By Josh Dinkelman/UNI Athletics
SPARTANBURG, S.C. — UNI softball continued road competition at Wofford on Tuesday, Feb. 25. The Wofford Terriers matched every run the Panthers put up in the top halves of innings immediately following in the bottom half until UNI broke out in a big ninth inning that sealed the deal in South Carolina with the Cats on top, 8-4.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Panthers opened the game in the top of the third inning on a homerun from Addison McElrath, her fourth of the season. Wofford scored its first run in the bottom half of the frame to knot the game at one.
A two-run homerun from Skylar Benesh, the first of her career, scored Sykora Smith to give the Panthers a 3-1 lead. The home run came off the Southern Conference Pitcher of the Week. The Terriers recorded a pair of runs in the bottom half of the fourth to tie the contest at three apiece.
The matchup stayed tied the next three innings and the teams headed into extras. In the top of the eight, Adalyn Reynolds was placed at second and eventually driven in on a sacrifice fly from Sykora Smith. UNI looked to close the door on the Terriers, but Wofford wouldn’t go away quietly with a run in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game at four and take the game into the ninth inning.
UNI added four runs in the top of the ninth inning which opened with an RBI single from Addison McElrath to score Katy Olive and push the Panthers ahead 5-4. A homerun from Drew Hinrichs gave UNI a two-run lead before Lappe crossed the plate on a single from Ella Smithson and Callahan crossed on a bases-loaded walk to see UNI hold an 8-4 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth inning. Wofford crossed one runner in the bottom half of the frame, but could not score another as the Panthers took home an 8-5 victory in Spartanburg, S.C.
Kate Lappe and Ella Smithson finished with three hits apiece while Skylar Benesh and Addiason McElrath led the Panthers with a pair of RBIs each. The Panthers’ three home runs tied a season-high for the third time with three coming against Omaha and three against Morehead State. Morgan Vertz picked up her third win of the season, pitching 5.1 innings against the Terriers.
UP NEXT
The Panthers head to the 2025 Purple/Gold Challenge hosted by Lipscomb in Nashville, Tennessee. UNI will take on Ohio and Lipscomb on both Friday, Feb. 28 and Saturday, March 1 and finish the weekend with a matchup against Ball State on Sunday, March 2.