Game Notes - Upper Iowa || Wayne State || Wisconsin-Parkside || Grand Valley State || Lewis || Northern Sun
THE SCHEDULE
|
Saturday, Feb. 22 |
Sunday, Feb. 23 |
Game No. 9
vs. No. 17 Wayne State University
10 a.m.
Rosemont, Illinois |
Game No. 11
vs. #4 Grand Valley State
9 a.m.
Rosemont, Illinois |
Game No. 10
vs. University of Wisconsin-Parkside
12 p.m.
Rosemont, Illinois |
Game No. 12
at Lewis UniversityÂ
1 p.m.
Romeoville, Illinois |
THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK SOFTBALL... Upper Iowa will look to end a six-game skid this weekend as they compete in the D2 Midwest Region Invitational in Rosemont, Illinois. On Saturday, UIU will face the 17th-ranked Warriors of Wayne State University (5-1) at 10 a.m. before taking on the Rangers of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside (0-0) at noon. Then on Sunday, the Peacocks will face 4th-ranked Grand Valley State (0-0) at 9 a.m. before heading to Romeoville, Illinois to face the tournament hosts - the Flyers of Lewis University (0-0) at 1 p.m.
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8-STATE CLASSIC... The Peacocks dropped all six of their matchups in the 8-State Classic hosted by the University of Arkansas-Monticello this past weekend.
Adrienna Olson led UIU with a .412 batting average, while
Jacqueline Flood and
Katie Mnichowicz each connected on a pair of home runs and combined for 12 RBIs. Flood earned seven hits in 18 at-bats, while registering four doubles and a slugging percentage of .944 over those 6 games.
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ON DECK... Following the D2 Midwest Region Invitational, the Peacocks will head to Joplin, Missouri to compete in the Teri Mathis-Zenner Memorial Tournament. UIU will face Washburn, Nebraska-Kearney, Fort Hays State and Emporia State during the two-day tournament.
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"JACQUELINE" THE GIANT SLAYER... No player in the NSIC has racked up more doubles than
Jacqueline Flood so far this season. The sophomore from Mount Vernon, Illinois has five two-base hits through eight games. Flood is also tied for first in home runs with teammate
Katie Mnichowicz, while ranking second in RBIs with 7.
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THREE FOR NO. 3... Senior infielder
Adrienna Olson is the top-ranked Peacock in three league categories so far this season. Olson owns the 9th spot in the NSIC with a .458 batting average, while earning the 8th best slugging percentage (.667). The St. Olaf, Iowa native is also ranked 14th in the conference in OPS (.480). Olson also registered her 5th career home run this past weekend against the University of Arkansas-Monticello. In 2013, Olson led the Peacocks with two triples and eight sac bunts while finishing in the top five on the team in walks (9) and stolen bases (6-for-7). Olson is the only senior captain this year, joining
Brooke Redmond and
Katie Mnichowicz.
2014 DEBUT... In their season debut, the 2014 Peacock softball team looked sharp through six innings in game one and for the majority of the second of two matchups with Grand View College this past Saturday night in Rochester, Minnesota. Upper Iowa scored twice in the first inning of game one and added another run in the fourth, but despite the Peacocks' 3-1 lead, GVC mounted a comeback in the seventh inning to swipe a victory from the Peacocks' grasp. The Vikings scored five runs in the top of the seventh and escaped with a 6-3 victory inside the RCTC Dome. In game two, it looked as if Grand View would continue its strong play thanks to their early momentum, but UIU responded quickly and forcefully. After falling behind by three runs in the first, the Peacocks quickly took the lead in the fourth and never looked back. UIU earned RBI rips from Riley Kruel in the third and fourth innings, while Cheyenne Burnett plated one in the sixth. Erica Kirgan and Shelby Crist each plated a runner, while Adrienna Olson brought two across the diamond as the Peacocks blew past the Vikings in game two, 11-4.
