This past week, the UNI Panthers softball team had two games. The first game was at Missouri on Wednesday, March 29, and the Panthers hosted Bradley on Saturday, April 1. The Panthers brought a seven game win streak with them to Missouri and were looking to extend it. 

The Panthers did not get off to a hot start against Missouri, as in the top of the first inning, the Panther batters went down in order. The Tigers got things going in the bottom of the inning when Alex Honhold hit a two run home run, and after one the Panthers were down 2-0. In the bottom of the second, the Tigers added on two more runs on an error and a sacrifice fly. This 4-0 lead for the Tigers put a lot of pressure on the bats of the Panthers. Both teams’ bats were quiet for several innings before the Panthers finally scored their first run in the top of the sixth inning on an RBI single from Mya Dodge.

Neither team would get another run across, and the Panthers went home with a 4-1 loss. Missouri’s Jordan Webber pitched four shutout innings, and picked up the win. Kailyn Packard took the loss for the Panthers. The Panthers looked to rebound the tough loss with a victory against Bradley. 

Samantha Heyer was on the mound for the Panthers, and she started things off great. In the first inning, she struck out the first two batters, and the third grounded out. When it was the Panthers turn to bat, they gave Heyer some early run support. Maya Dodge hit a two run homerun. Heyer continued to make quick work of the Braves batters, as she struck out the side in the top of the second and third innings. She added two more strikeouts in the fourth inning as well. It was in the bottom of the fourth when the Panthers really got things going. They managed seven runs on six hits in the inning, and took a convincing 9-0 lead. 

Heyer came out of the game in the top of the fifth, but she had a fantastic game with 10 strikeouts, only giving up one hit. Anna Wischnowski came in to finish things off in the top of the fifth inning, and the Panthers got the 9-0 victory. Heyer picked up her ninth win of the season to go to 9-2, and Grace French had the loss for the Braves.

The Panthers finished the series off with Bradley in a doubleheader on Sunday. However, results were not available in time for print. The Panthers will be back out on the field on Tuesday, April 4, when they play host to in-state opponent Iowa State at 4 p.m.