Panther sweep Purple Aces in conference-opening doubleheader

Friday, March 14

Evansville, Ind.

2 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

12-8, 1-0

Evansville

14-12, 0-1

UNI

Evansville

Photo by: © Andy Saigh

Panther sweep Purple Aces in conference-opening doubleheader

3/14/2025 7:59:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Final Stats (Game 1)Final Stats (Game 2)Photo Gallery Photo Gallery 2

UNI softball posted back-to-back wins against Evansville.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — UNI softball opened the conference portion of the 2025 season at Evansville on Friday. Due to weather, the three-game series was moved to a Friday doubleheader and a Sunday single game. The Panthers swept the opening day of competition with 7-2 and 14-13 victories.

GAME ONE | UNI 7, Evansville 2

The Panthers got on the board first with an RBI single in the top of the third inning off the bat of Katelyn Callahan. The single drove in Adalyn Reynolds to give the Panthers an early 1-0 lead. A Panther error allowed an Evansville run to score which tied the game at one in the bottom of the fourth inning.

The UNI bats got hot in the top of the fifth inning with six runs in the frame. A home run from Addison McElrath, her seventh of the season, gave UNI a 2-1 lead before an error by the Aces allowed Katelyn Callahan and Kate Lappe to cross the plate and extend the Panther lead to four three at 4-1. A two-run home run by Ava Smithson scored Sykora Smith and an RBI single from Skylar Benesh scored Brynlee Slockett to give UNI a 7-1 lead after the top of the fifth inning. The Aces scored on a home run in the bottom of the fifth inning to cut the UNI lead to five, but could not complete the comeback as the Panthers took a 7-2 victory in game one of the doubleheader.

Ava Smithson finished with three hits and two RBIs in four at-bats. Callahan and McElrath also recorded a multi-hit game with two apiece. Anna Wischnowski improved to 6-4 on the season with her sixth complete game of the season.

GAME TWO | UNI 14, Evansville 12

Skylar Benesh launched a shot deep on the game's opening bat to take an early 1-0 lead. Brynlee Slockett followed the Benesh homer with a grand slam in the second inning to give UNI a 5-0 lead.

Evansville responded with a home run to cut the Panther lead to four at 5-1 in the bottom of the second before a two-run shot from Drew Hinrichs gave UNI a six-run lead at 7-1 in the top of the fourth. The Purple Aces responded in the bottom half of the inning with a three-run home run to cut into the deficit. UNI led by a score of 7-4 after four innings of play.

With the bases loaded, Kylee Sanders wore a pitch which advanced all the runners and sent Sykora Smith across the plate. A sacrifice-fly from McElrath scored Slockett to give the Cats a 9-4 lead after the top of the fifth inning. Evansville responded with a pair of runs in the home-half of the fifth inning to hold the UNI lead to three runs entering the sixth inning.

The Panther offense exploded in the sixth inning with five runs, the first of which came on an RBI single from Ava Smithson to score Sykora Smith. Skylar Benesh drove in Adalyn Reynolds, Kylee Sanders drove in Benesh, Drew Hinrichs drove in Sanders, and Kate Lappe sent Katy Olive across the plate to give the Panthers a 14-6 lead after five and a half innings. Evansville matched that effort with five runs in the bottom half of the inning to cut UNI's lead back to three at 14-11. The Purple Aces added two more in the bottom of the seventh inning, but fell just short of a comeback as UNI claimed the doubleheader sweep with a 14-13 victory in game two.

Both Skylar Benesh and Kate Lappe recorded three hits in four at-bats. Brynlee Slockett finished with a game-high four RBIs While Drew Hinrichs recorded three. Carly Goodwin got her third win of the season after 3.2 innings in the circle. The freshman punched out two batters.

UP NEXT

The Panthers wrap up the series with the Purple Aces on Sunday, March 16. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m. CT and will be available to stream on ESPN+.

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.