University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Murray State
Panther softball opens Valley play in Kentucky
3/5/2026 1:53:00 PM | Softball
UNI softball (7-9 / 0-0 MVC) at Murray State (8-11 / 0-0 MVC)
- Racer Field | Murray, Kentucky
- March 6 | 1:00 & 3:30 p.m. CT
- March 7 | 1:00 p.m. CT
- ESPN+
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — UNI opens Missouri Valley Conference play in Murray, Kentucky, on Friday, March 6. The MVC's new league series format features a doubleheader on Fridays with a third, single game on Saturdays. The Cats and the Racers have met on nine previous occasions, with UNI holding a 6-3 lead in the all-time series. Last season, Murray State was 2-1 against the Panthers at Robinson-Dresser after a 13-5, five-inning victory in game one for the Cats before Murray State took home a 16-15, eight-inning victory in game two and an 8-6 victory in game three of the weekend. The Panthers hit nine home runs against the racers in the series last season.
The Cats are coming off a 1-3 weekend at the Bulldog Classic in Ruston, Louisiana, hosted by Louisiana Tech. The Panthers opened the weekend on Thursday with a 5-0 loss to Stephen F. Austin before a 12-6 loss to Central Arkansas on Friday. The Cats split action on Saturday with a 5-0 loss to Stephen F. Austin on Saturday morning before a 9-2 victory over host school Louisiana Tech on Saturday night to cap the weekend.
Including the matchup at Louisiana, Kate Lappe drove in three runs while Skylar Benesh hit two home runs. Anna Wischnowski struck out nine batters in 13.2 innings over the week as she went 1-1.
As of March 1, UNI leads the MVC in multiple statistical categories, including home runs (23), home runs per game (1.44), RBIs per game (5.56), and slugging percentage (.530). The Cats have the 26th-most home runs per game in the nation. UNI is second in the Valley in fewest hit batters (4) and on-base percentage (.406).
Individually, Skylar Benesh is 26th in the nation and second in the Valley with 0.44 home runs per game and 39th in the nation and second in the Valley with seven total home runs this season. The sophomore infielder is second in the MVC with 1.25 runs per game and 48 total bases as well as third in the league with a .444 batting average and .889 slugging percentage. Kate Lappe is second in the conference with 1.19 runs batted in per game and a .915 slugging percentage and is third in the Valley with six home runs, 0.38 home runs per game, and 43 total bases.
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.
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.
