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Softball
Panther Softball Year in Review
May 15, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format
THIS YEAR IN UNI SOFTBALL • Second-year head coach Ryan Jacobs and his staff of Julie Gerdes, Stephanie Winter and Mandi Daigh were named the MVC Coaching Staff of the Year at the MVC softball banquet in Peoria, Ill May 6. Jacobs and his staff orchestrated a 14-win improvement from a year ago, a 7.5 game improvement in Missouri Valley play and coached the Panthers to the most conference wins (15) in school history after the Panthers had only won 11 MVC games the past three seasons. This year’s regular-season finish was also the top Valley finish for the Panthers since 2000, and is the second-highest finish in school history. The Panthers were picked to finish last in the preseason poll. Complete All-MVC release on page three.
• The Panthers finished the season 34-22 this year. The 34 wins ranks tied for fourth on UNI’s single-season wins list. The Panthers needed just one more win to move into a tie for second with the 1982 and 1988 teams that each won 35 games. The 1994 team holds the current single-season wins record with 40. The Panthers played a stiff schedule this season, which included 10 NCAA qualifying teams. The Panthers went 6-12 against NCAA qualifying teams and 2-5 against ranked opponents.
• The Panthers set two new single-season school records and tied one other record. The Panthers set records in home runs (52) and MVC wins (15), while also tying a school record with 24 double plays turned.
• UNI juniors outfielders Rachel Gerking and Megan Machovec were named first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference and Brittney Balduf, Mackenzie Daigh, Jen Larsen and Kelly Papesh all landed spots on the MVC second-team. The six All-MVC performers is a new school record.
• UNI freshman Mackenzie Daigh was named the Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Year the league. Daigh is only the second Panther in school history to earn the honor, as former Panther great Lindsay Wood won the award in 1999. Daigh batted .316 and slammed three homers in her freshman campaign. Daigh notched 53 hits in 53 games and ended the season on a nine-game hitting streak.
• UNI junior Rachel Gerking set the MVC and UNI single-season RBI records this season after driving in 59 runs. Gerking broke the previous MVC single-season RBI record of 55 held by Brittany Mynsberge of Bradley, and Gerking drove in 15 more runs than any other Panther softball player in a single-season. Gerking tallied a hit in 18 of the last 19 Panther games.
• Junior Jen Larsen has slammed 25 career home runs, which ranks her tied for second on UNI’s career home runs list. Larsen is tied with former Panther Rachael Rogers (2003-2006) and trails former Panther great Jody Dean’s (1996-99) total of 29 home runs. UNI senior Kelly Papesh finished her career tied for fourth on the home run list with 23 homers. Larsen slammed nine home runs this season, which tied her career single-season high set in her freshman season.
PANTHER SOFTBALL NOTES LEADING THE VALLEY • The Panthers’ bats were dominant at the plate this season as the Panthers led the MVC in batting average (.276), slugging percentage (.431), runs (271), hits (432), RBI (245), triples (11) and home runs (52).
BREAKOUT SEASON FOR GERKING • Junior Rachel Gerking had only driven in 40 RBI and hit three home runs in her first two years in a Panther uniform. This season, Gerking led the team with a .366 batting average and 59 RBI. In the Valley, Gerking ranked second in hits, fourth in doubles, tied for fourth in home runs, fifth in slugging percentage and had the sixth highest batting average in the league. The Spirit Lake, Iowa, native earned first-team All-MVC honors this year.
MAC ATTACK • Junior Megan Machovec led the way for the Panthers at the plate in numerous statistical categories this season. Machovec ranked first in the MVC in hits (70) and triples (6). She also led the Panthers in runs scored (42) and has the second highest batting average on the team (.354). The outfielder earned first-team All-MVC honors this season.
DAIGH CAN PLAY • Freshman Mackenzie Daigh slammed her first career home run as a Panther against Missouri State (March 14) and hit her first career three-run homer against Wisconsin (April 8). Daigh did not hit a home run during her prep career. Daigh batted .316 this year with 54 hits in 54 games. Daigh ranked third on the Panther team in runs scored and also drove in 23 runs this year. Daigh ended the season on a career-high nine-game hitting streak.
