University of Northern Iowa Athletics
Kelley and Packard earn weekly MVC honors for UNI Softball
2/28/2023 2:10:00 PM | Softball
ST. LOUIS -- Two UNI softball players have been selected for weekly honors by Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) staff for their performances last week.
Designated player Hannah Kelley and pitcher Kailyn Packard have been selected as the MVC Player of the Week and MVC Pitcher of the Week. This is the Packard's third Pitcher of the Week honors while it's Kelley's first Player of the Week recognition. The two redshirt seniors helped lead the Panthers to a 5-1 second week of action including a sweep at the Panther Invitational hosted by Georgia State.Â
In her first full week as the designated player for the Panthers, Kelley made her mark at the plate leading UNI in batting average and becoming nationally ranked. Kelley appeared in all six games over the week for UNI against Austin Peay State, Western Carolina, Georgia State, and Tennessee State. In her 16 at-bats, Kelley slashed .500/.529/.750 with eight hits, three RBIs, and one home run to lead the Panthers in plate appearances. Kelley pushed UNI over the top for their fifth straight win of the Panther Invitational with her first home run of the season in the bottom of the fifth. Kelley blasted her fourth faced ball past the center field fence for a two-run homer to give the Panthers a 7-1 win over Western Carolina.Â
Packard picked up her first complete game this season with three wins at the Panther Invitation where UNI went 5-0 against three different opponents. Packard led all Panther pitchers of the week with 17.2 innings pitched for a 0.51 ERA allowing only five hits while throwing 27 strikeouts. KP pitched two separate shutouts over the weekend and came close to a third against Western Carolina. In games against Western Carolina and Georgia State, Packard threw 17 strikeouts and only four walks without allowing a run to cross the plate.Â
UNI returns to action this evening in a 5 p.m. game against Mercer. The Bears are currently 4-9 on the season and are coming off a loss to Jacksonville University in their home tournament. Mercer also faced an MVC opponent over the weekend, dropping a 5-1 game to the Belmont Bruins, one of only two teams the Panthers won't see in the regular season.Â
Designated player Hannah Kelley and pitcher Kailyn Packard have been selected as the MVC Player of the Week and MVC Pitcher of the Week. This is the Packard's third Pitcher of the Week honors while it's Kelley's first Player of the Week recognition. The two redshirt seniors helped lead the Panthers to a 5-1 second week of action including a sweep at the Panther Invitational hosted by Georgia State.Â
In her first full week as the designated player for the Panthers, Kelley made her mark at the plate leading UNI in batting average and becoming nationally ranked. Kelley appeared in all six games over the week for UNI against Austin Peay State, Western Carolina, Georgia State, and Tennessee State. In her 16 at-bats, Kelley slashed .500/.529/.750 with eight hits, three RBIs, and one home run to lead the Panthers in plate appearances. Kelley pushed UNI over the top for their fifth straight win of the Panther Invitational with her first home run of the season in the bottom of the fifth. Kelley blasted her fourth faced ball past the center field fence for a two-run homer to give the Panthers a 7-1 win over Western Carolina.Â
Packard picked up her first complete game this season with three wins at the Panther Invitation where UNI went 5-0 against three different opponents. Packard led all Panther pitchers of the week with 17.2 innings pitched for a 0.51 ERA allowing only five hits while throwing 27 strikeouts. KP pitched two separate shutouts over the weekend and came close to a third against Western Carolina. In games against Western Carolina and Georgia State, Packard threw 17 strikeouts and only four walks without allowing a run to cross the plate.Â
UNI returns to action this evening in a 5 p.m. game against Mercer. The Bears are currently 4-9 on the season and are coming off a loss to Jacksonville University in their home tournament. Mercer also faced an MVC opponent over the weekend, dropping a 5-1 game to the Belmont Bruins, one of only two teams the Panthers won't see in the regular season.Â
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