Game Notes

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville softball team (7-11) will open the 2012 Missouri Valley Conference season with a three-game series at Northern Iowa (14-9) this weekend. The Aces are slated to take on the Panthers in a doubleheader at noon on Saturday before wrapping up the trip with a single game on Sunday.
 
The Aces hosted both Western Illinois and Southeast Missouri in mid-week doubleheaders this week, going 0-2 against the Leathernecks on Wednesday before splitting with SEMO in Thursday’s matchup. The Aces hope to carry the momentum of their 5-4 comeback win over the Redhawks in yesterdays nightcap into this weekend’s Valley series.
 
The Aces currently rank second in the Valley, hitting  .293 at the plate as a team. Evansville’s offense is led by MVC Player of the Week, freshman Kayla Fortner. Fortner is batting .482 and has notched a team-high 27 hits and 19 RBI on the season. The Cedar Hill, Mo., native currently leads the conference in batting average, slugging percentage (.714) and on base percentage (.561).
 
Scouting The Panthers
Northern Iowa Panthers (14-9, 0-0 MVC)
The Panthers enter the conference opener with a 14-9 record, most recently coming off an 8-0 run-rule win at Stetson.  Earlier this season, UNI split with Western Illinois, dropping the first contest by a score of 4-1 on Feb. 12 before beating the Leathernecks 5-0 on Feb. 24. The Panthers have also notched a win against SEMO this season, posting a final score of 2-1 at the Memphis Tiger Invitational on Feb. 25.
 
At the plate, the Panthers rank fifth in the MVC, hitting .281 with a league-best 174 hits this season. UNI leads the Valley with 35 team doubles and is tied for first with seven triples on the year. Northern Iowa’s offense is led by Mackenzie Daigh, who is batting .413 from the left side and leads the conference with 33 hits. Power-hitters Whitney Plein and Courtney Dunker have each tallied three of the Panther’s seven home runs.
 
UNI uses a three-armed rotation in the circle, with Jamie Fisher seeing the most time with 72.2 innings pitched so far. Fisher leads the team with a 1.73 ERA and has racked up 73 strikeouts in 13 appearances. As a staff, the Panthers have combined for a 2.45 ERA with a .222 opposing batting average.