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April 15, 2006

Box Score

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - The University of Northern Iowa softball team saw a pair of games slip away by the slimmest of margins Saturday, as visiting Drake claimed twin 3-2 Missouri Valley Conference wins over UNI at Panther Park.

The losses weren't without the best efforts of Jamie Kelling (Davenport, Iowa/West) and Morgan Paulson (Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge) at the plate, however.  Kelling finished the day 5-for-7 with a pair of doubles and an RBI, while Paulson went 4-for-7 with a double and two RBI.

By that time, however, the Bulldogs had already put three runs on the board, the first of which came when Cassie Heller singled to drive in Susan Slycord in the second inning. Kristin Birocci scored on the same play, as Dyann Peterson's (Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge) throw from center field got away from Kelly Papesh (Minooka, Ill./Minooka) behind the plate.  Drake added another score in the third off a solo home run by Jaci Faidley.

Uju Ibekwe (4-12) took the loss for UNI, while Heller picked up the win for Drake by allowing only one run on one hit over five innings of relief.

Game 1

Paulson put the Panthers on the board in the bottom of the third, dropping a double into left field to plate Kelling, who also had doubled.  The doubles were the fifth hit in six at-bats for both Kelling and Paulson, going back to the Panthers' clash with Iowa State on Wednesday.

Drake put together a push in its half of the fourth, loading the bases with no outs, but the Panthers continued their run of solid defense with a pair of groundball putouts at home plate to keep the Bulldogs off the scoreboard.  A wild pitch allowed Marilyn Buss to cross and tie things up at 1-1, but UNI starter Monica Wright (Morrison, Ill./Morrison) struck out Heller swinging to end the Drake threat.

Papesh gave the lead back to the Panthers in the bottom of the sixth, sending a single through the left side to plate Stefaney Shalla (Kalona, Iowa/Mid-Prairie), who led off the frame with a single.

Drake responded in the seventh, though, with Mollie Daniels dropping in a single to bring home Birocci and knot the score at 2-2.  Buss then singled through the left side to plate BIrocci and give the Bulldogs a 3-2 lead they wouldn't relinquish.

A stellar grab by Emily Hajduk in center field robbed pinch hitter Brittany Ruzicka (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Jefferson) of a leadoff extra-base hit, and Heller then recorded a strikeout, but Nikki Ferden (Eldridge, Iowa/North Scott) kept the Panthers alive when she beat out the throw from shortstop for a two-out infield single.  A groundball out to the pitcher halted UNI's rally, however. 

Wright (6-15) took the loss for UNI, while Paulson finished game one 3-for-4 at the plate with an RBI.  Papesh went 2-for-3 and also drove in a run.

The Panthers (10-28-1, 1-13 MVC) host Drake for the third game of the team's weekend set on Sunday.  First pitch is scheduled for noon at Panther Park.

NOTES

- Jamie Kelling has now reached base in nine of her last 12 plate appearances dating back to Wednesday's game with Iowa State, having gone 8-for-11 during that stretch with three runs scored.  Kelling raised her season average from .287 to .311 in Saturday's doubleheader alone.

- Morgan Paulson has gone 7-for-11 over the Panthers' past three games while driving in five runs to push her season RBI total to 23.  Paulson also leads UNI with a .315 average.

- After falling twice by a single run Saturday, UNI now has a 1-8 record in one-run games this season.