NO SWEEPING HERE • For the first time since the Missouri Valley Conference switched to three-game series in 2001, the Panthers were not swept by an opponent in a three-game series this year. The Panthers did sweep Missouri State and Evansville, which ties for the most three-game sweeps in a season by a Panther softball team.
JACOBS SIGNS CONTRACT EXTENSION • Second-year University of Northern Iowa softball coach Ryan Jacobs has signed a contract extension through 2012, UNI director of athletics Troy Dannen announced on April 30.
“With a national championship in our program’s history, softball has a proud legacy at Northern Iowa,” Dannen said. “Ryan has put our softball program back in a position to challenge for an at-large NCAA bid in just two years at the helm. He is an excellent leader and has demonstrated the ability to quickly develop talent. This, along with Ryan’s passion for the University and the game, will help enable UNI to compete at a consistently high level.”
PANTHERS WIN SERIES AGAINST DRAKE • The Panthers won two of three games (May 2-3) in Des Moines over Drake to wrap up their regular season slate. The Panthers won game one, 2-1, in eight innings and game two, 9-1, in six innings, before dropping the final game, 2-1, in 10 innings. UNI junior Jen Larsen hit two home runs in the series and the Panthers are 4-2 against in-state schools this season.
LARSEN NOTCHES EIGHT SHUTOUT • Larsen pitched her eighth complete game shutout of the season against Bradley (April 15) and needed just one more complete game shutout to tie UNI’s single season record for most complete game shutouts.
EXTRA INNINGS SUCCESS • The Panthers split a pair of extra inning games against Drake (May 2-3) and finished the season 6-3 in extra inning games.
HUTCHESON FINISHES SEASON 6-1 IN CIRCLE • Freshman Jaye Hutcheson shined in her relief effort this season and finished the season 6-1 in the pitching circle. Hutcheson tossed 50 1/3 innings, struck out 26 batters with a 2.23 ERA.
PAPESH MOVING HOME RUN CHARTS • Senior Kelly Papesh hit her MVC-leading 12th home run of the season and 23rd of her career against Wisconsin (April 9). Papesh’s season total of 12 home runs ranks tied for second on UNI’s single-season home run list.
CAREER DAY FOR DAUGHARTHY • Sophomore Eranne Daugharthy was the star at the plate for the Panthers, going 3-for-4 with two RBI and a home run in UNI’s 6-3 win over Nebraska on April 22. The three hits marked Daugharthy’s first multi-hit game of her career and the homer was her third of the year.
GERKING BREAKS UNI RBI RECORD • Junior Rachel Gerking set a new school record for RBI in a season after she drove in her 45th RBI of the season in the second game of a doubleheader against Indiana State (April 18). Gerking was tied for the single-season RBI record with Jody Dean (1997), Jen Dean (1994) and Stacy Weber (1994). Gerking currently has driven in 58 runs this year.
PANTHERS AVOID FIRST THREE-GAME SWEEP OF YEAR • The Panthers avoided being swept in a three-game series for the first time all season after they held on to beat Illinois State, 5-4, on Sunday, April 26. The Redbirds won game one of the series, 4-3, and game two, 7-4.
PANTHERS SPLIT WITH HUSKERS • The Panthers split a doubleheader with Big 12 foe Nebraska on Wed., April 22, in Lincoln, Neb. The Huskers cruised to a 7-2 win in game one behind a complete game six-hitter from Molly Hill. The Panthers then dug themselves an early 3-0 hole in game two, but scored the final six runs of the game to earn a 6-3 win. Sophomore Eranne Daugharthy was the star at the plate for the Panthers going 3-for-4 with two RBI and a home run in game two. The Panthers are 3-16 all-time against the Huskers, while Panther head coach Ryan Jacobs is 2-3 against the Huskers.
PANTHERS NEARLY UPSET 24TH-RANKED IOWA • The Panthers jumped out to an early 3-1 lead over the No. 24 Iowa Hawkeyes in the Panthers final home game of the regular season (April 21), but a four-run fifth inning lifted the Hawkeyes past the Panthers, 5-3. UNI junior Rachel Gerking drove in two Panther runs in the loss and freshman pitcher Jaye Hutcheson struck out three batters and retired six straight batters in the final two innings of play.
