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April 18, 2007

Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score

MACOMB, Ill. -- A six-run fifth inning propelled the University of Northern Iowa softball team to a 6-2 win over Western Illinois in the second game of a doubleheader, earning the Panthers a split of their non-conference twinbill with the Westerwinds.  Western Illinois won the day's opening game, 3-1.

A delayed steal of home by Julie DePolo put the Westerwinds (15-19) on the board in the bottom of the first inning of the nightcap, and a UNI throwing error allowed WIU to push its second unearned run across in the second frame.

Trailing 2-0, the Panthers (18-24) used three base hits and four walks issued by the Westerwinds to snag the lead in the fifth, an advantage they never relinquished.

Heather Tarter (Fairbury, Ill./Prairie Central) provided that tally with a single off the left field wall to plate Ruzicka, and Whitney Link (Ankeny, Iowa/Des Moines East) and Megan Machovec (DeWitt, Iowa/Central) followed with consecutive walks to push Kumamoto across and knot the score at 2-2.

The Panthers then had Tarter and Link each thrown out at home on consecutive fielder's choices by Ashley Lepley (Albia, Iowa/Albia) and Jen Larsen (Moline, Ill./Moline), but Stephanie Aguero (Muscatine, Iowa/Muscatine) followed with a single up the middle to plate Machovec and Lepley.  The two-RBI hit gave the Panthers their first lead, at 4-2.

Morgan Paulson (Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge) followed with a walk and Gerking then reached on an error to score Larsen and re-load the bases, setting up Kumamoto to pick up an RBI by drawing a walk that pushed Aguero across and pushed UNI's lead to 6-2.

In the pitching circle, Lepley did her part to keep the Panthers in the lead by holding the Westerwinds scoreless on four hits between over the game's final five innings.  The junior right-hander picked up the complete-game win for UNI by scattering five hits without allowing an earned run to improve to 8-10 on the year. 

Western Illinois' Chris Drankiewicz, who allowed three runs on four walks in two-thirds of an inning, took the loss to fall to 0-4 for the campaign.

Aguero finished with two runs batted in and one of the Panthers' six hits to lead the way for UNI at the plate.  Machovec, Kumamoto and Tarter accounted for the Panthers' other RBIs.

GAME ONE

The Panthers made the most of Western Illinois miscues to jump out to an early lead in the opener, but were unable to muster any offense over the final six innings.

Megan Machovec (DeWitt, Iowa/Central) walked to lead off the contest and promptly stole second, but an errant throw by the Westerwinds allowed her to reach third and another error made it possible for her to score the Panthers' first run.  It turned out to be UNI's only tally, as WIU starter Kamren Ferguson handcuffed the Panther lineup.

UNI managed just two hits off the right-hander, who only allowed four baserunners and never faced more than four Panther hitters in an inning.

Jen Larsen was equally impressive for the Panthers, scattering six hits over six innings of work in the circle and allowing just a single earned run, but was saddled with the hard-luck loss and fell to 9-12 on the year.

The Westerwinds plated a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the third on a two-RBI single by Samantha Valentine and then added another tally in the fifth on an RBI double by Julie Depolo.  That was all the offense the Westerwinds would need behind Ferguson's complete-game effort.

Machovec and Morgan Paulson (Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge) had the Panthers' only hits in the game.

The Panthers return home this weekend to begin an eight-game homestand with a three-game Missouri Valley Conference series against No. 22 Southern Illinois at Panther Park.  First pitch in Saturday's doubleheader is set for noon, with game two to begin at approximately 2 p.m.