Panther softball advances to MVC Tournament title game with win over Bears

Friday, May 10

Normal, Ill.

4 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

33-16

Missouri State

19-32

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Missouri State	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	3	0
Northern Iowa	1	1	0	0	0	0	X	2	3	0

UNI softball vs. Missouri State (2024 MVC Tournament Semifinals) | May 10, 2024 (Normal, Ill.

Panther softball advances to MVC Tournament title game with win over Bears

5/10/2024 7:15:00 PM | Softball

Box Score FINAL RESULTS Photo Gallery

UNI holds off Missouri State in late innings to reach tournament championship for third time in last four years. Panthers to face Southern Illinois on Saturday.

NORMAL, Ill. --- Two solo home runs in the first two innings, stellar pitching and error-less defense lifted UNI softball to victory on Friday afternoon in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Tournament semifinals in a 2-1 win over the Missouri State Bears at Marian Kneer Stadium.

Starting in the pitching circle for the second straight game, Samantha Heyer gave up just one run to the Bears in the fourth inning before handing over the reins to Anna Wischnowski to close out Missouri State as it threatened in the sixth.

Alexis Pupillo put the Panthers on the board in the first inning with a towering solo home run to the right-field corner to give UNI the early lead. Kylee Sanders doubled the lead for the purple and gold to lead-off the second frame with another solo blast to right-field, putting the Panthers ahead 2-0.

Heyer would work out of a jam in the third inning as Emily Chadwick reached third base after a lead-off single and two-out walk, stranding two Bears on base. UNI's offense would struggle to reach base of Missouri State starter Gracie Johnson throughout the remainder of the game, but would stifle the Bears' as they looked to chew away the Panthers' lead.

Annie Mueller, the MVC's leader in home runs, cut the UNI lead in half with a one-out solo home run to left-field. After being retired in order by Heyer in the fourth and Wischnowski entering the game for Northern Iowa in the fifth, the Bears were retired again in order.

UNI would face its biggest defensive challenge in the sixth inning as Olivia Krehbiel singled to left-field and advanced to second on a Chloe Merced's bunt and to third on a Kayla Ulrich groundout to second base. After intentionally walking Mueller with two outs, Wischnowski induced a pop up by Alexis Perales to end the inning and leave two Bears stranded. UNI's defense would set Missouri State's hitters down in order in the top of the seventh, securing the one-run victory and a spot in the conference tournament title game.

UNI improves to 33-16 on the season, while the Bears end the 2024 campaign at 19-32.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

UNI improves to 57-53 all-time against the Bears in Friday's win. The Panthers grabbed victories in three of four meetings with Missouri State this year after taking two of three games from the Bears in the regular season.
The Panthers are now 12-3 against Missouri State in the MVC Tournament, the most wins they have accumulated against any opponent in the conference tournament.
Northern Iowa's all-time MVC Tournament record improves to 39-48 with Friday's victory.
UNI will make its eighth MVC Tournament championship game appearance in school history on Saturday, its fifth under head coach Ryan Jacobs and third in the last four seasons. The Panthers won the tournament title in 1990 (as the Gateway Conference) and 2013, with runner-up finishes in 1998, 1999, 2017, 2021 and 2022.
Thursday was Northern Iowa's 14th multi-home run game of the season.
Samantha Heyer improved to 18-6 on the season after four innings of work with one earned run allowed, two strikeouts and two walks. The victory ties Heyer for fourth on the program's all-time wins list (55) in her 122nd career pitching appearance, tied for second-most in team history.
Anna Wischnowski earned her second save of the year and of her career on Thursday after three innings in the pitching circle with one hit allowed, plus one strikeout and one walk.
Alexis Pupillo's first inning home run was her 18th of the season and 35th of her career. She also notched her 53rd RBI of the year.
Kylee Sanders' second inning home run was her fourth of the year and 13th of her career. She has now posted 13 RBIs this season and 58 in her career.
Head coach Ryan Jacobs is now three wins shy of his 500th career victory, grabbing his 497th career win on Friday.

UP NEXT
The Panthers will battle Southern Illinois in the MVC Tournament championship with the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament up for grabs at 1 p.m. CT on Saturday. Live coverage will be available on ESPN+.