Panthers advance to day two of the MVC Tournament

Wednesday, May 6

Carbondale, Ill.

12 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

28-23

Illinois State

28-20

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Illinois St.	0	0	0	0	2	0	5	7	11	2
Northern Iowa	0	2	1	0	1	0	2	6	10	2

Photo by: © Andy Saigh

Panthers advance to day two of the MVC Tournament

5/6/2026 9:01:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

CARBONDALE, Illinois — The UNI Panther softball team opened play at the Missouri Valley Conference Softball Tournament on Wednesday, May 6. After a loss to Illinois State in game one, the Panthers mounted a comeback in the opening round's elimination game to knock out the Evansville Purple Aces.

GAME ONE | Illinois State 7, UNI 6

The Panther offense got rolling in the bottom of the second inning with the first two runs of the contest. With runners on the corners, Drew Hinrichs sent a shot to right-center field to drive in Katelyn Callahan and Peyton Johnson. The Panther defense followed up the runs with a 1-23 inning before UNI's third run of the game crossed the plate in the bottom of the third. A single off the bat of Callahan drove in Kate Lappe to give UNI a 3-0 lead.

Illinois State got on the board in the top of the fifth inning with a sacrifice fly and a one-run single to cut into the Panther lead. The Redbirds scored two in the frame. The game's first home run came off the bat of Brynn Acton in the bottom of the fifth to extend the UNI lead to two runs at 4-2 after five full innings of action.

The Redbirds went 1-2-3 again in the top of the sixth before taking on five runs in the top of the seventh to take the lead. Illinois State took advantage of an infield error by the Cats with two outs to load the bases. A grand slam by the Redbirds gave Illinois State a late 6-4 lead, their first of the contest. Another run came across in the top of the seventh inning on a single to center field. The Panthers faced a three-run hole heading into the bottom half of the seventh inning.

Leadoff batter Finley Netten drove a 1-0 pitch deep to left field to give the Cats some juice and start the comeback attempt. A pair of Panthers got out in the frame, bringing Kate Lappe to the plate. Her second hit of the game left the park, cutting the deficit to one run at 6-7. The hit broke the UNI single-season team hits record, set at 455 in 1997. A single from Katelyn Callahan brought up Ava Smithson with a chance to tie or win the game with a swing of the bat. Smithson caught a 1-0 pitch hit on the bat and popped up down the third-base foul line to end the inning and seal the Illinois State victory.

UNI moved into the elimination bracket to face Evansville later in the evening.

Katelyn Callahan led UNI with three hits in four at-bats in game one. She drove in one of UNI's six RBIs. Kate Lappe and Drew Hinrichs were the other two multi-hit performers for UNI. In the circle, Morgan Vertz struck out a pair of batters in a 2.0-inning relief effort.

GAME TWO| UNI 11, Evansville 7

The Purple Aces struck first in a big way, with four first-inning runs, including a leadoff home run. The Panthers cut into the deficit in the bottom of the second inning off the bat of Drew Hinrichs. With a pair of runners on the base path, Hinrichs launched a ball off the inside of the left-field foul pole for a three-run home run. The Purple Aces held the lead, 4-3, after two full innings.

A one-run single for Evansville was answered with a trio of runs from the Panthers in the bottom of the third inning to take a 6-5 lead. A two-run home run off the bat of Ava Smithson, UNI's 100th of the year, was followed by a single from Drew Hinrichs to give the Cats their first lead of the matchup.

The Panthers tacked on two more in the bottom of the fourth inning with a two-run home run from Katelyn Callahan to take an 8-5 lead after four innings. The UNI defense knocked down the Purple Aces 1-2-3 in the top of the fifth, the first three-batter inning of the game. Evansville responded in the top of the sixth with a two-run home run to cut the Panther lead to one at 8-7 before another three-run inning from UNI to push the lead out to the largest of the day at four runs. Another home run from the Panthers, a two-run shot from Sykora Smith, plated a pair before Addison Brunner came around to score on a single from Finley Netten for UNI's final runs of the opening round.

A pair of strikeouts from sophomore Morgan Vertz and a groundout to third base sealed the deal for the Panthers who advanced to the second round on Thursday.

Drew Hinrichs led UNI with three hits in four at-bats. She drove in four runs and scored one. Sykora Smith and Finley Netten were the other multi-hit performers for UNI. Kelsey Endress picked up her second win of the season in a 2.0-inning relief effort. The Panther pitching staff struck out eight batters, including a pair from Morgan Vertz in the final inning of action.

UP NEXT

The Panthers await their matchup for the second-round elimination game which will take place on Thursday, May 7, at 6 p..m. CT. The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+.

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.