University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
IUPUI
Panthers Close Weekend With Pair of Wins
2/25/2007 7:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 25, 2007
The Panthers scored an 8-0 win over IUPUI to open the day and then earned a 9-4 victory over
UNI pounded out a combined 23 hits between the two contests, while the Panthers' pitching staff surrendered just eight on the day. UNI also had eight stolen bases over the course of the two games.
The Panthers broke open the scoring in the opening game in the top of the third inning, with Brittany Ruzicka (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Jefferson), who reached on a bunt single, scoring when Ashley Lepley (Albia, Iowa/Albia) was hit with a pitch with the bases loaded.
Lepley was hit by another pitch in the fifth inning to push Whitney Link (Ankeny, Iowa/Des Moines East), who was running for Morgan Paulson (Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge) following Paulson's lead-off single, to second base. A sacrifice bunt by Stephanie Aguero (
Lepley, meanwhile, cruised in the circle, allowing only four hits by IUPUI over six innings of scoreless pitching and striking out seven Jaguar hitters.
The Panthers gave their pitcher even more breathing room with a four-run seventh inning, as Aguero singled to lead off the frame and was driven home on an RBI double by Kelly Papesh (Minooka, Ill/Minooka). Larsen followed with a two-run home run, her second of the season, to give the Panthers a 7-0 lead. Megan Machovec (DeWitt, Iowa/DeWitt Central) then singled, stole second and was advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Ruzicka. An illegal pitch brought Machovec across for the final margin.
Lepley earned the win to improve to 2-2 on the season, with Sarah Bakey (
The Panthers received another stellar effort from their pitching staff against
Machovec and Larsen hit back-to-back singles in the first inning, and Papesh followed with a double to plate Machovec and put UNI on the board. A squeeze bunt by Gerking then pushed Larsen across to give the Panthers an early 2-0 lead.
The Panthers put three more runs on the board in the third, with Machovec driving a lead-off single, stealing second and advancing to third on Larsen's sacrifice bunt. Papesh then brought Machovec home with an RBI double. Gerking drove another double to plate Nikki Ferden (
In the fourth, Ruzicka led off by driving a single, stealing second and then advancing to third on a sacrifice by Machovec. A single to right-center by Larsen brought Ruzicka home and, following a single by Papesh, Gerking plated Larsen and Papesh with a double to center field.
Larsen carried the Panthers through the first four frames, giving up only two hits, but the Billikens pushed three unearned runs across in a wild fourth inning that saw Saint Louis take advantage of a pair of UNI errors. Bakey then allowed just a single hit over the next two scoreless innings of relief, and the Panthers supplied an additional run to boost their lead to 9-3.
The Billikens tallied their final marker -- and only earned run of the game -- off UNI reliever Liz Adams, who made her first appearance for the Panthers since sustaining a knee injury last season.
Larsen picked up the win to improve to 2-1 on the year, while also going 4-for-7 with five RBIs on the day. Gerking also drove in five runs, while Papesh ended the day 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles and three RBIs.
By splitting their four-game weekend at Dragon's Dome, the Panthers evened their season record at 4-4. IUPUI fell to 0-3 on the year, while
UNI returns to action Friday (March 2) with games against Louisiana-Monroe and
NOTES
- Junior Liz Adams' appearance was her first since the second game of UNI's doubleheader at
- With its win, UNI improved to 5-0 all-time against IUPUI.
