Gustavus Adolphus senior softball player Lisa Klass (Richfield, Minn.) has earned a spot on the 2012 Capital One Academic All-District First Team for District Six. A standout second baseman with a cumulative grade point average of 3.63 in management, Klass is one of four infielders on the District Six First Team.
The 2012 Capital One Academic All-District Softball Teams, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America, have been released to recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom.
The Academic All-District teams include the student-athletes divided into eight geographic districts across the United States and Canada. This is the first year of the expanded Academic All-America program as CoSIDA moves from recognizing a University Division (Division I) and a College Division (all non Division I) and doubles the number of scholar-athletes honored. The teams include NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III participants, while the College Division team combines NAIA, Canadian and two-year schools.
Lisa Klass turned in the best statistical year of her stellar four-year career this spring. The senior captain led the Gustavus softball team in batting average, slugging percentage, runs, hits, doubles, and home runs. Klass hit a career-best .393 (55-140) with a slugging percentage of .664 (4th/MIAC) and an on-base percentage of .436 this season. The lead-off hitter’s 55 hits are also a career-best, while her 42 runs ranked second in the MIAC.
A native of Richfield, Minnesota, Klass etched her name in the Gustavus record books with a career-high 17 doubles in her senior campaign. With that, Klass became Gustavus’ all-time leader in doubles with a total of 48 over her career, breaking Audrey Lenoch’s career mark of 44 set in 2006. Klass also made it into the all-time top-three in both runs scored and slugging percentage. She ranks third with 148 runs and third in slugging at .614.
This season, the Gustavus women’s softball team went 34-9 overall and 20-2 in the MIAC, finishing second in the conference for the third-consecutive season. Over the course Klass’ tenure wearing the Three Crowns, Gustavus has gone a combined 138-45-1 (.753) overall and 77-10-1 (.875) in MIAC play. The Gusties won the MIAC Championship in 2009 and capped an amazing season with a third place finish at the NCAA Division III College World Series.
Starting in 175 games of her collegiate career, Klass is a career .387 hitter with a .614 slugging percentage and a .457 on-base percentage. A utility infielder in ever sense, Lisa made the transition back to second base this season after spending her junior year at short. She finished 2012 with a .960 fielding percentage, bringing her career fielding percentage to .957 after 294 putouts, 305 assists, and 27 errors.
To go along with her accomplishments on the field, Lisa Klass is heavily involved in the Gustavus community. The senior serves as the co-executive director on the Campus Activities Board and is the softball team’s representative on the Student Athletic Advisory Committee. Klass is also the marketing chair for the Women in Business Leadership organization.
Lisa Klass is one of three members from the MIAC to earn a spot on the Academic All-District Six First Team. Joining her is Carleton’s Chelsea Yost and Augsburg’s Bri Dorale.
First‐team Academic All‐District honorees advance to the Capital One Academic All‐America Team ballot, where first‐, second‐ and third‐team All‐America honorees will be selected later this month.