Feb. 28, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

THIS WEEK IN PANTHER SOFTBALL

March 1-2

UT-Martin Hospitality House Classic                 Martin, Tenn.

 

Saturday:              vs. Minnesota                            10:00 a.m.

                        vs. Indiana State                        12:30 p.m.

                        vs. Dartmouth                            3:00 p.m.

Sunday:          vs. Ball State                             10:00 a.m.

                        vs. Tennessee-Martin                 12:30 p.m.

                       

The University of Northern Iowa softball team looks to continue to build off its early success this weekend when the Panthers travel to Martin, Tenn., for the Tennessee-Martin Hospitality House Classic.

 

LEADING OFF

 

•   The Tennessee-Martin Hospitality House Classic features five teams;  Minnesota, Indiana State, Dartmouth, Ball State and host Tennessee-Martin.

 

•   UNI will face a familiar foe to kick-off the tournament this weekend in the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The Panthers faced the Gophers Feb. 15 at the Metrodome Softball Classic, a game the Panthers won 6-4.

 

•   UNI's 7-2 start marks its best start to a season since the 2002 Panthers squad opened the year 10-2. 

 

•   This weekend marks the first weekend for the Panthers to play on dirt in the 2008 season. UNI's first nine games this season were played in domed stadiums, with UNI hosting the Ramada UNI-Dome Classic and taking part in the Metrodome Softball Classic in Minneapolis, Minn.

 

•   Jen Larsen currently boasts a 1.07 ERA after pitching 19.2 innings for the Panthers this season. She has  allowed just three earned runs and and is 1-1 on the year.

 

DRIVING `EM HOME

Junior Crystal Keiper (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Jefferson) has made an instant impact on the Panther offense, uncorking a homer in her first outing in the Purple and Gold against Dayton (Feb. 9). The junior also connected again on a long-range bomb, this time helping the Panthers to a 7-2 advantage over South Dakota State (Feb.10). Keiper continued her hard-hitting efforts blasting a homer to help the Panthers top Minnesota 6-4 (Feb. 15).

 

MAKING THE MOST AT THE PLATE

Thanks in part to the long-range bombs she's hit for the Panthers, Keiper is currently boasting a .950 slugging percentage. Keiper has registered 19 total bases in 20 at-bats in the Panthers' nine games this season.

 

DRIVING HOME A WIN

With runners on second and third, Jen Larsen (Moline, Ill/Moline) hit her second career game-winning home run, to give the Panthers the 4-3 win over Western Illinois (Feb. 14). Larsen's first career game-winning home run was in the 2007 season when she sealed a Panther victory over North Dakota State with a walk-off homer.

 

STARTING HIS CAREER OFF RIGHT

This season marks the debut of Panther head coach Ryan Jacobs. Jacobs has lead the Panthers to a 7-2 start, their best start since the 2002 season. Jacobs owns the second-best start to a season by a first-year Panther head coach since 1974, when Jane Mertesdorf started the season 8-1. That was UNI's first season of softball.

 

GOING THE DISTANCE

Sophomore pitcher Sarah Bakey (West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley) continues to go the distance for UNI in the circle. Bakey earned her second win of the 2008 season tossing complete game for the Panthers against Western Illinois (Feb. 14). Bakey allowed the Westerwinds just five hits in seven innings.

 

The week before against North Dakota (Feb.10), Bakey tossed the first complete-game shutout of her career. She allowed just three hits to a Fighting Sioux team that, in its previous game, had scored 14 runs on 14 hits, while also recording eight strikeouts.

 

CAREER FIRST

Megan Machovec (DeWitt, Iowa/Central) hit her first career home run against North Dakota (Feb. 10) as part of the Ramada UNI-Dome Classic. Machovec's inside-the-park homer plated a pair of runs to break the teams' scoreless deadlock in the bottom of the third inning.

 

YOU COMPLETE ME

Senior pitcher Ashley Lepley (Albia, Iowa/Albia) threw two complete games for the Panthers at the Ramada UNI-Dome Classic. In 14 innings, Lepley allowed only 11 hits and four earned runs.

 

DOME OPENER

For the second time as an NCAA Division I team and just the fourth time ever, the Panthers opened a season at home.  UNI has begun its season with a home game only four times in its 34-year history, with both the 1977 and 1978 campaigns commencing with a home date against Wartburg College, and the 2007 season beginning against North Dakota State in the UNI-Dome. 

 

The Ramada UNI-Dome Classic's games also marked the second consecutive season UNI softball played in the UNI-Dome. In the 11 seasons from 1987-1997, the Panthers hosted an annual tournament in the Dome under various names.  The facility also previously served as a backup site for regular-season games in the event that inclement weather made the outdoor surface at Panther Park unplayable.

 

A NEW HOME

Following the Panther's opening weekend in the UNI-Dome, the team will play its remaining home games at the new home of UNI Softball, Robinson-Dresser Sports Complex. The facility, located along West 12th Street just northwest of the UNI campus, replaces Panther Park, which had served as the Panthers' home field for 30 seasons, beginning with the 1978 campaign.

 

Robinson-Dresser boasts many of the amenties lacking at Panther Park, including a press box, permanent seating and on-site restrooms and concessions facilities. The Panthers will open their first season at Robinson-Dresser with a game against Evansville on March 21.

 

AN EXPERIENCED BATTERY

An experienced core of pitchers and catchers will likely determine how successful the Panthers can be in 2008. The Panthers return all four pitchers that saw action in the circle in 2007, including sophomores Jen Larsen and Sarah Bakey and seniors Ashley Lepley and Liz Adams.

 

Adding to the experience will be the return of two veteran catchers in junior Kelly Papesh and senior Heather Tarter. The duo combined to start all of UNI's 51 games a season ago, with Papesh starting 31 games before being sidelined near the end of the season after suffering a broken finger, leaving Tarter to serve as the Panthers' primary catcher.

 

THE OFFENSE RETURNS

Coming off one of the most productive offensive seasons in school history, UNI returns a majority of that output for the 2008 season. After losing only  three players, the Panthers look to continue their high offensive output. The Panthers return 86 percent of their home runs from last season, along with 87 percent of the RBIs, 85 percent of the hits and 82 percent of the runs from the 2007 season.

 

PANTHERS PICKED 10TH

UNI has been picked to finish 10th in the Missouri Valley Conference this season, according to the league's annual coaches poll released Wednesday. The Panthers garnered 13 votes to rank 10th, matching the team's position in last season's final standings. Creighton was the overwhelming favorite, earning nine of the 10 possible first-place votes. Wichita State, Southern Illinois, Illinois State and Missouri State round out the top five.