University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Bradley
Panther softball takes its final road trip of the regular season
4/27/2026 2:55:00 PM | Softball
UNI softball (23-22 / 11-10 MVC) at Bradley (15-33 / 7-16 MVC)
- OSF Healthcare Field | Peoria, Illinois
- April 28 | 2:00 & 4:30 p.m. CT
- ESPN+
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — The Panthers face their final road test of the regular season as they head to Peoria, Illinois, to take on the Bradley Braves. The Cats hold the all-time record with the Braves heading into the midweek matchup with a 67-42 advantage. Bradley has won four of the last six matchups, including two of three last season. The Braves beat the Cats in games one and three of the series at Robinson-Dresser last year with scores of 9-6 and 7-3. UNI won game two, 9-5. In UNI's lone victory of the season last year, the Panthers were tied 5-5 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning. A wild pitch, a single, and a bases-loaded walk gave UNI four runs in the home half of the inning to seal a victory.
UNI is coming off a 1-2 weekend against the league's top team, the Belmont Bruins. Belmont won games one and three by scores of 7-0 and 9-1, pitching ace Maya Johnson in both matchups. UNI's victory came in game two by a 6-5 final.
Against the Bruins, Skylar Benesh hit .700 and slugged 1.200 with seven hits and two runs, with one home run and a double in 10 at-bats. The sophomore broke UNI's single-season runs record with her 59th run of the season on a home run in game two against Belmont.
Last week, UNI broke the program's single-season record for walks against Belmont and the MVC single-season record for home runs against Iowa.
As of April 27, UNI leads the MVC in multiple statistical categories, including batting average (.326), hits (411), home runs (87), home runs per game (1.93), on-base percentage (.440), RBIs per game (7.27), total RBIs (327), scoring (7.73), slugging percentage (.604), total runs (348), total sacrifice flies (13), and walks (246). The Cats have the fourth-most walks in the nation, while ranking seventh in home runs per game, ninth in total home runs, 10th in RBIs per game, 12th in slugging percentage, 14th in scoring, 17th in on-base percentage, and 18th in total RBIs. The Cats are second in the league in double plays (16), double plays per game (0.36), doubles (74), doubles per game (1.64), and fewest hit batters (15).
Individually, Kate Lappe has drawn the nation's sixth-most walks per game this season with 1.02, which leads the Valley. The senior has the 17th-best on-base percentage (.561) and 24th-best slugging percentage (.909) in Division I. Lappe is second in the conference with 17 home runs, 0.38 home runs per game, 1.07 runs per game, and 120 total bases.
Skylar Benesh leads the Valley with a .478 batting average, 75 hits, 59 runs, 1.31 runs per game, and 135 total bases. The sophomore's batting average is ninth in the nation, while she is 14th in the nation in hits, 17th in runs per game, 22nd in on-base percentage, 23rd in total bases, and 24th in runs. Benesh is second in the Valley with a .558 on-base percentage and an .860 slugging percentage.
Brynn Acton leads the MVC with 18 home runs (the most by a freshman in MVC history), 0.42 home runs per game, 55 RBIs, and 1.28 RBIs per game. The freshman is 16th in the nation in home runs per game and 32nd in total home runs. She is also 28th in RBIs per game.
The Cats are one run away from the UNI and MVC single-season record and two RBIs from the program and Valley record, both set in 2023. 44 hits would tie the Panther softball program's single-season records, set in 1997.
Individually, Skylar Benesh is two runs away from tying the Missouri Valley Conference single-season runs record set by Mallory Duran-Sellers of Southern Illinois in 2012 at 61. The sophomore is eight hits away from the single-season hits record, which is currently held by Lindsay Wood, who recorded 83 hits in 2002, and 15 hits from the MVC single-season record set in 2007 by Kara Nelson of Illinois State at 90.
Brynn Acton is 13 RBIs shy of the UNI single-season record, set by Mya Dodge in 2023, and 14 RBIs short of the MVC single-season record set in 2017 by Jordan de los Reyes of Illinois State. Acton is also four home runs from tying the UNI single-season record set by Sammey Bunch in 2021.
Kate Lappe is one walk away from tying the Panthers' single-season record, set by Madison Parks in 2024 at 47. Lappe is five home runs from tying the UNI single-season home runs record set by Sammey Bunch in 2021.
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 291 MVC victories after a series against Belmont.
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 Belmont, the Panthers have won 132 conference matchups in that span to just 44 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.
