Mason Buster earned the complete game victory over #9 St. Cloud State University. The UIU righty worked all seven innings scattering six hits while allowing only an unearned run in the first inning to post a 0.00 ERA for the week. The junior from Rio Hondo College mixed a tight breaking ball with a high octane fastball to stay on top of the Husky hitters; he picked up three strikeouts while not allowing a free pass to SCSU.
The UIU offense stuggled this week scoring only 13 runs in six games, but the Peacocks were able to upset the #9 Huskies in game three (2-1) and nearly had a second upset in game four (7-3). The Peacocks got a game-winning, rbi-single off the bat of Jake Stenberg in the sixth in support of Buster’s work at the plate. In the final game of the series, Upper Iowa tied the game with a pair of runs in the top of the eighth inning, 3-3, but St. Cloud State strung five hits together in the bottom of the inning to score four runs off UIU relievers on the way to the 7-3 win. Upper Iowa lost by large decisions in their first four games of the week. Augustana swept UIU by scores of 10-3 and 11-1 (8), while St. Cloud State took both of the first two games by counts of 8-2 and 12-2 (7). The Peacocks have a busy week planned with a single nine-inning game against St. Ambrose University added to the schedule for Monday, a double header with the University of Minnesota Duluth on Wednesday and a four-game series with Concordia University, St. Paul on Saturday and Sunday.
