The Peacock baseball team wound up on the wrong end of another extra inning result on Friday in Mankato, Minnesota. Upper Iowa and Minnesota State needed extra innings to settle the first game of their weekend series this afternoon. 

 

UIU scored a pair of runs in the top of the eighth, but MSU rallied with three runs in the bottom capped off by a walk-off rbi-single. The 9-8 loss was the Peacocks’ fifth loss in six extra inning games and third in their last four outings. The losses dropped their overall record to 17-19 and their NSIC mark to 11-12.

 

The home team put a run on the board in each of the first three innings, but the visitors seemed up to the challenge matching the solo runs in the second and third. In the second, Matt Corbitt was hit by a pitch and advanced to third on a single by Luis Rodriguez; Corbitt scored on a wild pitch. In the third, Pat Arntson drove in Nick Bergeman with a single to right.

 

Upper Iowa jumped out to a 6-3 lead after plating a pair of runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Rudy Casillas singled to center field with two outs and the bases loaded in the fourth to score two. In the fifth, Corbitt drove in Matt Smoley with a ground out and Will Loza singled to center to score Mikey Henrichs.

 

MSU tied the game with a run in the fifth on three hits and two runs in the sixth when the Mavericks scored on a ground out and a wild pitch. The game moved to extra innings tied at six.

 

With one out in the eighth, Bergeman was hit by a pitch for the second time. Casillas singled up the middle and the Mavericks defense failed them as two throwing errors on the play allowed both Bergeman and Casillas to score and gave UIU an 8-6 lead.

 

Unfortunately, Minnesota State scored three runs in the bottom of the inning; the Mavericks posted only one hit in the half inning. With one out, back-to-back walks and a hit batsmen loaded the bases. A third walk and a sacrifice fly pushed the tying runs across before a single to right pushed the winning run across the plate for MSU.

 

Fabian Lopez (5-3) went the distance for UIU, but took the loss with 7.2 innings allowing 9 runs on 14 hits while striking out 8 Mavericks. The three walks in the final inning were his only walks of the game.

 

Smoley (3 hits), Casillas (2 hits), and Rodriguez (2 hits) led the Peacocks at the plate.

 

The second game was halted by heavy rain after the first pitch.  The teams will resume game two tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. and then play the originally scheduled double header to wrap up the four-game series.