March 5, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

 

THIS WEEK IN PANTHER SOFTBALL

March 7-9

National Invitational Softball Tournament       Hayward, Calif.

 

Friday:              vs. San Jose State                     3:00 p.m.

                        vs. Nevada                                 5:00  p.m.                     Saturday:          vs. Boston College                     10:00 a.m.

                        vs. Tennessee State                   1:00 p.m.

Sunday:            vs. California                              10:00 a.m.

                       

The University of Northern Iowa softball team will travel to Hayward, Calif. this weekend to take on San Jose State, Nevada, Boston College, Tennessee State and California.

 

LEADING OFF

 

•   The National Invitational Softball Tournament includes host San Jose State, Nevada, Boston College, Tennessee State and California.

 

•   UNI's Jen Larsen provided a huge boost for the Panther offense last weekend. The sophomore drilled three home runs, two against UT-Martin and registered 12 RBIs in five games.

 

•   In the Panthers 10-2 win over UT-Martin, UNI registered 15 hits to the Skyhawks' seven. Four UNI players connected for multiple hits in the game. The Panthers also drove in 10 runs. 

 

•   Junior Crystal Keiper leads the Panthers in slugging percentage this season (.781), ranks second on the team in RBIs (9) and doubles (3) and has the third-best batting average at .344.

 

•    Larsen currently boasts a 1.03 ERA after pitching 34 innings for the Panthers this season. She has allowed just five earned  runs     and is 2-3 on the year.

 

A STRONG EFFORT

In the Panthers' 1-0 win over Ball State the it's defense proved to be the difference maker. Ball State had runners in scoring position in the bottom of the fifth, sixth and seventh innings; but the Panthers defense held strong for the win.

 

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 team-high .781 slugging percentage. Keiper has registered 25 total bases in 32 at-bats in the Panthers' 14 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 led the Panthers to a 7-2 start, the best start to a season since the 2002. 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.