BEAUMONT, Texas – The Lamar University softball team placed three players on the Southland Conference's all-conference team and the SLC Newcomer of the Year that was announced Tuesday. All yearly awards are presented by Ready Nutrition.
 
Junior Jade Lewis was named SLC Newcomer of the Year and First Team honors, while junior Shannon Klaus was named Second Team and Shaina Amir earned Honorable Mention All-SLC honors.
 
Lewis, a junior from Mont Belvieu, Texas, is the third Lamar Cardinal to earn SLC Newcomer of the Year. She joins Laura Hall (1985) and Ciara Luna (2016) as the only Cardinals to earn this award. Besides earning SLC Newcomer of the Year, Lewis was named First Team All-SLC designated player.
 
She led LU with a .349 batting average in Southland Conference play this season. Overall, she had a team-high batting average of .312 on the season with an on-base percentage of .383. Lewis led the Cardinals with 22 RBIs, 11 doubles and three homeruns. She is the only player with multiple home runs this season.
 
Klaus, a Cedar Creek, Texas native, earned Second Team All-SLC honors as an outfielder. In SLC action, Klaus batted .315 on the season. She is the only Cardinal to appear in every contest this season as she played in all 56 games. She hit .282 on the year and had an on-base percentage of .382. She drew a team-high 27 walks on the year. Klaus set the single-season record for most stolen bases with 25. Defensively, she had 116 putouts on the season and had four defensive assists. With her 25 stolen bases, Klaus now has 39 stolen bases in her career, which is the most for an LU player.
 
Amir, a native of Richmond, Texas, earned Honorable Mention honors as a catcher. She appeared in all 27 games for LU in SLC action. She hit .290 in SLC games and drove in 10 runs. During the SLC season, Amir had a .414 on-base percentage. Overall, Amir hit .260 on the season, while appearing in 53 games for LU. She drove in 15 runs, which was the third most on the team. Amir was one of three players with at least one homerun. She recorded 180 putouts this year.
  
The Cardinals finished the season with a 23-33 overall record, including a 14-13 record in conference play. LU opens play at the Southland Conference Tournament on Tuesday, May 7 at 1:30 p.m. when they play Northwestern State at in Natchitoches, La.