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March 25, 2007

Box Score

DES MOINES, Iowa - The University of Northern Iowa softball team was unable to overcome a series of defensive miscues in the finale of its weekend series with Drake on Sunday, falling 8-2 to the Bulldogs at Buel Field.

Drake (12-20 overall, 2-4 Missouri Valley Conference) made the most of three UNI errors, capitalizing on the miscues directly for three runs that gave them the lead for good after five innings.  A four-run sixth frame then put things out of reach for the Panthers (13-16, 1-5).

Starter Ashley Lepley (Albia, Iowa/Albia) was the hard-luck loser for UNI in the pitching circle, falling to 6-7 on the season despite allowing just a pair of earned runs on four hits.  Cassie Heller picked up the win for Drake to improve to 7-10 for the campaign.

Lepley drove in both UNI runs, however, and was one of six Panthers to record a hit in the contest.   The Panthers left five runners on base for the game, but Drake stranded nine.  Together, the teams combined to leave 52 runners aboard in the three-game weekend series.

Drake jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, with leadoff hitter Lindsay Larry driving a single up the middle, stealing second and eventually scoring on a sacrifice fly by Susan Slycord.

The Panthers grabbed the lead in the third inning, however, with Lepley dropping a two-out single into center field to push across Megan Machovec (DeWitt, Iowa/Central), who singled, and Kelly Papesh (Minooka, Ill./Minooka), who reached on a fielder's choice.  The base hit gave UNI a 2-1 lead, but they would not hold the upper hand for long.

The Bulldogs jumped back ahead in the bottom of the fourth, plating a pair of runs thanks to a pair of walks, a passed ball and two fielding errors by the Panthers.

Another UNI error led to another unearned run for the Bulldogs in the fifth, pushing Drake's advantage to 4-2, and the hosts then added four more runs to their tally in the sixth with a series of well-placed singles. 

Consecutive RBI hits by Kristin Birocci, Jaci Faidley and Bridget Shields gave the Bulldogs a comfortable 8-2 lead heading into the seventh.

Machovec led the Panthers at the plate, going 2-for-3, while Kumamoto also tallied a pair of hits in a 2-for-4 performance.

The Panthers return to action on Wednesday (March 28), traveling to Ames, Iowa, for a doubleheader against rival Iowa State.  First pitch at the Southwest Athletic Complex is scheduled for 1 p.m.