Panthers drop a pair of matchups in Nashville

Saturday, March 1

Nashville, Tenn.

11 a.m.

University of Northern Iowa

9-4

Ohio

10-6

Northern Iowa

Ohio

Photo by: Bell Rogers

Panthers drop a pair of matchups in Nashville

3/1/2025 4:34:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Final Stats (Ohio)Final Stats (Lipscomb)

UNI softball was defeated in both contests on day two of the 2025 Purple/Gold Challenge.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — UNI softball continued the 2025 Purple/Gold Challenge in Nashville with rematches against Ohio and Lipscomb on Saturday, March 1. The Panthers dropped both matchups by scores of 7-2 to Ohio and 5-3 to Lipscomb.

GAME ONE | Ohio 7, UNI 2

Ohio opened game-one scoring with three runs in the bottom of the first inning. A homerun from Kate Lappe in the top of the second cut the Bobcat lead to two before a pair of Ohio runs gave the Bobcats a four-run lead at 5-1 after five innings of play.

A bases-loaded single from Kylee Sanders scored Ava Smithson for the Panthers' last run of the matchup. The Bobcats tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to take a 7-2 victory in the second meeting of the weekend.

Kylee Sanders led the Panthers with three hits in four at-bats. Both Sanders and Lappe finished with an RBI in the matchup. Kara Maiers picked up her second loss of the season with two innings in the circle. Morgan Vertz pitched four innings in relief and picked up two strikeouts.

GAME TWO | Lipscomb 5, UNI 3

The Panthers opened the contest with a trio of runs in the top of the third inning to take a 3-0 lead early against Lipscomb. A two-run single from Addison McElrath scored Ella Smithson and Katy Olive and an RBI single from Drew Hinrichs scored Skylar Benesh to give the Panthers the early lead.

The Bison battled back and closed the game with the last five runs to get their revenge on Friday's loss to UNI with a 5-3 victory over the Panthers.

Drew Hinrichs was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate and tallied an RBI while McElrath finished with a team-high two RBIs in the contest. Anna Wischnowski suffered just her second loss of the season, pitching 3.1 innings in relief. She recorded six punchouts while starting pitcher Carly Goodwin finished with five strikeouts.

UP NEXT

The Panthers close out the 2025 Purple/Gold Challenge on Sunday, March 2 with a matchup against Ball State. First pitch is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. CT in Nashville.

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.