May. 2, 2005

PANTHERS MEET DRAKE IN FINAL SHOWDOWN OF SEASON

STORYLINE: The University of Northern Iowa softball team heads to Drake for a climactic 11th hour showdown that will determine who goes to the Missouri Valley Conference tournament and who stays home. Play begins with a doubleheader Saturday at 12:00 noon and ends with a final game Sunday at 12:00 noon.

ABOUT UNI: With losses in two of three games against Illinois State last weekend, the Panthers have put themselves in a tough spot. UNI remains in seventh place in the Missouri Valley Conference, two games behind Illinois State, holder of the sixth and final playoff spot. With three games left, the Panthers need a sweep to earn a spot. On the stat sheet, Tracy Davis rocketed to the top of the home run column with three dingers last week. Last week's total brings her season tally to five, two ahead of her nearest Panther teammate. The senior also leads the squad with 26 RBIs on the season. Nikki Ferden raised her batting average an impressive 74 points last week, going from .203 to .277 in five games. The sophomore stroked at a .667 clip last week, pacing the team with 10 hits. Erin Strellner continued a solid offensive season, but actually lowered her batting average after posting a .375 mark last week. The senior's team-leading average stands currently at .385.

ABOUT DRAKE: UNI defeated Drake 3-2 in the season opener way back in the middle of February, but the Bulldogs since have rebounded and find themselves in fifth place in the MVC. Three players have driven in 20 or more runs with Shanna Cook's 28 RBIs leading the way. Katie Wappler paces the offense with a .346 batting average and is among the league leaders in doubles with 10. The Bulldogs have ridden the arm of Jessica Hicks to 15 wins. The ace has thrown 19 complete games, including five shutouts, and has punched out a formidable 192 batters in 180.2 innings. She has allowed 78 earned runs in that same time span, giving her a 3.02 ERA. The Panthers are a solid 53-27 in the all-time matchup against Drake.

OUT OF THE GATES: Tracy Davis matched a .438 batting average with a home run and seven RBIs to spark the Panthers to a winning record at the Metrodome Classic. The senior came through under pressure as well, driving in two eighth-inning, game-winning RBIs to beat Drake and Tulsa. Her performance earned her all-tournament honors, as well.

DOMINANT DEBUT: Amanda Hess earned her stripes at the Metrodome Classic after throwing two complete games without surrendering an earned run. The freshman sat firmly atop the Metrodome Classic stat sheet with two wins and a 0.00 ERA. Her stellar showing earned her all-tournament and Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week honors.

RIGHT UP THERE: The Panther offense produced three players with .400 batting averages or higher at the Metrodome Classic. Tracy Davis, Jamie Kelling and Erin Strellner each sported .400 marks and all had slugging percentages above .600.

SENIOR MOMENTS: The senior trifecta of Tracy Davis, Melissa King and Erin Strellner proved their leadership in UNI's 5-4 victory over Marshall. With the Panthers down 4-0 in the fifth, the trio drove in five runs to put UNI on top.

TWO IN A ROW: UNI pitchers Amanda Hess and Uju Ibekwe paired up to deliver two straight dominating performances at the National Invitational Softball Tournament . Hess started the fun against Rhode Island, allowing just one run on six hits while striking out nine in seven innings. Ibekwe followed suit with a complete game, three-hit shutout of Connecticut.

DOUBLE TROUBLE: Jamie Kelling terrorized Connecticut with a 4-4 showing at the plate. Three of the freshman's four hits were doubles, helping her rocket to the top of the stat sheet.

KEEPING IT FRESH: Panther freshmen led the way against San Jose State and Southwest Missouri State, with Liz Adams and Jamie Kelling shining as bright as anyone on the team. Adams earned three wins and compiled a 0.81 ERA, while Kelling hit .381 and led the team with eight hits, six runs scored, and six RBIs.

KABOOM: Panther bats exploded for five runs in the ninth inning in the final game against Southwest Missouri State. Lindsey Schneckloth broke a 3-3 tie with a two-run single and scored when Jamie Kelling followed her with a two-run double. Erin Strellner knocked in Kelling for the fifth run, giving the Panthers an insurmountable 8-3 lead in the ninth.KING IS GRAND: Senior Melissa King catapulted the Panthers to victory with a sixth-inning grand slam in game two against Southwest Missouri State. King's swing accounted for every Panther run in the SMS nightcap, a game UNI won 4-2.

BONUS BALL: UNI's 10-inning affair against Southern Illinois on Easter Sunday marked the second time in as many weeks the Panthers had played to extra-innings. UNI defeated Southwest Missouri State 8-3 in nine innings March 20, and fell 2-1 to SIU a week later.

RANK GUESTS: The Panthers hosted Iowa and Creighton after meeting Southern Illinois at Panther Park. All three teams have earned top 25 consideration in the USA Today/NFCA poll. SIU began the year ranked 24th and both Creighton and Iowa have received votes all season.

TO ERR IS HUMAN: The Panthers and Salukis combined for 12 errors in their three-game set, including eight in the opener. The teams lapsed just once in the second game, but combined for three in the final game.

