The Panther softball team capped off their fall exhibition schedule with wins against Mount Mercy and Iowa Central, while falling to the Iowa Hawkeyes to finish fall play.

The Panthers picked up two wins at home, defeating Mount Mercy, 4-2, and Iowa Central, 16-1.

The Panther’s pitching came out strong out of the gate against Mount Mercy with Samantha Heyer holding the Mustangs scoreless through six innings. Pitchers Hannah Kelley, Madison Parks and Jaclyn Spencer backed Heyer’s outing by allowing only two runs to finish the game.

Senior Sammey Bunch got the Panthers rolling on offense in the fourth inning with a line drive to center field for a triple. Shortly after, Taylor Hogan stole second base, allowing Bunch to score. The Panthers added three more runs with a solo home run by Hannah Kelley in the fifth and a two-run RBI single by Sammy Moss in the sixth.

The purple and gold followed up their 4-2 win with a high-scoring 16-1 victory over Iowa Central.

UNI went on an offensive attack in the first and fourth innings, combining for 14 runs in just two innings. The Panthers had four home runs off the bats of Alyvia DuBois, Sammy Bunch (2) and Jaclyn Spencer.  The Purple and Gold also scored 16 runs on 19 hits with nine different players getting hits.

Heyer was on the mound again for the Panthers, allowing one run and notching four strikeouts. Spencer also had four strikeouts without allowing a run.

The Panther women took their show on the road last weekend to Des Moines to face their in-state rival, the Iowa Hawkeyes.  The Panthers fell to the Hawkeyes, 5-1, but finished fall play with a winning record.

Up next, UNI will host a hit-a-thon at the Robinson-Dresser Sports Complex on Thursday, Oct. 3 to conclude their fall schedule.