Complete Softball Game Notes (Games 22-25) in .pdf format
This Week in Peacock Softball...
The Peacock softball team looks to put a few notches in the win column this weekend as they open the home portion of the 2011 season by hosting the opening weekend of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play this Saturday and Sunday, April 2-3 at Eischeid Softball Complex.
On Saturday, the Peacocks host a doubleheader against the Dragons of MSU Moorhead (8-5, 0-0 NSIC) with the first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. Then on Sunday, the Golden Eagles of UM, Crookston (6-8, 0-0 NSIC) visit Fayette for a 12 p.m. twinbill.
UIU enters the weekend with a 4-19 record overall after losing their last six to ranked opponents. Earlier this season, the Peacocks were selected to finish tenth in the NSIC Preseason Softball Coaches Poll while the Dragons were picked twelfth and the Golden Eagles were selected to finish at the bottom of the NSIC.
Scouting MSU Moorhead
The Dragons of MSU Moorhead enter Saturday’s Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference opener with an 8-5 record overall and have won three consecutive games. The Dragons swept a doubleheader against Fisher College by a combined score of 40-1 in their last outing on the final day of their trip to Titusville, Florida.
Senior Mara Litzer has the best batting average in the NSIC while also leading MSU Moorhead in pitching. The Chaska, Minn.-native is hitting .526 this season with 20 hits in 38 plate appearances while holding a 3.96 earned run average and a 2-2 record in seven pitching outings this season.
As a team, the Dragons have the NSIC’s best team batting average while ranking second in slugging percentage and third in on-base percentage.
Scouting UM, Crookston
The UM, Crookston Golden Eagles visit Winona, Minn. on Saturday to open the NSIC season with a 6-8 record overall and won in their last outing, 4-3, against Greenville College in the final day of their visit to Titusville, Florida. The Golden Eagles went 5-5 during their ten-game spring break trip which includes a pair of losses to MSU Moorhead.
Senior shortstop Kayla Bowar leads UM, Crookston in hitting with a .458 average which includes 22 hits in 48 at-bats. Bowar has pounded out six doubles and driven in 10 runs while scoring nine runs of her own.
Series History
Since becoming an NCAA Division II institution prior to the 2006 season, Upper Iowa is 4-4 against the MSU Moorhead Dragons and 7-1 when playing the Golden Eagles of UM, Crookston.
The Last Meetings
Last season, the Peacocks visited MSU Moorhead and UM, Crookston on April 17-18 where they won three of the four games on the weekend to improve their NSIC record to 6-4 in the early portion of the conference season.
On April 17, UIU visited Moorhead, Minn. and split the doubleheader with the Dragons as MSUM won game one 10-6 while UIU took game two, 9-5. The Peacocks swept UM, Crookston 9-2 and 3-0 the next afternoon in Crookston, Minnesota.
Looking Ahead
Upper Iowa hits the road for a pair of NSIC doubleheaders next week. On Tuesday, UIU travels to St. Paul, Minn. for a mid-week clash with the Golden Bears of Concordia-St. Paul. Then on Saturday, UIU closes out the week with a visit to #11-ranked Winona State.
