University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Central Arkansas
UNI softball heads to Arkansas for its first road test of the season
2/17/2026 12:23:00 PM | Softball
UNI softball (2-3 / 0-0 MVC) at Central Arkansas (5-4 / 0-0 ASUN)
- February 18 | 2 p.m.
- Farris Field | Conway, Arkansas
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — The season continues for the Panthers with a midweek matchup against Central Arkansas on Wednesday, February 18, before UNI heads to Louisiana for Louisiana-Monroe's Best on the Bayou Tournament. The Cats are searching for the program's first all-time victory over the Sugar Bears as Central Arkansas holds the all-time series record, 3-0. These teams met at the Adam Brown Classic in 2020, where Central Arkansas claimed a 3-0 victory.
UNI is coming off a 2-3 weekend at the 2026 Doc Halverson UNI-Dome classic to open the 2026 softball season.
Friday saw a 6-1 Panther victory over Kansas City, which included Anna Wischnowski's 20th career complete game. She recorded three strikeouts in the circle while Peyton Johnson and Kate Lappe each recorded home runs in the contest.
A Saturday split featured a 7-6, eight-inning loss to Omaha, who came into the season ranked fifth in the D1Softball.com Mid-Major rankings. The Cats followed the loss up with a marathon, 15-11 victory over Butler, which saw UNI score 14 unanswered to claim the victory.
UNI dropped both contests on the final day of competition inside the UNI-Dome with a 6-5 loss to Kansas City and a 5-3 loss to Iowa State.
Sykora Smith recorded 10 hits in 17 at-bats for a .588 batting average over the weekend to lead UNI. She scored six runs and batted in five with one home run and a double. Kate Lappe and Skylar Benesh had multi-home run weekends, with Lappe hitting three and Benesh hitting a pair. Lappe batted .533 on the weekend with eight hits in 15 at-bats. She scored six runs and batted in seven with her three home runs, three doubles, and five walks. She leads the team with a 1.333 slugging percentage.
As of February 16, UNI leads the MVC in multiple statistical categories, including batting average (.343), double plays per game (0.60), doubles per game (2.60), fewest hit batters (2), home runs per game (1.80), RBIs per game (6.80), scoring (7.00), and slugging percentage (.643). The Cats are second in the Valley in total double plays (3) and on-base percentage (.457). UNI's 2.60 doubles per game are ninth in the nation, while their home runs per game are 13th, and their slugging percentage is 19th.
Individually, Morgan Vertz is one of 14 players in the nation to have a 0.00 ERA so far this season. The sophomore has pitched 7.2 innings in two appearances with a 1-0 record. Batters are averaging a .194 batting average when facing Vertz. She is third in the MVC with 0.91 walks allowed per seven innings and fourth with a 0.91 WHIP.
Sykora Smith has the 15th-best batting average in the country so far this season at a Valley-leading .588. She is second in the Valley with 1.20 runs per game and fourth with a .588 on-base percentage.
Kate Lappe holds the nation's seventh-highest slugging percentage (1.333), 13th-best on-base percentage with a Valley-leading .667 on-base percentage, and 15th-most home runs per game (0.60), the second-best mark in the MVC. The senior is second in the league with a .533 batting average and 1.20 runs per game and third in the conference with three home runs and 1.40 RBIs per game.
Six new faces grace the Panther roster, including two transfers and four freshmen. Kelsey Endress joins the Cats after a three-year career at Florida Atlantic, while Peyton Johnson spent a pair of seasons at Kirkwood Community College before transferring to UNI.
The Panthers return four All-Valley honorees from a season ago, including 2025 All-Defensive team honoree Ella Smithson and All-Conference honorees Kate Lappe, Skylar Benesh, and Anna Wischnowski. UNI also returns the Missouri Valley Conference MVP, Kate Lappe.
Kate Lappe is coming off a season that saw her finish the 2025 campaign with 61 hits, 34 runs, and 48 RBIs for a .433 batting average and a .915 slugging percentage. Her 19 home runs are tied for second on UNI's single-season home runs record list while her batting average and slugging percentage are second in each single-season category along with her .542 on-base percentage. Through the MVC Tournament, Lappe led the league in batting average, home runs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and total bases and was second in home runs per game, RBIs, RBIs per game, and total walks. She was named MVC Player of the Week twice and D1Softball.com National Player of the Week once during the 2025 regular season.
Last season the Panthers broke three team records, including home runs (79), walks (244), and stolen bases (94). UNI was ninth in the nation last season with 1.58 home runs per game, 10th with 244 total walks, and 22nd with 94 total stolen bases.
UNI recorded 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 Valparaiso, the Panthers have won 121 conference matchups in that span to just 34 MVC losses. Coach Jacobs is two 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.
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UNI softball action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (UNI Softball), X (@UNISoftball), and on Instagram (@unisoftball). The 2026 schedule and roster, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.