COACH AB & COACH E... In 2014, the Peacocks will have a new look in the dugout. After serving all of last year as the team's top assistant, Amanda Bradberry will take over the head coaching duties at Upper Iowa for the first time in her career. The Kansas City native came to the forefront of a coaching search this past summer after the position opened when Annie Van Wetzinga resigned at the end of July. Prior to Upper Iowa, Bradberry spent two years as an assistant coach at Muskingum University where she earned a wealth of experience. She is also a graduate of Iowa State University, where she played second base for the Cyclones for four years earning numerous awards and accolades. Bradberry will be assisted by Chelsea Erickson  - a former centerfielder and first baseman for Minnesota State and a former pitcher in high school. Erickson will coach the pitchers and outfielders for the Peacocks this spring. Before coming to Fayette, Erickson enjoyed an illustrious career at MSU playing in a total of 220 games and earning four consecutive trips to the NCAA Regional Tournament. As a junior, Erickson and the Mavericks finished at the 2011 NCAA Softball Championships.
PRESEASON POLL... In its annual Softball Coaches Preseason Poll, the NSIC announced Upper Iowa was predicted to finish 10th out of 16 conference teams after accumulating 111 points. UIU finished the 2013 season with a 28-16 record, nearly twice as many wins as the prior season. The Peacocks earned an 11th place vote in last year's poll, but finished fifth in the NSIC standings.
IN CASE OF "FLOOD"... Sophomore
Jacqueline Flood was named an NSIC Player to Watch this preseason. Last year's NSIC Freshman of the year started all 44 games for the Peacocks as the designated player and pitcher. On her way to some postseason hardware, Flood racked up 31 RBIs from the batter's box and double-digit victories from the rubber.
20-20 VISION... Junior
Tara Duran joins Flood on the NSIC Players to Watch list this preseason. As a sophomore, Duran earned All-NSIC Second Team honors after leading the team in hitting. The Peacock catcher started 27 games and led the team with a .410 batting average, a .577 slugging percentage and a .465 on-base percentage. Her .410 batting average is tied for fifth-best in school history. She earned 32 hits, 5 doubles, 1 triple and 2 home runs in 78 total at-bats. She added 22 runs on the base paths and collected 20 RBI, with a career-high 5 of those coming against Sioux Falls (4/20/13). She also had one of the longest hit steaks on the team at 10 games.
REPRESENTIN'... Upper Iowa University student-athlete
Katie Mnichowicz was named the new Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, or NSIC, representative to the NCAA National Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Mnichowicz, a member of the Peacock softball team, takes over for Trevor Reeves of Wayne State College, who served as the NSIC's National Representative for the last two years. Mnichowicz will begin her duties immediately and serve on the committee through the national convention in January of 2016. Mnichowicz has started all 97 games she has played in through her first two seasons as the Peacocks' everyday shortstop. In her two seasons, she is hitting .266 with 77 hits,11 doubles and a homerun. The Palatine, Ill. native has knocked in 35 runs, scored 66 times and she has swiped 26 bags. The exercise science and sports administration major earned a spot on the UIU Athletic Director's Honor Roll as a freshman and sophomore and the NSIC All-Academic team as a sophomore. Mnichowicz has been a member of SAAC at Upper Iowa since 2012 and was selected to attend the 2013 NSIC SAAC Leadership Summit.
OH SO "KRUEL"... Playing in her first and second collegiate games,
Riley Kruel earned earned four hits, two RBIs and scored three runs in her first collegiate day of her career. Kruel stepped to the plate seven times in a double-dip with Grand View collecting a .571 batting average, a .667 slugging percentage and a .571 on-base percentage. Her strong play in game two led UIU to a split as the Peacocks earned an 11-4 victory over the Vikings after falling 6-3 in game one. Kruel added a perfect fielding percentage from her centerfield spot adding three putouts to her stat line.
LIVE STATS... Live coverage of the games will not be available and recaps will be released as soon as possible following the contests.
