Panthers to Play Drake in Tuesday Doubleheader

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The Panthers (21-18, 6-7) welcome intrastate foe Drake (30-9, 13-0) to the UNI-Dome 4 p.m. CT Tuesday. The doubleheader against Drake will be a PINK game for the Panthers, so all fans are encouraged to wear pink to the Dome on Tuesday.

First pitch is set for 4 p.m.

PANTHERS HEADLINES –

The Panthers (21-18, 6-7) face off against the conference-leading Drake Bulldogs (30-9, 13-0) in the UNI-Dome as UNI continues to play indoors. It is the fourth time this season that the Panthers have played a tournament/series in the UNI-Dome. The Panthers opened up their season with the UNI-Dome Classic.
The Panthers are (2-3) so far in April games this season. Last year, UNI was (14-5) in April matchups.
Northern Iowa has a 70-49 all-time record against Drake. The Panthers' last victory against the Bulldogs came in 2017, in a 5-2 home win.
Under head coach Ryan Jacobs, the Panthers are 14-14 against the Bulldogs.
The cats have won six straight games against the Bulldogs, including seven of the last eight.
Drake enters the series as the leaders in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Bulldogs are undefeated in conference play, and are the only MVC team with double-digit conference wins.
Brittney Roby continues to be the energizer for the UNI offense out of the leadoff spot. Roby leads the Panthers in batting avg. (.410), runs (26), hits (55) and stolen bases (11). Roby is top-three in the MVC in hits, runs, as well as batting average. Roby was named Second-Team all-MVC as a first-year transfer in 2017. The senior out elder has also been named MVC Player of the Week once this season.
Sammey Bunch, the reigning MVC Freshman of the Year, has overcome the sophomore slump in 2018. The UNI shortstop leads the team in extra-base hits (13), home runs (4), RBI (26) and slugging percentage (.519). Bunch is one of two Panthers this season to be named MVC Player of the Week.
Head coach Ryan Jacobs has the Panthers playing well in tight games this season. Northern Iowa is 5-1 in games decided by one run, with the last one-run victory coming against Missouri State on March 31. The Panthers were able to outlast the Bears in a 2-1 winning effort.
Brooke Craig has already set career-highs across the board in her third season of pitching at UNI. Craig leads the Panthers in wins (11), innings (100.0), and is second in strikeouts (59). The righty's wins, strikeouts, and inning totals are higher than her first two seasons combined.
Freshman Emma Olejniczak has only given up (4) earned runs in her last 27.2 innings of work in conference play. Olejniczak has struck out (20) opposing batters in those games.

HOW TO WATCH –

Tuesday's games will be broadcast on ESPN+, with links provided via social media as well as the UNI athletics website. There is a subscription fee to use ESPN+ ($4.99/monthly, $49.99 annually).

LIVE STATS –

Live stats will be made available via the UNI athletics website (www.UNIPanthers.com). Fans and media can visit @UNISoftball on Twitter for links to the feed.

FUTURE PANTHER GAMES -

For more information on future Panther softball games, and to see their entire 2018 schedule, visit: http://bit.ly/2E0QlW5.

TICKETS –

Admittance for all UNI Softball home games will be free this season.

SOCIAL MEDIA -

For the latest information on Panther Softball, follow @UNISoftball on Twitter, unisoftball on Instagram and @UNIPantherSoftball on Facebook.

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