Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Saturday afternoon, the Peacocks had back-to-back games in the RCTC Dome in Rochester, Minnesota. They swept both Truman State and Northwest Missouri State 8-6 and 5-1, respectively, to improve to 3-2 on the young 2013 campaign. A pair of homeruns from Peacock freshmen lifted UIU to a game one win. Timely hitting behind a great start from Jenna Hermsen led to a game two victory.

Tomorrow, Upper Iowa returns to the field at 8 a.m. to take on the Lindenwood Lions. At noon, UIU will battle Concordia-St. Paul to round out their play in the NSIC/MIAA Crossover.

Game 1 Recap
 
After a late charge from the home team, including a three-run homerun in the final inning, Upper Iowa was able to hold off the Bulldogs of Truman State by a final of 8-6. Junior Brooklyn Koranda recorded the final out to get the save after relieving freshman Brooke Redmond, who earned the first win of her career.
 
Trailing 1-0 after one inning of play, the Peacocks turned to freshman clean-up hitter Jacqueline Flood to get things going. The Mt. Vernon, Illinois native answered with a solo homerun to left center off of starting pitcher Hannah Washburn to get UIU on the board. With the bases loaded and no one out in the inning, sophomore Katie Mnichowicz roped a two-run single to give Upper Iowa the lead 3-1.
 
In the top of the third, another UIU freshman would strike again to boost a second consecutive three-run frame. Erica Kirgan blasted a two-run shot to left field and Upper Iowa increased their lead to five. However, even after the Peacocks extended their lead to 8-3 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, the Bulldogs would not go down without a fight.
 
With two on and two outs, Truman State's Whitney Richardson roped a three-run homerun to cut the UIU lead to two runs. After two more singles, the Peacocks turned to Koranda to seal the deal. The Maquoketa, Iowa native got Meredith Kusky to pop out to shortstop to end the game.
 
Redmond (1-1) surrendered 6 runs on 13 hits, while striking out 1 batter and walking 3 in 6.2 innings of work to earn the win, while Koranda earned her second save of the season. Washburn gave up 8 runs on 9 hits for Truman State, while striking out and walking 4 batters each.  

Game 2 Recap

Looking for a Saturday sweep, Upper Iowa took on the Bearcats of Northwest Missouri State University in game number two. Behind a second straight solid outing from Hermsen, UIU won 5-1. The Masonville, Iowa native tossed five and a third innings giving up just one run on ten hits while striking out one and walking three Bearcats.

UIU struck first in the bottom of the first inning. With the bases full of Peacocks, Jacqueline Flood flew out to center field bringing in Katie Mnichowicz.

In the top of the third frame, NWMSU threatened with the bases loaded for the second inning in a row. The threat was over when Jenna Hermsen induced one of her 12 groundball outs.

Upper Iowa added insurance in the bottom of the fifth thanks to a solo bomb to left-center field off the bat of Adrienna Olson. The rally continued when Tara Duran and Whitney Williams laced back-to-back singles. They both moved up after a sacrifice bunt from Mnichowicz. Two runners then scored on a Bailee Haberman single pushing UIU's lead to 4-0.

The Bearcats scored for the first time in the top of the sixth with a solo home run of their own. With one out, they then loaded the bases for a third time ending Hermsen's evening. In to relieve her from the designated player spot was freshman, Jacqueline Flood. Flood did her job by retiring the next two batters and keeping the three-run lead for the Peacocks.

UIU increased their advantage to 5-1 in the bottom of the sixth when they ran a double-steal scoring Rachael Anello from third base. Flood sealed the win with 1.2 innings of perfect relief while striking out two. Haberman led the way with two hits and two RBIs while Flood and Olson each brought in a run as well.