University of Northern Iowa Athletics
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UNI softball earns series victory with 8-5 triumph over UIC
4/20/2024 7:26:00 PM | Softball
Savanna Jemilo clubs first career home run in Saturday’s victory
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI softball earned a series victory on a cloudy, cold Saturday afternoon at Robinson-Dresser Sports Complex with an 8-5 victory against UIC. Like Friday's contest, the Panthers raced out to an early advantage then held on late to secure the victory.
On Saturday UNI jumped out to an 8-0 advantage after three innings, a lead that was eventually cut to 8-5 in the top of the sixth inning. However, Anna Wischnowski bounced back to complete her complete game in the top of the seventh inning and secure the win for the Panthers.
Saturday's contest marked a historic moment for Panther softball head coach Ryan Jacobs. The win marked the 487th coaching victory of Jacobs' career, which moved him into sole possession of eighth place on the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) all-time coaching wins list. Savanna Jemilo also hit the first home run of her collegiate career and had a three-RBI performance in the Panthers' three-run victory.
The Panthers picked up an early run in the bottom of the first inning after recording back-to-back-to-back walks to start the contest. UIC starting pitcher Alyssa McIntosh then forced Addison McElrath to sky a popup with the bases loaded, but the ball was dropped by UIC shortstop Jazmyn Casas. The error allowed Madison Parks to score from third base, but McElrath was ruled out due to the infield fly rule and Alexis Pupillo was thrown out advancing to third base.
McIntosh ultimately escaped the inning with just one run surrendered, but the Panthers quickly worked on extending their advantage. Wischnowski worked a quick inning in the top of the second, then the Panthers' offense began to pour it on.
Ava Smithson led off the bottom of the second inning with a solo home run then, after McIntosh retired Taylor Hogan, Jemilo joined the party with an opposite field blast. The Flames made a pitching change following Jemilo's home run, but Kate Lappe extended the Panthers' lead to 4-0 with an RBI single off of Christina Toniolo.
The Flames did land two runners on base with two outs in the top of the third inning, but Wischnowski forced a groundout to end the half-inning. UNI began the bottom of the third inning with runners on first and third base after back-to-back errors by UIC's first baseman. A walk issued to Hogan loaded the bases and brought Jemilo to the plate with no outs in the inning.
Jemilo promptly fizzed a single up the middle that scored both Smithson and Sanders. And, as Hogan was breaking for third base on the play, an errant throw from UIC's catcher rolled to the outfield and allowed a third run to score on the play. When the dust settled, the Panthers held a 7-0 lead and Jemilo was standing at third base.
Jemilo scored on a sacrifice fly from Daryn Lamprecht for UNI's eighth and final run of the contest.
The Flames did chisel into UNI's advantage while UIC relief pitcher Carlee Jo Clark helped keep the Panthers off the board for the remainder of the contest. UIC notched its first run of the contest in the top of the fourth inning, then tacked on four runs in the top of the sixth inning.
Wischnowski remained in the game after the Flames' big inning, and eventually slammed the door with a three-up, three-down top of the seventh to secure a series victory for the Panthers. UNI has now won four games in a row entering Sunday's series finale.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- Saturday's victory marked the 487th career coaching victory for Jacobs, which moved him into sole possession of eighth place on the MVC softball all-time coaching wins list. He passed former Southern Illinois head coach Kay Brechtelsbauer for the honor.
- Not only did Jemilo hit the first home run of her Panther career on Saturday afternoon, she also picked up the first three-RBI game of her collegiate career. Prior to Saturday, Jemilo's previous single-game high for RBIs came in a two-RBI performance against Southeast Missouri State on Feb. 24.
- Saturday marked Jemilo's second career multi-hit performance.
- Parks now has 38 walks this season after picking up a walk on Saturday afternoon. She entered the weekend ranked No. 3 nationally and No. 1 in the MVC with 0.97 walks per game. Parks, who broke UNI softball's career walks record earlier this season, has 140 walks in her Panther career.
- Parks has now moved into sole possession of third place on UNI softball's single-season walks leaderboard. With 38 walks, she is one behind Sammey Bunch (39, 2021) for second place. Kennedy Bailey (2016) holds the program record with 44 walks drawn.
- Smithson hit her fourth home run of the 2024 season on Saturday afternoon.
- Lamprecht picked up her 79th career RBI on Saturday.
- Wischnowski has 11 victories so far in 2024, and Saturday marked her sixth complete game of the season.
- UNI has not yet swept an MVC opponent this season, and has an opportunity to do so on Sunday against the Flames.
UP NEXT
The Panthers wrap up their series against the Flames at 12 p.m. on Sunday. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Wischnowski, Anna (11-6)
L: MCINTOSH, Alyssa (4-7)
Batting:
2B: RIOS, Cameran 1
RBI: ORTIZ, Larissa 1 ; COWING, Hailey 1 ; CASAS, Jazmyn 2 ; SANTIAGO, Jo Jo 1
SH: FLEMING, Grace 1
SF: SANTIAGO, Jo Jo 1
Base Running:
RUNS: WALKER, Anna 1 ; VILLA, Larisa 1 ; ORTIZ, Larissa 2 ; COWING, Hailey 1
Batting:
HR: Smithson, Ava 1 ; Jemilo, Savanna 1
RBI: Lappe, Kate 1 ; McElrath, Addison 1 ; Smithson, Ava 1 ; Jemilo, Savanna 3 ; Lamprecht, Daryn 1
SF: Lamprecht, Daryn 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Parks, Madison 1 ; Sanders, Kylee 1 ; Smithson, Ava 2 ; Hogan, Taylor 1 ; Jemilo, Savanna 2 ; Kuper, Makenna 1
SB: Sanders, Kylee 1