AMANDA: Freshman Amanda Hess pitched the overwhelming majority of UNI's three-game series against Creighton, accounting for 17 of 20 total innings. She also dueled with CU ace Tammy Nielsen on two separate occasions, taking the Bluejays by surprise and making them realize she is a genuine talent.

SMOKIN': Stephanie Aguero, Jamie Kelling, Jen Sieleman and Erin Strellner weren't joking against the Creighton pair of Tammy Nielsen and Abby Johnson. Each of the four Panthers hit over .300 for the weekend and led the UNI offense.

DON'T LOOK BACK: The Panthers struggled against the likes of Southern Illinois and Creighton, but the bulk of their MVC schedule remains in front of them. UNI still has more MVC opponents to tangle with, and is readying itself for a charge at a tournament birth.

WELCOME HOME: The Panthers began an 11-game home stand April 13 with a double-header against Bradley. UNI hosted Iowa State the following day, and met Wichita State for a three-game set April 16 and 17. South Dakota State came to town April 20, and Indiana State marked the final home opponent for UNI on April 23 and 24.

BATTERY: Senior Melissa King and freshman Amanda Hess have made quite the combo as of late. The pair has combined to work the majority of innings for the Panther battery, and have stepped up at the plate in clutch situations when UNI has needed it most.

FOUR STICKS: Four Panther bats have done most of the heavy lifting in the offense this season, with Erin Strellner, Jamie Kelling, Tracy Davis and Melissa King driving in the overwhelming majority of runs. Davis leads the squad with 26 RBIs, while Strellner is right behind her with 23. Kelling has scored 30 runs and driven in 13 while King's RBI tally stands at 19.

THAT'S THE WAY: With a sweep over Bradley and a seventh-inning victory over Iowa State, the Panthers slowed what was a disastrous few weeks. After being swept by Evansville, UNI turned around and took two games from Bradley and won a nail-biter against the Cyclones to help it get back on track.

THE SONG REMAINS THE SAME: The Panther situation is eerily similar to last year's position around this time, with UNI fighting to earn a playoff spot. Last season, the Panthers swept Indiana State and took two of three from the conference front-runners Illinois State. If UNI can repeat last year's late-season success, a conference tournament invite awaits

SEPARATE WAYS: The Panthers and Sycamores fought two very different battles in their doubleheader April 23. The first contest was a pitcher's duel, with the teams combining for just one run on six hits and UNI taking the 1-0 victory. Pitching was an afterthought in game two, however, as UNI and ISU tallied 22 runs on 29 hits with UNI taking the 12-10 win.

ONLY THE YOUNG: Panther freshmen are tearing it up both in the circle and in the box this season. Amanda Hess has earned staff ace recognition with a team leading win total, and Jamie Kelling has provided the spark in the Panther offense with stellar stats of her own. Liz Adams and Stephanie Aguero have provided solid relief for the Panther starters, while Aguero swings a capable bat to boot.

GIMME SHELTER: A power surge in senior Tracy Davis and junior Rachael Rogers has fans in the outfield bleachers cowering for shelter as home run balls rocket off the Panther pair's bats. The two combined for five home runs in as many games last week, including an eighth inning walk-off home run by Davis against Illinois State, and Rogers' first two long balls of the year.

WILD HORSES: Panther aces Amanda Hess and Uju Ibekwe combined for 18 walks and four wild pitches last week. For the year, the two have thrown 24 wild pitches and have given 127 free passes. The wild pitches and walks haven't stopped the two from striking out 154 batters, however.

TUMBLING DICE: Although the Panthers dropped a pivotal series to Illinois State last week, they still are not out of the hunt yet. With a sweep over Drake, and a little luck, UNI can find itself in Wichita, for the post-season tournament. If the 3-2 opening day victory over the Bulldogs is any indication, the Panthers are more than up to the task.

SURF THE WEB: The latest press releases, statistics, schedules and results for all Panther sports are available on the UNI Athletics home page. Updated daily, the site is located at http://www.unipanthers.com. The Missouri Valley Conference home page is located at http://www.mvc-sports.com

PRESS LUNCHEON: Each Monday, UNI's in-season coaches speak at noon in the back room of Pepper's Grill and Sports Pub, located on 18th Street in Cedar Falls. The public and the media are invited to attend and hear what the coaches have to say about the season. KXEL airs a portion of the Luncheon at 5:00 p.m.

QUOTING HEBERT: "Going into the weekend, it was all good. I felt like our team was ready to go. We had a good week of practice. We knew we had to come away with at least two victories to give us a good chance at the conference tournament. After losing 5-0, our confidence kind of went down. After dropping the first game, I felt we came back in the second game and fought hard. Tracy Davis hitting the walk-off home run was huge for us. We knew we needed to get as many wins as we could, and getting the second game was big. To come back and see the team fight in the second game was thrilling. Going into Sunda, we had a lot of confidence. We were excited to go out there and get a win. But Sunday was tough for us. We could never get the momentum back, and we ended up losing 10-5. I saw some fight in the team, and from that standpoint, I'm very happy with them. This weekend against Drake is huge for us, and presents another great opportunity. We'll need a sweep, but anything is possible. I feel like if our team wants it bad enough, we'll be able to do it."