Softball Heads To Northern Iowa For Road Series

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Belmont University Softball team (33–10, 19–4 MVC) opens long road stretch this weekend with a three-game conference series at Northern Iowa. The Bruins and Panthers will open with a doubleheader Friday at 2:30 p.m. CT, followed by a single game Saturday at 1 p.m. CT at Marian Kneer Stadium in Cedar Falls, Iowa. 

Belmont enters the weekend following a 2–1 series win over Illinois State, highlighted by a pair of extra-inning victories. 

The games will be streamed live on ESPN+, with live stats available on belmontbruins.com. 

What's Bruin 

• The Bruins are currently No. 1 in the Missouri Valley Conference standings and were ranked No. 1 in both the D1 Softball and Softball America Mid-Major Polls for the third consecutive week.  
• The Bruins have also received votes in the D1 Softball and NFCA Top 25 for three consecutive weeks and have appeared in mid-major polls for 11 straight weeks.  
• Defensively, Belmont leads the conference with a .974 fielding percentage, totaling 852 putouts.  
• At the plate, the Bruins are hitting .297 with 208 RBI and a .386 on-base percentage.  
• Belmont has recorded shutouts over 15 teams this season — including 11 by ace Maya Johnson, which is tied for first nationally.  
• Maya Johnson continues to dominate in the circle. The redshirt senior holds a 22–2 record with a 0.73 ERA, 304 strikeouts, and just 17 earned runs allowed.  
• Johnson received AUSL's Golden Ticket following Friday's doubleheader against Illinois State, becoming the first mid-major player — and the first in Belmont program history — to earn the professional draft bid.  
• She leads the NCAA in total strikeouts, strikeouts per seven innings (13.1), strikeout-to-walk ratio (12.16), and ERA (0.73). 
• Johnson has been named NFCA Pitcher of the Week five times this season, becoming the first Division I player to earn the honor five times in a single season.  
• She has also earned MVC Pitcher of the Week honors in eight of 11 weeks this season, along with two D1 Softball Pitcher of the Week selections and one Mid-Major Pitcher of the Week honor.  
• Johnson was ranked the No. 1 overall pitcher in Softball America's April positional rankings.  
• Earlier this season, Johnson surpassed 1,000 career strikeouts during a doubleheader against Murray State (March 24), becoming the 101st player in NCAA Division I history to reach the milestone. She currently has 1,093 career strikeouts and is one of only two active players to do so.  
• Rylee Spindler leads the MVC in batting average at .464.  
• Emily Konz is tied for second in the MVC in stolen bases with 21.  
• Belmont is coming off a historic 2025 campaign, finishing 41–16 overall and 20–7 in MVC play while capturing the MVC Tournament Championship for the first time in program history.  
• The Bruins are led by head coach Laura Matthews, now in her sixth season at the helm.  

Against the Field 

• Belmont holds a 3–3 all-time record against Northern Iowa and won the most recent matchup on the road in May 2025. 
• The Panthers enter the weekend 22–19 overall and 10–8 in MVC play, currently sitting fourth in the conference standings. 

Follow Belmont softball on social media - @BelmontSoftball on Twitter, @belmontsoftball on Instagram and Belmont Bruins Softball on Facebook - for complete coverage of the Bruins. Stay up to date with all of Belmont's athletic programs via the official app of the Belmont Bruins, available both in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.