This past weekend, the UNI softball team competed in five games across three days on Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the Austin Peay Tournament, hosted by Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tenn.

UNI’s first game of the tournament was on Friday against the Bellarmine Knights. After a three-and-out from the Knights in the bottom of the first, the Panthers got on the board when Madison Parks sent a sacrifice fly to left field, allowing Mya Dodge to tag up and score from third base to give UNI a 1-0 lead.

Both offenses remained quiet until the bottom of the third when Dodge scored again, this time sending a solo home run to left field. Parks got another RBI in the bottom of the fourth when she lined a base hit, scoring Hannah Isley from third base to take a 3-0 lead, which would end up being the final score.

It was a fantastic game in the circle for Panther pitcher Kailyn Packard, going the full seven innings and allowing just one hit without a run. She also picked up six strikeouts.

UNI’s next game was against the host school, the Austin Peay Governors, and they got out to a good start when Dodge hit a home run to center field to lead off the game. UNI’s Sammy Moss picked up an RBI single in the top of the fifth to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead entering the bottom of the seventh.

Facing a two run deficit and being down to their last three outs, the Governors bounced back in dramatic fashion. With one away and two on base, Lexi Osowski hit a three-run homer to walk it off and give Austin Peay a 3-2 victory.

The Panthers once again faced the Governors on Saturday, and it again came down to the wire. Entering the bottom of the seventh, UNI again found themselves leading Austin Peay by two, this time 6-4. The Governors wouldn’t go away, getting a couple runners on base and bringing the winning run to the plate, but UNI didn’t allow a run and held on for the 6-4 win.

In Saturday’s second game, UNI got a rematch with Bellarmine. The Panthers got the offense started in the top of the third, scoring two runs, one via a sacrifice fly from Dodge, the other an RBI single from Parks. They got back on the board when Emmy Wells hit a solo home run, and Parks reached on an error in the seventh, bringing in another. An unearned run in the bottom of the seventh caused UNI to lose the shutout, but they still got the victory, 4-1.