Panther softball heads to Nashville to take on a trio of opponents

UNI softball (7-3 / 0-0 MVC) at the 2025 Purple/Gold Challenge

Draper Diamond | Nashville, Tenn.
vs. Ohio | Feb. 28 | 11 a.m. CT
at Lipscomb | Feb. 28 | 4 p.m. CT
Vs. Ohio | March 1 | 11 a.m. CT
at Lipscomb | March 1 | 1:30 p.m. CT
vs. Ball State | March 2 | 12:30 p.m. CT

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — The UNI softball team heads to Nashville to compete in the 2025 Purple/Gold Challenge hosted by Lipscomb in Nashville, Tennessee Friday, Feb. 28 - Sunday, March 2. The Panthers will face Ohio, Lipscomb, and Ball State at Draper Diamond and will take on Ohio and Lipscomb twice before rounding out the weekend with a contest against Ball State. The Cats are a combined 10-2 all-time against the three teams including a 5-1 record against Ball State, a 3-1 record against Lipscomb, and a perfect 2-0 record against Ohio.

The Panthers are coming off an 8-5, nine-inning victory over Wofford on Tuesday evening. Four runs in the top of the ninth inning, including a homerun from freshman Drew Hinrichs, secured the Panthers' first extra-inning victory of the 2025 season. Freshman Morgan Vertz picked up the third victory of her career after 5.1 innings in the circle.

UNI's victory over RV Omaha in game five of the 2025 Doc Halverson Classic was UNI head coach Ryan Jacobs' 500th victory. Jacobs became the eighth head coach in MVC history and the second in UNI history to eclipse the 500-win mark. After the victory at Wofford, Jacobs is two wins short of tying Gwen Lewis (UE, 1992-2009) with 506 wins for seventh place on the Valley's all-time wins list and just 10 short of tying Meredith Bakley (UNI 1983-00) for UNI's all-time coaching wins.

The last time UNI has met any of the three was in 2022 in a true road game at Lipscomb which saw a 4-3 final in favor of the Panthers. UNI and Ohio last faced off in 2017 in the Louisville Tournament. The contest saw an 8-0 victory for UNI in six innings. The last time Ball State and UNI clashed was in 2013 at the Central Arkansas Tournament. The Cardinals took home a 9-3 victory in that matchup.

As of February 26, UNI softball leads the Valley in multiple categories including double plays per game (0.60), ERA (2.30), shutouts (3), stolen bases per game (2.50), total stolen bases (25), and win/loss percentage (.700). UNI's 0.60 double plays per game are the nation's 15th-best mark. The Panthers are second in the Valley in double plays (6), home runs (12), home runs per game (1.20), and slugging percentage (.454) and are third in batting average (.280), fewest hit batters (4), on-base percentage (.380), RBIs per game (4.80), total RBIs (48), scoring (5.30), WHIP (1.31), and walks (41).

Anna Wischnowski proves to be one of the more dominant pitchers in the Valley early in the 2025 season as the redshirt junior pitcher leads the league in complete games (5), earned run average (1.00), shutouts (2), and victories (4). Her five complete games are the fourth-best mark in the nation while her two shutouts are 10th. Skylar Benesh leads the Valley with seven total stolen bases and 0.70 stolen bases per game. Kylee Sanders has recorded 2.89 assists per game this season at shortstop. The senior leads the Valley and is 17th in the nation with that mark.

UNI softball action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (UNI Softball), X (@UNISoftball), and on Instagram (@unisoftball). The 2025 schedule and roster, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.

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