Series finale set for noon on Sunday
 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – On a crisp and windy day at Cooper Stadium, the University of Evansville softball team dropped a pair of games to Northern Iowa. The Panthers began the day with an 8-2 win before finishing with a 10-0 victory to complete the day.
 Game 1 – Northern Iowa 8, UE 2
Three runs in the fourth and four more in the sixth inning lifted UNI to an 8-2 victory in the opener. Evansville took the early lead in the first inning when Jessica Fehr scored on a Marah Wood single. Wood’s hit caromed off second base to help the run score. Izzy Vetter kept the Panthers off the board until the top half of the fourth when three runs scored. Kylee Sanders tripled to right field to knot the game at 1-1 before two runs crossed the plate later in the frame.
In the ensuing half inning, UE got one of those runs right back when a Zoe Frossard single scored Hannah Hood, who reached on an error. The Panthers plated four in the sixth inning to break the game open and would pull away to take the 8-2 decision. Sanders led the Panthers offense with three hits and three RBI. Mya Dodge added three RBI of her own. UE had four hits in the contest. Samantha Heyer pitched 3 2/3 innings of relief on the way to her third win of 2022. She allowed just one hit. Izzy Vetter suffered her fourth loss of the season, giving up six runs on eight hits in 5 1/3 frames.
Game 2 – Northern Iowa 10, UE 0 (5)
UNI pitcher Kailyn Packard allowed just one hit in five innings while the Panther offense erupted for 10 runs on eight hits to earn the doubleheader sweep. Using the long ball, the Panthers grabbed a 5-0 lead in the second. Mya Dodge belted a leadoff home run in the first before Brooke Snider hit a 2-run shot in the second. Sammy Moss capped off the inning with a 2-run double with all four runs in the frame coming with two outs.
UNI put the finishing touch on the game with a 5-run fifth inning that saw Daryn Lamprecht hit a 3-run homer. Hannah Hood recorded a single in the bottom of the fifth to break up the no-hitter, but UNI finished with the 10-0 win.
Evansville will look to salvage a victory on Sunday with the series finale set for a 12 p.m. first pitch.
