URBANA, ILLINOIS – In its first game since March 17, UNI softball showed little rust in an impressive 9-0 road victory over Illinois on Tuesday evening. The Panthers blasted three home runs in the contest, two of which were struck by Addison McElrath, as UNI wrapped up the game in five innings.
For the 10th time this season, the Panthers started fast with a run in the first inning. Madison Parks was the first baserunner of the contest after a one-out walk, then Kate Lappe reached on an error by Illinois’ third baseman. That brought McElrath to the plate, and she hammered a 2-1 offering from Illinois starting pitcher Lauren Wiles over the center field fence for a three-run blast.
The home run marked the first of the 2024 season for McElrath and the fifth of her collegiate career. UNI brought four more batters to the plate in the top of the first but were unable to scratch any additional runs across.
Samantha Heyer received the start on Tuesday after starting in the Panthers’ last contest nine days ago at Belmont. A one-out double from Illinois outfielder Stevie Meade marked the first of five Fighting Illini hits on Tuesday afternoon, and an ensuing walk gave the hosts a quality scoring opportunity to cut into the Panthers’ 3-0 lead. However, Heyer struck out the next Illinois batter and forced a groundout to end the inning.
The Panthers quickly added to their three-run advantage in the top of the second. Daryn Lamprecht led off the inning with a walk, but Alexis Pupillo traded places at first base with Lamprecht after grounding into a fielder’s choice. Pupillo stole second, and Parks’ 29th walk of the season put two runners on with one out.
That brought Lappe to the plate, and she hammered the first pitch she saw from Wiles down the third base line. Lappe’s single brought home Pupillo and could have started a gigantic inning for the Panther offense. McElrath reached on a fielder’s choice to load the bases, but Wiles retired the next two Panther batters to end the inning.
After a quick inning from Heyer, UNI broke the game open in the top of the third. Savanna Jemilo led things off with a single, then Sammy Moss was hit by a pitch from Wiles. Both runners moved up a base after a productive Lamprecht groundout, and Pupillo brought Jemilo home with a sharp single up the middle to make it 5-0.
Parks lined out to third base to bring up Lappe, who fell behind in the count as Wiles looked to escape the frame with minimal damage. Lappe ensured that would not be the case as she flipped a three-run home run over the right field fence to give the Panthers an 8-0 lead.
Wiles left the contest after Lappe’s home run, and McElrath promptly greeted new Illinois pitcher Juliana Hooker by smashing a solo home run to center field. That marked the Panthers’ ninth and final run of the contest, as UNI recorded just one hit over the final two innings of the game.
Illinois’ last major scoring opportunity of the contest came in the bottom of the third inning. The first three batters of the frame reached base, which loaded the bases with no outs. Heyer locked in from there, though, striking out back-to-back-to-back Fighting Illini batters to keep the hosts scoreless.
Heyer cruised through the final two innings, retiring the Fighting Illini in order in the bottom of the fifth to end the contest due to the mercy rule.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
Lappe had a career day on Tuesday evening. Her four RBIs were not only a team high, but also marked the most RBIs Lappe has ever recorded in a single game at the collegiate level. Prior to Tuesday, her previous career high came in a three-RBI performance against Western Illinois on Feb. 9.
It marked another solid performance for Lappe, who has a career-best three home runs and 16 RBIs so far in 2024.
McElrath, too, had a dominant offensive performance against the Fighting Illini. Not only did McElrath hit the first two home runs of her 2024 campaign on Tuesday, it also marked the first multi-home run game of her collegiate career.
Entering Tuesday, McElrath had just four home runs in her collegiate career. The game also marked McElrath’s first multi-RBI game of the 2024 season.
Tuesday marked the Panthers’ first-ever victory against Illinois. UNI had a 0-2 all-time record against the Fighting Illini entering Tuesday’s contest.
Tuesday’s game also marked UNI’s first mercy rule victory of the season.
Parks, who entered Tuesday’s game ranked second nationally and first in the MVC with 1.17 walks per game, picked up two more walks against the Fighting Illini. She now has 29 walks for the 2024 season, and remains well within striking distance to crack UNI softball’s single-season leaderboard for most walks recorded.
Tuesday’s win against Illinois marked the antepenultimate non-conference game for the Panthers in 2024. UNI visits Iowa State on April 2 and hosts Iowa on May 1 for its final non-conference games of the season.
UP NEXT
The Panthers travel south through Illinois for a weekend series against Southern Illinois that starts at 5 p.m. on Friday. The Salukis are undefeated in Missouri Valley Conference play, but had their 16-game unbeaten streak snapped in a 5-2 loss against UT Martin on Tuesday afternoon. The conference-leading Salukis entered Tuesday’s contest with the second longest active unbeaten streak in Division I softball.
The series between UNI and SIU continues at 2 p.m. on Saturday and wraps up at 12 p.m. on Sunday. All three games can be streamed on ESPN+, and live stats will be available all weekend.
