NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Seven Saint Louis softball student-athletes, led by first-team All-Conference performers Gabbie Kowalik, Chloe Wendling and Abby Mallo, earned 2023 Atlantic 10 Conference postseason honors, the league office announced Wednesday.
 
SLU head coach Christy Connoyer was selected A-10 Coach of the Year. Connoyer guided Saint Louis to the A-10 regular-season championship – its first conference title – as well as school records for most conference wins (20), highest conference winning percentage (.800), longest overall winning streak (12 games) and longest A-10 regular-season winning streak (11 games).
 
Fifth-year center fielder Kowalik becomes the first player in Billiken softball history to earn first-team All-Conference recognition four times. She is only the third Billiken, and second during SLU's 18 years in the A-10, to earn All-Conference accolades (first or second team) four times.
 
Fifth-year pitcher Wendling collected All-Conference plaudits for a second time after making the 2022 second team. Third baseman Mallo is the first Billiken freshman to garner first-team honors since Kowalik did so in 2019.
 
Sophomore left fielder Natalie Sullivan, sophomore designated player Jane Kaniecki and freshman shortstop Chloe Rhine were selected to the All-Conference second team.
 
Saint Louis' six All-Conference picks are a program record, breaking the previous mark of four. The Billikens' three first-team honorees equal the school record set in 2019.
 
Another program mark was matched with the selection of three freshmen to the A-10 All-Rookie team. Mallo, Rhine and right fielder Ashley Marietta are included among the league's top newcomers, giving SLU three All-Rookie picks for a second consecutive year and third time overall (2018).
 
Saint Louis also fared well in All-Academic balloting as Kowalik and Wendling earned inclusion on the 10-member team. Kowalik made the prestigious list for a second consecutive season. This is the third straight year and 11th time in SLU's 18 years of A-10 membership that multiple Billikens have been selected.
 
Kowalik tops the A-10 in total bases (99), runs (49) and hit-by-pitch (11). She leads the Billikens and ranks among the top five in the league in batting average (.393), on-base percentage (.487), hits (64), doubles (12), triples (four) and stolen bases (23). A two-time A-10 Player of the Week, Kowalik hit safely in 40 of SLU's 52 regular-season games, including a team-high 19 multi-hit games, and tallied five home runs, 33 RBI and a .607 slugging percentage. Her RBI total and slugging percentage also are among the A-10's top five. Kowalik ranks among the top 50 players in the nation in hits (36th) and runs per game (0.94, 45th).
 
Wendling is the conference leader in wins (20) and innings pitched (213 2/3), ranking 16th and third, respectively, in the nation. She owns a career-best 2.62 ERA and 160 strikeouts while issuing just 2.36 walks per seven innings. Wendling has two shutouts this season, including a second career no-hitter, as well as two saves. In A-10 games, she posted a 14-4 record and a 1.70 ERA. In addition to her league-leading wins and innings totals, Wendling ranks fourth in strikeouts and sixth in ERA in the conference. She was the A-10 Pitcher of the Week for April 17-23.
 
Mallo leads the A-10 in home runs (12) and RBI (school-record 53) and ranks second in slugging percentage (.615), fifth in total bases (80), seventh in OPS (.982) and ninth in runs (28). Her .300 overall batting average includes a .377 mark with runners in scoring position, and 24 of her RBI have come with two outs. Mallo has a team-high 18 multi-RBI games and ranks eighth in the nation in RBI per game (1.18). She earned two A-10 Rookie of the Week honors and an A-10 Player of the Week nod.
 
Sullivan is second in the A-10 in runs (48), walks (31) and sacrifice bunts (nine), fourth in sacrifice flies (three), fifth in hits (50), seventh in total bases (74) and eighth in on-base percentage (.439). Her .327 batting average, 10 doubles, 12 stolen bases and 16 multi-hit games rank second on the team. Sullivan also has four home runs, 18 RBI and a .484 slugging percentage. She batted .357 in conference play.
 
Kaniecki's 51 hits are fourth most in the A-10. She carries a .307 batting average (third on the team) with a home run, five doubles and 24 RBI. Kaniecki turned in a .320 batting average and 14 RBI against conference opponents. She also has spent significant time at first base, committing just two errors in 158 chances for a .987 fielding percentage.
 
Rhine's school-record 44 walks are tops in the A-10, and she ranks sixth nationally in walks per game (0.85). Her 40 runs are fourth in the conference and a SLU freshman record, and her .465 on-base percentage is fifth in the A-10 and ahead of the Billiken freshman standard of .438. Rhine ranks third in assists (106), fourth in double plays (11), seventh in home runs (five), eighth in RBI (29), ninth in OPS (.941) and 10th in total bases (70) in the league. Her .286 batting average includes .378 with runners in scoring position.
 
Marietta leads the Billikens with nine outfield assists. The A-10 Rookie of the Week for April 10-16 is fourth on the team in batting average (.305) and tied for second in doubles (10), and she has two home runs and 17 RBI, 13 of which came against A-10 opponents. Also in conference play, Marietta registered a .338 batting average, a .515 slugging percentage and a .416 on-base percentage.