PEORIA, Ill. - Northern Iowa junior shortstop Sammey Bunch drove in all the runs Friday in the Panthers' 2-0 win against Southern Illinois in the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
Bunch (Fatima High School) finished off a 13-pitch at-bat in the top of the sixth inning by crushing a two-run home run to left field, scoring Brittney Krodinger to put the Panthers ahead 2-0.
The home run was the 17th this season by Bunch, who led the MVC in that category and is now tied for 20th in NCAA Division I.
Bunch, the MVC player of the year, also has 50 RBI in 50 games this season.
Northern Iowa (28-22), the No. 3 seed in the MVC Tournament, will play top-seeded Drake at 1 p.m. today in the championship game. The winner receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals.