Justine Schultz: Coach

Currently: Assistant Coach Gustavus Adolphus Softball

College: Saint Mary’s University/ Minnesota State University- Mankato

Justine Schultz is in her second year as Assistant Softball Coach under Head Coach Coley Ries-Welter in the 2023-24 academic year. Schultz helped Ries-Welter lead the Gustie softball team to one of its best seasons in 2023, finishing with an overall record of 24-18 and 14-8 finish in the MIAC, good for fourth in the conference standings. For the first time in seven years, the Gusties swept St. Catherine in a MIAC doubleheader and defeated nationally-ranked No. 14 Saint Benedict in conference play. The Gusties made history in 2023, hosting the first ever home playoff game at the Gustie Softball Field, defeating St. Catherine 4-1 for the team’s first playoff win since 2015.

Schultz currently serves as the GustieWELL Coordinator at Gustavus, specializing in in wellness education in campus. Schultz is also a Mental Performance Coach for Mentally Strong Consulting. Previous to taking the position at Gustavus, Schultz served as a Mental Performance Coach with the Mankato United Soccer Club, a semi-professional team apart of the Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL), while pursuing her graduate degree in Sport and Exercise Psychology from Minnesota State University-Mankato. Schultz also spent time as a Graduate Level Mental Performance Consultant as a part of her graduate work.

Schultz, a 2021 graduate of Saint Mary’s University, was a standout catcher for the Cardinal softball team and one of the program’s best players of the last decade. A four-year letterwinner, Schultz started in every Cardinal game during her career, posting a top-five batting average on the roster all four years, leading the team in 2019 and 2020. Schultz led the Cardinals in slugging percentage, on base percentage, at-bats, runs scored, hits, RBI, doubles, triples, total bases, and putouts in multiple years of her career, and finished with All-MIAC honors in her junior and senior season.

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McKayla Armbruster (Assistant Coach) –

McKayla Armbruster, A pitcher from Faribault, Minn., played six seasons of softball with the Faribault High School softball team…Armbruster helped guide her team to a Big Nine Section and the Minnesota State Championship. She threw a no-hitter to open the state tournament and a one-hit shutout in the state championship game. She finished her career amassing 63 wins, 909 strikeouts, a 0.90 E.R.A., 35 shutouts, six no-hitters, and three perfect games. McKayla received five first-team all-conference selections to go along with five all-section awards and three All-State first-team honors. McKayla led the state in wins, strikeouts, and ERA for the 2017, 2018, and 2019 seasons. Armbruster also swung a formidable bat for the Falcons. She finished her career with a .365 average, 160 hits, 26 doubles, and 87 RBIs She was named Ms. Minnesota Softball by the Minnesota All-Sports Alliance in 2019 and was a Gatorade Player of the Year finalist. Armbruster guided her summer clubs teams to six league championships and five state titles. Her teams placed nationally four times, including the 2019 SE PGF Championship in Tennessee, where Mac pitched 52 innings, allowing only four runs en route to the title. After high school, Armbruster played five years for the Minnesota State Mavericks. She appeared ein 132 games for the Mavericks and can be found in record books in several categories. In her 99 starts, Mac appeared in 575.2 innings and accumulated 68 wins, 545 strikeouts, and recorded 15 shutouts. She is also tied with Coley Ries as the all-time saves leader. Mac holds the record for the highest strikeout-to-walk ratio as well and is well known for her accuracy and pinpoint control.

2024: Made 36 appearances in the circle for the Mavericks, including 27 starts…Led the Maverick pitching staff with a 19-7 record and a 1.92 ERA…Struck out 142 batters in 160.1 innings pitched…Held opposing batters to a .234 batting average…Threw 14 complete games and our shutouts…Recorded four saves…Recorded a season-high 10 strikeouts vs. Notre Dame

College…Threw a two-hit shutout vs. Minnesota Duluth while striking out six batters…Named to the All-NSIC First Team…Earned NSIC All-Academic Team of Excellence and CSC Academic

All-District honors.

2023: Made 38 appearances in the circle for the Mavericks, including 28 starts…Put together a 21-10 record to go with a 1.91 ERA and 201 strikeouts…Held opposing hitters to a .231 batting average in 187.1 innings pitched…Threw a perfect game against Bemidji State (4/14)…Struck out a season-high 10 batters against Lynn (3/9), Minnesota Crookston (4/16) and UMary (4/30)…Threw eight shutouts and recorded three saves…Was named the NSIC Pitcher of the Week twice and to the All-NSIC First Team…Named to the NSIC All-Academic Team and the CSC Academic All-District Team.

2022: Made 26 appearances in the circle for the Mavericks, including 21 starts…Boasted a 2.69 ERA and a 10-6 record in 101.2 innings pitched…Named to the NSIC All-Academic Team of Excellence…Struck out 95 batters and held opposing batters to a .246 batting average…Struck out a season-high 11 batters against Bemidji State (4/16).

2021: Named to the NSIC All-Academic Team/Team of Excellence…Earned NSIC Pitcher of the Week honors after throwing 10 scoreless innings, while allowing just five hits…Made 25 appearances in the circle for the Mavericks, including 19 starts as she put together a 14-4 record…Threw four complete games, including three shutouts…Recorded 79 strikeouts and held opposing batters to a .264 average…Boasted a 2.20 ERA while pitching 95.1 innings…Recorded at least five strikeouts in six games…Earned the win in MSU’s 4-2 victory over Augustana in the NSIC Tournament Championship game where she threw 6.1 innings, while giving up just two runs, one earned.

2020: Made seven appearances in the circle for the Mavericks…Posted a 4-0 record, to go along with a 2.03 ERA and 28 strikeouts…Held opposing batters to a .231 batting average…Struck out a season-high eight batters against Pitt-Johnstown and Bloomfield as she picked up the complete game victories.

Mac finished her career with Minnesota State

2X All-NSIC 1st Team

6X NSIC Pitcher of the Week

Lead the NSIC in Wins, Strikeouts, and ERA in 2023

4X NSIC All-Academic Team

2X CSC Academic All-District Team………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Cheyenne Behrends (Assistant Coach) – Behrends graduated from Minnesota State University. In the 2024-2025 season, she started in all 55 games for the Mavericks at third base…Batted .252 with 40 hits, eight doubles, three triples and four home runs…Scored 28 runs and drove in 25…Recorded 10 multi-hit games, including a season-high three hits vs. Notre Dame College…Drove in a season-high three runs against California, Pa. and Southwest Minnesota State…Named to the NSIC All-Academic Team and the CSC Academic All-District Team.