BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – Head coach Kayla Hatting and senior Julie Graf of the St. Olaf College softball team were named the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Softball Coach and Pitcher of the Year, respectively, as the conference announced its 2021 MIAC Softball Awards on Monday afternoon.

Hatting was selected as the MIAC Coach of the Year by her peers for the first time in her career, while Graf collected the second MIAC Pitcher of the Year accolade of her standout career. In addition to the two major awards, Graf, Hannah Matthies, Kaleigh Santmyer, Ally Bode, and Tarah DeCroock were named to the MIAC All-Conference Team, while Abby Grismer and Katie Weisheit earned Honorable Mention All-MIAC distinction.

The five All-MIAC selections and seven all-conference/honorable mention honorees were both the highest totals in program history for St. Olaf.

After leading St. Olaf to its first-ever appearance in the regional championship series and its first MIAC regular-season title in 25 seasons, Hatting became the fourth MIAC Coach of the Year in program history, joining Lori Littleton Cooling (1995, 1996) and Ruthie Neuger (2010) in receiving the honor. St. Olaf's 20-2 record in conference play on its way to its first regular-season championship since 1996 was the best mark in program history.

The lone student-athlete in program history to earn MIAC Pitcher of the Year honors, Graf received the accolade for the second time (2017, 2021) to become the fifth two-time honoree since the award began in 2004. The senior led the MIAC in wins, innings pitched, strikeouts, and strikeouts per seven innings, while ranking second in ERA, after going 17-2 with a 0.76 ERA and 208 strikeouts in 101.0 innings in the circle in conference play. Graf, who held MIAC opponents to a .105 batting average, concluded her career as the second four-time All-MIAC honoree in program history (Ali Berens – 2007-10).

DeCroock was named to the All-MIAC Team for the second time after ranking in the conference's top 10 in stolen bases (3rd, 13), runs (4th, 23), hits (4th, 31), home runs (t-5th, 3), batting average (7th, .408), and on-base percentage (9th, .464) in MIAC contests. The junior had at least one hit in 19 of St. Olaf's 22 conference games.

Like DeCroock, Bode earned her second All-MIAC accolade after previously being recognized in 2019. During her senior season, Bode ranked in the MIAC's top 20 in hits (t-7th, 26), doubles (t-10th, 6), runs batted in (t-11th, 15), runs (t-12th, 16), slugging percentage (15th, .529), and batting average (t-16th, .371).

In her senior season, Matthies was the top run-producer in the MIAC, driving in a conference-best 40 runs in 22 conference contests this spring. The senior also led the conference in doubles (12), tied for the league lead in hits (35), was second in slugging percentage (.816), and third in both batting average (.461) and home runs (5) in MIAC play. She also was in the top 10 in on-base percentage (6th, .481) and runs (t-9th, 17).

Santmyer also collected her first All-MIAC honor after a breakout junior season. The junior ranked in the conference's top 10 in nearly every major offensive category, sitting tied for fourth in hits (31), fifth in batting average (.437), fifth in on-base percentage (.487), tied for seventh in RBI (17), eighth in runs (18), eighth in slugging percentage (.606), tied for ninth in home runs (2), and tied for 10th in doubles (6).

Grismer was named an Honorable Mention All-MIAC selection for the second time in her career after hitting .324 (22-for-68) with six doubles, two home runs, 10 runs, and 10 RBI in conference play. Weisheit joined Grismer on the honorable mention list following a rookie season where she hit .326 (14-for-43) with five doubles, nine runs, four RBI, and three stolen bases against MIAC opposition.

Junior Katie Howard was St. Olaf's representative on the MIAC All-Sportsmanship Team. Howard appeared in 14 conference games and batted .400 (6-for-15) with a double, three RBI, five runs, and one stolen base.

St. Olaf advanced to the regional final for the first time in program history over the weekend before falling to St. Thomas on Sunday in Waverly, Iowa. The Oles finished the 2021 season with a 26-8 record and won their first MIAC regular-season title since 1996 with a program-best record of 20-2 in conference play.