Panther softball team faces tough competition at DeMarini Classic

The University of Northern Iowa softball team encountered a tough test over the weekend losing four out of five games and facing two opponents ranked in the top 10.  The Panthers took on No. 2 Arizona and No. 9 Arizona State, along with other strong opponents including Samford and Creighton.
             
Thursday night the Panthers started their road trip with a game against the Arizona Wildcats, a traditional national powerhouse in division one (Division I?) softball.  The Northern Iowa softball team competed with the high-ranked Wildcats, losing 4-1. Kim Wachholder had one half of the Panther's hits going two for three from the plate. Courtney Dunker scored the only run for the Panthers by hitting her third home run of the season. Melissa Tillett took the loss for the Panthers, who threw three innings but only allowed one earned run.

A costly Northern Iowa error in the third inning led to three runs, giving Arizona enough cushion to secure the victory.  No one scored until Tillett's homer in the top of the seventh, but it was too little too late for the Panthers who were unable to rally following the crucial error in the bottom of the third.

Friday the Panthers began play in the Arizona State DeMarini Challenge, taking on Samford and Arizona State.  In the first game Northern Iowa took on Samford, losing 11-7 in 10 innings.  Jen Larsen had a monster night from the plate going 4-6, hitting a grand slam and driving in six runs. Melissa Tillett took the loss for the Panthers, but did not receive a lot of help from her defense.  

Errors and leaving runners on base were the key factors in the loss for the Panthers.  In the 10th inning, Samford took advantage of four UNI errors, scoring five unearned runs.  The Panthers compounded their struggles in the field with an inability to drive in runners on the base paths, stranding 16 runners total for the night.
             
In the Nightcap Friday, UNI took on a loaded Arizona State team, eventually losing 10-0 in four innings. The No. 9-ranked Sun Devils had little problems with disposing of the Panthers by scoring three runs in the top of the first, two in the second and five more in the fourth.  Jen Larsen took the loss for the Panthers, allowing all 10 runs and suffering her first loss of the season.

Saturday the UNI team got their first victory in the DeMarini Arizona State Challenge, defeating Idaho State 2-0.  Megan Machovec was the star of the Panther offense with three hits and a run scored.  Jen Larsen rebounded from the loss against Arizona State by throwing a shutout from the pitcher's circle.  Larsen struck out five and gave up four hits in the victory.

In the second game Saturday, leaving runners on base once again cost the Panthers in a 4-0 loss against the Creighton Blue Jays. UNI left seven runners on base for the game including two key runners left on in the bottom the sixth to kill a Panther rally. Tillett took the loss for the Panthers, giving up three earned runs.

In the final game of the Arizona State DeMarini Classic on Sunday, the Panthers were supposed to take on University of California-Santa Barbara.  Instead the game was cancelled due to inclement weather.

UNI looks to rebound next week as the Panthers play at Missouri on Wednesday and then travel to Norman, Okla., for the Oklahoma Sooner Classic.