PANTHERS WIN ON SENIOR DAY • The UNI softball team bounced back after dropping a doubleheader to Indiana State on April 18, to earn a 4-3 win in the final game of the three-game series on April 19. Freshman Mackenzie Daigh’s RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning drove in senior Crystal Keiper to score the winning run on Senior Day
GERKING SLAMS ANOTHER WALK-OFF HOMER • Rachel Gerking had another dominant week (April 7-11) at the plate for the Panthers. Gerking pounded out eight hits, nine RBI, four doubles and slammed two home runs to help the Panthers earn doubleheader sweeps over Wichita State and Wisconsin.
During the week she also launched a three-run walk-off home run against Wichita State to lift the Panthers to a come-from-behind win, 7-5 Gerking fouled off three straight full count pitches before launching a home run over the right field fence. The homer was the 43rd home run of the season by a Panther player, which set a new school record.
BALDUF KNOCKS ANOTHER HOMER • Senior Brittney Balduf hit her 10th home run of the season against Wichita State (April 11). Balduf also hit a grand slam against the Shockers, (April 10) her second of the season. The Mason City, Iowa, native hit one home run last season.
PANTHERS EDGE BRAVES • The UNI softball team edged Bradley, 1-0, on April 15, in Peoria, Ill., to wrap up the three-game series between the two schools this season. After six scoreless innings of play the Panthers finally cracked the scoreboard in the top of the seventh inning when junior cleanup hitter Rachel Gerking came through with a clutch RBI double to drive in the only run of the game.
LARSEN PITCHES TWO STRAIGHT SHUTOUTS • Junior Jen Larsen pitched back-to-back complete game shutouts against Wisconsin (April 8) and Wichita State (April 10).
PANTHERS DOMINANT IN SWEEP OVER BADGERS • The Panthers dominated a twin bill against Big Ten foe Wisconsin (April 8) as they outscored the Badgers, 17-0, in the doubleheader. UNI head coach Ryan Jacobs is 3-0 all the time against the Badgers, and his Panther teams have outscored the Badgers, 20-0, in the three meetings between the two schools.
COMEBACK CATS • The Panthers came back from a five-run deficit four times this year. The Panthers fell behind against Dayton, 6-0, (Feb. 7) before earning a 14-6 win, fell behind against Kansas, 5-0, (March 7) before picking up a 8-5 win and fell behind, 5-0, against Missouri State (March 14) before winning, 11-5 and fell behind, 5-0, against Wichita State before winning, 7-5.
PANTHERS RECEIVE VOTES • The Panthers received three votes in each the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll and the NFCA Top 25 poll on Tuesday, April 7. The Panthers received two votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll on Tuesday, March 24, marking the first time in school history. The Panthers also received one vote in the March 31 poll. PANTHERS 23RD IN INITIAL RPI • The Panthers were 23rd in the initial RPI poll that was released by the NCAA on April 1. The Panthers have an RPI of 69 in the latest poll released on Tuesday, May 5. The Panthers rank third among MVC schools in the RPI. Southern Illinois holds the top RPI in league (50).
FIRST CAREER COMPLETE GAME SHUTOUT • Redshirt freshman Melissa Tillett pitched her first career complete game shutout against Wisconsin (April 9). Tillett yielded one-hit, also a career best in a complete game outing, walked one and struck out four batters.
PANTHERS SWEEP EVANSVILLE • UNI’s three-game series sweep over Evansville (April 5) was the Panthers’ ninth all-time MVC three-game series sweep and second three-game series sweep of the season. The last time the Panthers swept two MVC three-game series in a season came in 2003.
SOLID WEEK FOR LARSEN • Junior Jen Larsen went 3-1 in the pitcher’s circle (March 30-April 5) for the Panthers. Larsen picked up a complete game win against North Dakota State and earned two more wins against Evansville in the Panthers’ three-game series against the Purple Aces. Larsen logged 32 2/3 innings in her four outings and yielded 26 hits, eight earned runs, struck out nine batters and also launched her 21st career home run against Evansville.
