University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Iowa State
Panthers Top Iowa State, Fall to Iowa
9/25/2004 8:00:00 AM | Softball
Sept. 25, 2004
PANTHERS TOP IOWA STATE, FALL TO IOWA
Cedar Falls, IA- The University of Northern Iowa softball team beat one in-state rival, but lost to another in the opening day of the Iowa Classic. The Panthers defeated Iowa State 5-0, but fell to Iowa 7-2 in Saturday's nightcap. A dominant pitching performance from junior Uju Ibekwe and a scrappy offensive showing from sophomore Nikki Ferden highlighted the day for UNI.
The Panthers kicked off their day with a match-up against Iowa State. The teams traded scoreless innings until UNI took the lead on an RBI fielder's choice from Ibekwe. The Panthers exploded in the seventh inning, scoring four runs on six hits including an RBI double from senior Melissa King and RBI singles from freshman Amanda Hess and senior Erin Strellner. Four runs in the seventh put the final score at 5-0. Ferden reached base three times, collected two hits, scored a run and stole a base in the win. Ibekwe dominated in the circle with a complete-game two-hit shutout. The junior also added two strikeouts.
UNI fell to the Iowa Hawkeyes 7-2 in the final game of the day. The Hawks jumped out to an early lead, scoring their first batter of the game and taking a 1-0 lead after one inning. The Panthers struck back in the second with a solo homerun off the bat of Hess. Iowa scored in the top half of the fourth, but UNI tied it up in the bottom half with a run-scoring single from Ibekwe. The Hawks rebounded to score two in the fifth and three in the sixth to put the score at 7-2. The sixth inning would be the last, however, as play was suspended due to darkness. Hess led the offense, going 2-3 with a homerun and both Panther runs. Freshman Stephanie Aguero gave up four runs on seven hits in five innings of work for the loss. Fellow freshman Liz Adams pitched the final inning and gave up three runs on four hits.
The Iowa Classic wraps up on Sunday (Sept. 26th) with the Panthers playing Iowa at 2:00 pm and Drake at 4:00 pm.
