St. Thomas claimed three of the MIAC's top four honors, as Elise Barnes was named Player of the Year, Kierstin Anderson-Glass was Pitcher of the Year, and John Tschida was tabbed Coach of the Year, while St. Catherine's Alex Ehde was named Rookie of the Year.
 
Schultz started 21 of the team's 22 conference games — all at catcher — hitting a team-best .328, while also leading or sharing the team lead in hits (19), doubles (4), total bases (23), and on-base percentage (.423). She also scored four runs, had five RBIs and owned a .397 slugging percentage. Defensively, Schultz owned a .982 fielding percentage, recording 49 putouts and seven assists, while committing just one error.
 
Overall, Schultz was behind the plate for 35 of the Cardinals' 36 games, hitting .311 (32-for-103). Along with her team-leading 32 hits, Schultz also added eight runs scored, seven doubles, nine RBIs, 39 total bases, a .379 slugging percentage, 11 walks and a .385 on-base percentage. Behind the plate, Schultz boasted a .990 field percentage, recording 85 putouts and 19 assists against just one error.
 
Chow was a dual threat for the Cardinals this season — both at the plate and in the pitcher's circle. The sophomore shared the team lead in batting average (.328), hits (19), and at-bats (58) in 20 conference games, while adding three runs, three doubles, nine RBIs, 22 total bases, a .379 slugging percentage and a .371 on-base percentage. In the circle, Chow went 4-7 with a 4.29 ERA in 15 MIAC appearances, including 12 starts. She tossed nine complete games and struck out a team-high 32 batters.
 
Chow played in 34 of the Cardinals' 36 games this season, hitting .284 (27-for-95), while adding five runs, four doubles and 10 RBIs. She finished the year with 31 total bases, a .326 slugging percentage, and a .358 on-base percentage. Chow closed out the year 5-12 with a 4.09 ERA in 24 pitching appearances — including 20 starts. She led the pitching staff with 125.0 innings pitched, recording 15 complete games — including one shutout — and a team-best 43 strikeouts.
 
One of only three players to start all 22 conference games, Williams closed out her junior year hitting .320 (8-for-25) with five runs, six RBIs, 11 total bases, a .440 slugging percentage and .414 on-base percentage. Williams hit her first collegiate home run in the Cardinals' final game of the season — a two-run shot in her last at-bat of the year in Saint Mary's 6-3 win over Bethel.
 
For the year, Williams started all 36 games, hitting .358 (8-for-31) with six runs, one home run, six RBIs, 11 total bases, a .355 slugging percentage, and a .361 on-base percentage.
 
The MIAC also announced the 12th annual All-MIAC Sportsmanship team for softball, which included the Cardinals' Amber Trendle (Chicago, Ill.).