University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Southern Illinois
Panther softball heads to Illinois to take on the SIU Salukis
4/16/2026 2:14:00 PM | Softball
UNI softball (22-16 / 10-5 MVC) at Southern Illinois (25-14 / 14-5 MVC)
- Charlotte West Stadium | Carbondale, Illinois
- April 17 | 2:00 & 4:30 p.m. CT
- April 18 | 1:00 CT
- ESPN+
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — The Panthers head to the site of the 2026 MVC Softball Tournament, where UNI takes on the Southern Illinois Salukis in Carbondale, Illinois. SIU leads the all-time series, 82-52, as the Cats look to continue their streak of series victories over the Salukis at six straight, with their last series loss coming in 2019. Last season, UNI won game one, 6-5, before falling 12-6 in eight innings in game two. In the winner-takes-all game three, UNI held an early 8-2 lead after five innings. The Cats fought off a Saluki comeback attempt and were victorious by an 8-6 final.
UNI is coming off a midweek split with the Drake Bulldogs at Robinson-Dresser Sports Complex on Monday. The Drake bats got hot in game one, before UNI got its revenge with a five-inning victory in game two. Drake picked up a 14-5 victory in game one before UNI put up 18 runs in five innings to walk away with an 18-1 run-rule win in game two to secure the split.
Katelyn Callahan was perfect against the Bulldogs, going 4-for-4 with two home runs and five RBIs. Skylar Benesh and Ava Smithson each batted .571 with four hits in seven at-bats, while Kate Lappe rounded out UNI's .500+ performers. Benesh hit a pair of home runs against Drake.
The Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) announced its weekly softball awards on Tuesday morning. Ava Smithson, Peyton Johnson, and Brynn Acton were named Player, Newcomer, and Freshman of the Week, respectively. This is Ava Smithson's first Player of the Week honor, Johnson's fourth Newcomer of the Week honor, and Acton's second Freshman of the Week honor.
Ava Smithson recorded seven hits and four runs in 11 at-bats for a .636 batting average, leading the Panthers in a 3-0 weekend against the UIC Flames. Smithson slugged 1.636, also leading the Cats, with three home runs, two doubles, and 10 RBIs to go along with 18 total bases.
Peyton Johnson batted .571 for UNI in three starts with four hits and two runs in seven at-bats. Johnson slugged 1.286 with one home run and a triple for nine total bases and three RBIs. Johnson walked five times for a .750 on-base percentage.
Brynn Acton was responsible for UNI's comeback victory in UNI's game three against UIC, as the freshman finished that game with three home runs, including a grand slam, in three at-bats. Acton had her second three-home run game of the season, the only player in Division I with multiple three-home run games. Acton finished the weekend with eight runs and four hits in 12 at-bats and three walks. Acton slugged 1.333 with four home runs and 10 RBIs with 16 total bases.
As of April 14, UNI leads the MVC in multiple statistical categories, including batting average (.339), hits (360), home runs (78), home runs per game (2.05), on-base percentage (.454), RBIs per game (7.87), total RBIs (299), scoring (8.39), slugging percentage (.634), total runs (319), total sacrifice flies (13), and walks (216). The Cats have the fourth-most walks in the nation, while ranking sixth in home runs per game, seventh in total home runs, RBIs per game, and scoring, ninth in on-base percentage, 11th in RBIs, and 10th in slugging percentage.Â
Individually, Kate Lappe has drawn the nation's third-most walks per game this season with 1.05, which leads the Valley. The senior has the ninth-best on-base percentage (.592) and 11th-best slugging percentage (1.009) in Division I. Lappe also leads the MVC with 16 home runs and 0.42 home runs per game and is second with 45 runs, 1.18 RBIs per game, 1.18 runs per game, and 111 total bases.
Skylar Benesh leads the Valley with a .478 batting average, 64 hits, 55 runs, 1.45 runs per game, and 119 total bases. The sophomore is ninth in the nation in runs per game and 13th in hits. Benesh is second in the Valley with a .556 on-base percentage and a .888 slugging percentage.
UNI is just one home run away from tying the program's single-season record of 79 home runs, set last season. The Panthers are also 29 hits away from the single-season record, set in 2023. 28 walks and 95 hits would tie the Panther softball program's single-season records, set in 2025 and 1997, respectively.
Individually, Skylar Benesh is three runs away from tying the UNI single-season record set by Sammey Bunch in 2021 at 58. The sophomore is 19 hits away from the single-season hits record, which is currently held by Lindsay Wood, who recorded 83 hits in 2002.
With two victories against the Redbirds earlier this season, Coach Jacobs moved up to No. 4 on the Valley's MVC wins list, passing Rich Calvert (DU, 2003-23) in the No. 4 spot with 284 league wins. Jacobs sits with 290 MVC victories after a series against Drake..
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, 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 UNI's Valley series against Drake, the Panthers have won 131 conference matchups in that span to just 39 MVC losses.
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.
