University of Northern Iowa
Missouri State
Panthers return to action at Robinson-Dresser against Missouri State
4/3/2025 3:27:00 PM | Softball
UNI softball (19-10 / 7-2 MVC) vs. Missouri State (10-23 / 8-3 MVC)
- Robinson-Dresser Sports Complex | Cedar Falls, Iowa
- April 4 | 5 p.m. CT
- April 5 | 2 p.m. CT
- April 6 | 12 p.m. CT
- ESPN+
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — The UNI softball team returns to action after its matchup against Drake was postponed on Tuesday, April 1. A three-game series against the Missouri State Bears was originally scheduled to be played in Springfield, Missouri but will be played on UNI's home field with the Panthers being the visiting team. The Panthers and the Bears have met on 110 previous occasions with UNI holding a slight, 57-53 advantage in the series. These teams met in the 2024 MVC Semifinals where the Panthers took a 2-1 victory to advance to the Championship matchup. In the series earlier last season, UNI went 2-1 with a five-inning, 12-3 victory in game one, an 11-5 loss in game two, and a 6-2 victory in game three at Robinson-Dresser Sports Complex.
The Panthers are coming off a 1-2 weekend against the Bradley Braves. Bradley was victorious by a 9-6 final in game one of Friday's doubleheader before the Panthers bounced back and took game two by a 9-5 final. The Braves came out of Cedar Falls with a series victory after a 7-3 win in game three on Saturday. Kylee Sanders led the Panthers with six hits and five runs in 11 at-bats in the series against Bradley. Addison McElrath launched the Panthers' two lone home runs of the weekend.
Morgan Vertz picked up her sixth win of the season with 3.1 innings in two appearances in the series. The pitching staff of Vertz, Anna Wischnowski, Kara Maiers, and Carly Goodwin combined for 10 strikeouts over the weekend with Wischnowski posting six punchouts in her 8.1 innings in the circle.
Head coach Ryan Jacobs became UNI's all-time winningest coach with a 7-6, eight-inning, comeback win at Illinois. Jacobs is in his 18th season at the Panther helm. UNI's victory over RV Omaha in game five of the 2025 Doc Halverson Classic was Jacobs' 500th victory. He became the eighth head coach in MVC history and the second in UNI history to eclipse the 500-win mark.
As of March 31, the Panthers led the MVC in a number of statistical categories including home runs (39), home runs per game (1.34), on-base percentage (.395), RBIs per game (5.38), scoring (5.93), slugging percentage (.475), stolen bases per game (2.72), total stolen bases (79), and walks (144). UNI is second in the league in double plays per game (0.41), and win/loss percentage (.655) and third in batting average (.276), double plays (12), doubles (37), doubles per game (1.28), hit by pitch (16), RBIs (156), and runs (172).
The Panthers' 2.72 stolen bases per game are eighth in the nation while their 79 total stolen bases are 14th and their 144 walks are 15th.
UNI's 79 stolen bases are 11 away from the program's record of 90 set in 2023.
Kylee Sanders boasts a nation's fifth-best and Valley-leading 2.79 assists per game mark. The shortstop also leads the league with a .462 batting average, 42 total hits, a .550 on-base percentage, and 0.93 runs per game. Sanders is third in the MVC with 78 assists and 10 stolen bases.
Addison McElrath leads the Valley with 10 home runs on the season and 0.34 per game. The senior is second with a .703 slugging percentage which is just .024 behind the Valley's leader Eliza Piggott from Evansville (.727).
Freshman Skylar Benesh has been one of the best in the MVC along the base path with a Valley-leading 17 stolen bases, 0.59 stolen bases per game, and a .895 stolen base percentage. Benesh is seven stolen bases from tying the UNI single-season record set by Kristi Johnson (2001) with 24 swipes. The second baseman also leads the Valley with 0.76 walks per contest.
Anna Wischnowski continues to display her longevity in the circle with eight complete games and two shutouts, both third-most in the MVC. Her nine victories are fourth in the league along with the fifth-most innings pitched (96).
Kate Lappe has shown her extra-base hitting this season with the second-most doubles per game in the Valley (0.32) and third-most total doubles (9). Lappe holds a .699 slugging percentage, the third-best mark in the Valley.
UNI is looking for its sixth straight season (excluding COVID-19 2020 season) at .500 or better in conference play as well as top three in the league. After the weekend against Bradley, the Panthers have won 109 conference matchups in that span to just 28 MVC losses. Coach Jacobs is 14 conference victories away from moving up to no. 5 on the Valley's all-time MVC wins chart which is now occupied by Brent Vigness (CU, 1994- 2013) with 282 Valley victories.
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.