PANTHERS LAUNCH FOUR HOMERS IN LOSS TO BRADLEY • Despite launching a season-high four home runs in the game the Panthers came up on the short end of a 9-8 contest against Bradley in game one of the doubleheader (April 1). The Panthers hit another home run in a 7-3 loss to the Braves in game two.
MARCH TURNAROUND • The Panthers finished the month of March 11-5 this year compared to 5-15 last season.
MAKING HISTORY • For the first time in school history the Panther softball team started Missouri Valley Conference play 5-0 after winning a doubleheader against Southern Illinois (March 21). The previous best conference start for UNI came in 2001 when the Panthers started league play 3-0.
PANTHER MVC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS • The Panthers have had three players earn State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week honors this season. Senior Kelly Papesh earned the honor March 9, fellow senior Brittney Balduf was named Player of the Week March 16 and junior Rachel Gerking earned the honor on April 6. Only two other Panther players have earned Player of the Week honors since 2004.
STREAK STOPPING • The UNI softball team won its second straight MVC three-game series after taking two of three games against 20th-ranked Southern Illinois in Cedar Falls (March 21-22). The Panthers won game one over the Salukis, 3-2, and came from behind to win a thrilling extra inning affair, 6-5, on sophomore Eranne Daugharthy’s walk-off home run. The Panthers fell in the final game of the series, 4-0. Before the weekend series the Panthers had lost 22 straight games against SIU, and the Panthers had not beaten SIU twice in a season since 1994.
BEST START SINCE 1977 • The Panthers started the season 17-5 after their first 22 games of the season. The 17-5 mark is the best start for the UNI softball program since the 1977 team started the season 21-1.
TOUGH STRETCH • The Panthers finished 2-3 during their spring break stretch. The Panthers fell in six innings against No. 11 Oklahoma, 8-0, and Oklahoma State, 9-1, in five innings before winning two of three games against Southern Illinois.
PANTHERS SWEEP BEARS • The UNI softball team swept its three-game series with Missouri State (March 14-15) to start Missouri Valley Conference play 3-0 for the first time since 2001. This marked only the sixth time in UNI’s 17 seasons in the MVC the Panthers have swept a season-opening MVC series. In 2001, the MVC switched from two to three game series. This is the first Panther sweep since 2005 when the Panthers swept Bradley.
BALDUF HITS FIRST CAREER GRAND SLAM AND NAMED POW • Senior Brittney Balduf hit her first career grand slam against Missouri State (March 14) and set a new career high in the game with five RBI. Balduf finished the three-game series against the Bears 5-for-8 at the plate with two home runs, seven RBI and scored five runs. She was named MVC Player of the Week (March 16) after her outstanding weekend.
PAULSON SETS NEW CAREER HIGH WITH FOUR RBI • Senior Morgan Paulson set a new career-high after her four-RBI performance in the second game of a doubleheader against Missouri State (March 14).
HUTCHESON TO THE RESCUE • Freshman Jaye Hutcheson started her Panther career 3-0 before losing her first game of her career against North Dakota State on March 30. She earned her third of the win season after pitching the final two innings against Southern Illinois (March 21).
JAYHAWK CLASSIC RECAP • The Panthers went a perfect 4-0 in Lawrence, Kan., March 7-8 against Kansas (twice), Eastern Illinois and North Dakota State. This marks the first time all season UNI has won four straight games. The Panthers staged a seventh-inning rally against the Jayhawks in their opener at the tournament by scoring seven runs in the seventh inning to rally from a 5-0 deficit.
PAPESH GOING, GOING, GONE • Senior Kelly Papesh blasted four home runs in the four games at the Jayhawk Classic. Papesh finished the tournament with five hits and 10 RBI. Papesh set a career-high with four RBI against North Dakota after her grand slam. Papesh also hit a pivotal three-run home run in UNI’s come-from-behind 8-5 win over Kansas on March 7. For her effort Papesh was named the MVC Player of the Week March 9.
