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Feb. 9, 2008

Box Score

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - The University of Northern Iowa softball team pounded out 15 hits and benefitted from a complete-game pitching effort by senior Ashley Lepley as the Panthers picked up a 7-5 win over Dayton in their season-opener Saturday in the Ramada UNI-Dome Classic.

The victory was the first career head coaching triumph for Ryan Jacobs, who made his debut in the UNI dugout.

Lepley earned the win with her sixth career complete-game effort, holding the Flyers to just a pair of earned runs on seven hits, while the Panthers' offense provided plenty of support for their starter.

A shaky start for the Panthers defensively allowed the Flyers to jump out to a 4-0 lead after two innings, as a passed ball and a dropped fly led directly to Dayton's pair of first-inning runs.

The guests added another pair of tallies in the second frame, thanks largely to another error by the Panthers.

UNI managed to halve the Flyers' four-run lead in the bottom of the second inning, with consecutive hits by Rachel Gerking (Spirit Lake, Iowa/Spirit Lake), Brittney Balduf (Mason City, Iowa/Mason City) and Morgan Paulson (Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge) to get things started.

Gerking singled to begin the inning and was moved to third on a double by Balduf, allowing her to score on a single up the middle by Paulson. Kelly Papesh (Minooka, Ill./Minooka) followed two batters later with another single, dropping a hit into left field that brought Balduf around to score.

The Panthers made up the rest of the ground they trailed in the third, as Stephanie Aguero (Muscatine, Iowa/Muscatine) drew a leadoff walk and then scored on the RBI triple Ashley Lepley (Albia, Iowa/Albia) stroked into center field. A sacrifice fly off the bat of Gerking then brought Lepley home and tied things up at 4-4.

It took just one swing for UNI to take its first lead of the game, as junior Crystal Keiper (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Jefferson) uncorked a towering home run to left-center field. The solo blast gave the Panthers a 5-4 lead.

UNI added to its advantage in the bottom of the fifth, with Lepley scoring on an RBI single by Balduf, who then pushed the Panthers' lead to 7-4 when she scored on a single up the middle by Keiper.

The Flyers tacked on another tally in the top of the seventh on a two-out single by Blair Crabtree, but that was all the offense they would muster against Lepley, who improved to 1-0 on the young season.

Starter Eva Rappe took the loss for Dayton, which fell to 0-2 on the season under new head coach Cara Clark.

The Flyers return to action in the Dome at 10 a.m. Sunday in a rematch with North Dakota, while the Panthers continue play on Sunday with a pair of games beginning at 2 p.m.

NOTES

The game was the first-ever meeting between UNI and Dayton.

For the second-consecutive year, the Panthers opened the season at home. It is just the fourth time in the 34-year history of UNI softball that the Panthers have begun a season playing at home.

Crystal Keiper's home run in the fourth inning was the first of her UNI career, and it came in her first game with the Panthers. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native joined the Panthers this season after playing two years at Kirkwood Community College.