Panthers Drop Opening Pair at Schutt Showcase

Saturday, February 24

Pekin, Ill.

10:00 AM

University of Northern Iowa

Bradley

Panthers Drop Opening Pair at Schutt Showcase

2/24/2007 7:00:00 AM | Softball

By: UNI Athletics Communications

Feb. 24, 2007

Box Score

PEKIN, Ill. - The University of Northern Iowa softball team found runs hard to come by on the opening day of the Schutt Showcase, falling 4-1 to host team Bradley and 2-0 to Saint Louis on Saturday at Dragon's Dome.

Freshman pitcher Jen Larsen (Moline, Ill./Moline) scattered six hits over six innings in the circle against Bradley, but the Braves managed to push a pair of runs across to break the teams' scoreless tie in the fifth inning. Freshman Amanda Clack put Bradley on the board with a two-run home run.

The Panthers answered in the bottom of the frame, however, with Morgan Paulson (Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge) doubling down the right field line to lead things off. Ashley Birdsong, the reigning Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week, then recorded consecutive strikeouts before Stephanie Aguero (Muscatine, Iowa/Muscatine) drove a clutch, two-out double to left field to plate Paulson and cut the Braves' lead to 2-1.

Bradley tagged reliever Ashley Lepley (Albia, Iowa/Albia) for a pair of unearned runs in the top of the seventh courtesy of a Panther error, however, to push the Braves lead to the final margin.

Paulson provided UNI's only other hit, going 2-for-3 at the plate, while Larsen took the pitching loss to fall to 1-1 on the season.

Lepley provided a solid performance for the Panthers in the day's second game but, again, UNI was unable to back its pitching with sufficient run support.

Aguero, Brittany Ruzicka (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Jefferson) and Mandy Kumamoto (Torrance, Calif./West) each went 2-for-3 at the plate, but the Panthers failed to push any runs across to match those put up by the Billikens in the second and sixth innings, leaving a total eight runners stranded on base.

Lepley gave up both Billiken runs and scattered six hits over five innings pitched, striking out six without allowing a walk, but fell to 1-2 for the season with the loss.

UNI, which fell to 2-4 on the season, closes out play at Dragon's Dome on Sunday with a 10 a.m. matchup against IUPUI and a noon rematch with Saint Louis.

NOTES

▪ Saturday's opener against Bradley was head coach Christy Hebert's 200th game coached at UNI. Hebert, now in her fifth season at the helm of the Panther program is 79-121-1 at UNI.

▪ UNI has now played each of its first six games of the season indoors, including four games played in the Ramada Inn UNI-Dome Softball Invitational, which the Panthers hosted Feb. 10-11. The Panthers play their first games outdoors next weekend in Fayetteville, Ark.

▪ Brittany Ruzicka, who moved to the second spot in UNI's lineup on Saturday after serving as leadoff hitter in the Panthers' first four games, has reached base safely in 13 of her first 22 plate appearances this season and is batting .571 (12-for-21).