PURPLE AND GOLD CHALLENGE RECAP • The Panthers finished 3-2 and earned a third-place finish at the Easton Purple and Gold Challenge in Baton Rouge, La., February 20-22. The Panthers nearly upset No. 22 LSU before falling 3-2 in extra innings. The Panthers won two games against UAB during the tournament and split a pair with Texas State.
LARSEN, DAIGH EARN ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM HONORS • Junior Jen Larsen and freshman Mackenzie Daigh each were named to the Easton Purple and Gold Challenge All-Tournament Team. Larsen had a hit in every game in the five-game tournament and blasted two home runs, while Daigh went 6-for-14 at the plate and scored four runs for the Panthers in the tournament.
GERKING’S HOMER LIFTS PANTHERS PAST UAB • Junior Rachel Gerking’s home run in the 11th inning lifted the Panthers past UAB 5-4 in UNI’s final game of the Easton Purple and Gold Challenge. The 11-inning game was the most innings the Panthers have played since they beat Missouri State, 5-3, in 12 innings in 2001.
LARSEN’S STREAK SNAPPED • Junior pitcher Jen Larsen’s streak of 28 consecutive innings of scoreless softball pitched came to an end against No. 22 LSU (Feb. 20) in the bottom of the fourth inning.
METRODOME SUCCESS • The Panthers finished the Metrodome Softball Classic (Feb. 13-15) 4-1 in Minneapolis, Minn. Junior pitcher Jen Larsen shutout and two-hit both Western Illinois and Arkansas last weekend. The Panthers also beat Wisconsin-Green Bay, 8-4, and held off Missouri Valley Conference foe Drake, 3-2, in eight innings. FIRST WINS AS PANTHERS • Sophomore transfer Eranne Daugharthy and redshirt freshman Melissa Tillett both picked up their first career victories for the Panthers in the pitching circle at the Metrodome Softball Classic. Daugharthy got the win in an 8-4 victory over Wisconsin-Green Bay and Tillett earned the win in UNI’s 3-2 eight-inning victory over Drake.
LARSEN DOMINANT AT UNI-DOME CLASSIC • Junior pitcher/first baseman Jen Larsen was a key cog in helping the Panthers finish 3-1 at the Ramada UNI-Dome Classic (Feb. 7-8). On the mound, Larsen went 2-0 for the Panthers with a 0.91 ERA. She threw 15 1/3 innings, yielding only two earned runs while striking out 14 batters.
PERFECT PAULSON • Senior Morgan Paulson was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate in UNI’s 11-9 win over North Dakota (Feb. 8). The four hits were a career high for the first baseman from Fort Dodge, Iowa. Paulson started the Nebraska game with a double to give her five hits in five at-bats.
COACH JACOBS REMAINS UNBEATEN IN SEASON OPENERS • UNI head coach Ryan Jacobs improved to 2-0 in season openers after UNI’s 14-6 (6 innings) win over Dayton. Both of Jacobs’ season openers have been against Dayton.
BEST START SINCE 2002 • The Panthers won their first three games of the Ramada UNI-Dome Classic to earn their first 3-0 start since the 2002 season. The Panthers beat Dayton, 14-6, South Dakota State, 4-3, and North Dakota, 11-9, to start the season.
LONG BALL • The Panthers hit six home runs in the first three games of the Ramada UNI-Dome Classic before failing to hit a home run in the final game of the tournament against Nebraska. Five different players hit home runs for the Panthers in the tournament.
• Junior Rachel Gerking hit two home runs in the Panthers’ first three games of the season. Gerking hit three home runs in her first two years in a Panther uniform.
PAPESH EARNS ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT HONORS • University of Northern Iowa senior catcher Kelly Papesh was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Softball Division District VII first team, selected by CoSIDA and was announced May 7 by coordinating officials.
For being selected to the first-team, Papesh’s name will appear on the ballot for consideration for the honor of Academic All-American.
This is Papesh’s first academic all-district honor. Papesh owns a 3.60 grade point average as a physical education/teaching major with a minor in health education.
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