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April 1, 2006

Box Score

OMAHA, Neb. - The University of Northern Iowa softball team is still searching for its first league win after falling twice to Creighton, 4-0 and 2-1, in a Missouri Valley Conference doubleheader Saturday at Creighton Sports Complex.

Creighton pitchers Cassidy Nee and Stephanie Cortese combined to hold the Panthers to a single hit in the opener, while UNI starter Uju Ibekwe (South Holland, Ill./Thornwood) allowed only five hits in six innings of work. The Bluejays made the most of the times they reached base, however, scoring once each in the fourth and fifth innings and twice in the sixth to earn a 4-0 win.

The Panthers threatened in the second inning, with Rachael Rogers (Dubuque, Iowa/Wahlert) reaching when she was struck by a pitch and Ibekwe drawing a walk.  The two-out rally died, but not without the best effort of freshman Kelly Papesh (Minooka, Ill./Minooka), who worked a stellar 12-pitch at-bat only to see her line shot up the middle snared by Creighton center fielder Jessica Wakasugi.

Both starters spun no-hitters through three innings, with Rogers' two-out single up the middle in the top of the fourth the first hit for either squad.  The Bluejays' Bailey Dawson broke Ibekwe's no-hitter in the bottom of the frame with an inside-the-park home run to center field to put Creighton up 1-0.

Preseason all-MVC selection Lauren Cisneros padded the Jays' advantage in Creighton's half of the fifth, launching her 10^th home run of the season over the left field fence.  Beth Ramsey added another run with an opposite field single in the sixth to drive in Dawson, who had walked.  The Bluejays' final run came when Wakasugi drove in Laura Kratochvil later in the inning.

Ibekwe took the loss for UNI, dropping her season record to 3-9.

The sailing wasn't much smoother in the early going of game two for UNI, with Cortese holding the Panthers to one hit through five innings.  The Bluejays, meanwhile, tagged Panther starter Monica Wright for a run in the second, when Beth Ramsey doubled to drive in Mary Egan and give Creighton an early 1-0 lead.  Ramsey added the Bluejays' second run in the fifth inning, scoring on a single by Jamie Reiss to push the Creighton advantage to 2-0.

Freshman Dyann Peterson led off the top of the sixth with a bunt single and advanced to second on an error to set up a UNI rally, but the Panthers failed to capitalize as the next three batters went down in order.

Stefaney Shalla (Kalona, Iowa/Mid-Prairie) revived the Panthers hopes in the seventh, leading off the inning with a solo home run to left center field, her third homer of the year.  Again, however, the Panthers went down in order to allow the Bluejays to escape.

Wright (5-12) was saddled with the loss for UNI despite allowing only two runs on five hits and striking out five batters, while Cortese improved her season mark to 6-5 with the victory.

The victories move Creighton above the .500 mark at 14-13 (4-4 MVC), while the Panthers' record falls to 8-22-1 overall and 0-8 in league play.  The teams will play the third game of the series Sunday, with the first pitch scheduled for noon at Creighton Sports Complex.

NOTES
Stefaney Shalla has recorded all three of her home runs in the Panthers' last three conference games.  The freshman outfielder hit two longballs last Sunday at Panther Park against Missouri State.

Creighton starting pitcher Cassidy Nee allowed the Panthers a single hit over four innings in the circle in game one, her second one-hit performance of the week.  The freshman allowed just one hit to No. 19 Nebraska earlier in the week, a game the Bluejays lost 3-1.

Both UNI and Creighton entered the weekend series coming off losses to 19^th-ranked Nebraska, with Creighton having dropped a 3-1 decision to the Huskers on Tuesday and UNI losing, 4-2, in Lincoln on Thursday.

Close games have become normal for the Panthers this season and, following their 2-1 loss to Creighton in game two of Saturday's doubleheader, they have a 1-4 record in one-run games.