The Upper Iowa softball team swept the University of Mary Marauders on Friday afternoon and now have won six of their last eight games. The Peacocks won game one, 5-2, behind the strong pitching performance from Jacqueline Flood, then took game two, 11-5, exploding for eight runs in the first two innings. UIU improved to 14-21 overall and 9-5 in conference, while U-Mary fell to 18-23 and 7-8 in the NSIC.
 
Flood and Riley Kruel had four hits on the day to lead UIU. Lauren Marlinghaus had three hits, including a home run in each game. Flood and Marlinghaus had four RBIs each.

Upper Iowa will wrap up the weekend with a doubleheader against Minot State tomorrow, Saturday, Apr. 11. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Eischeid Softball Complex.
 
Game 1: Upper Iowa 5, U-Mary 2
 
After a couple of scoreless innings, the Marauders got a leadoff single to start the top of the third inning, then moved over when a ball skipped through the legs of UIU third baseman Marlinghaus. With two outs, reigning NSIC Player of the Week Taylor Mendez hit a seeing-eye single through the left side that brought home both runners for U-Mary. 
 
In the Peacocks' half of the third, Erica Kirgan hit a laser shot to dead center field that just snuck over the wall for a two-run home run to tie the game at 2-2. 

To lead off the bottom of the fourth inning, Marlinghaus made up for her earlier error with a towering shot to straight away center that cleared the wall with plenty to spare. Kruel followed up the homer with a single, eventually coming around on a single from Katie Mnichowicz, giving UIU a 4-2 lead.
 
Kirgan led off the fifth by eaching on an error, then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. A Kruel single gave UIU runners on the corners. Kirgan scored when the U-Mary catcher threw to second on a Kruel steal, pushing the Upper Iowa lead to 5-2.
 
Flood picked up the complete game win in game one, going seven innings and allowing two runs on just three hits. She struck out two and didn't surrender walk.
 
Game 2: Upper Iowa 11, U-Mary 5
 
The Marauders came out in the first inning of game two and matched their run total from game one. Shortstop Kristin Ormsby hit a solo home run as the second batter of the game, then Mendez reached on a single. Two batters later, a double brought Mendez home to give U-Mary an early 2-0 lead.
 
The Peacocks rallied in the bottom of the first to match their game one run total as well, hanging a five-spot on the Marauders. Whitney Williams led off with a triple to the right field corner and Mnichowicz walked to put runners on the corners. Flood wasted no time in her at-bat, swinging at the first pitch and crushing it over the left field wall for a three-run shot. A couple batters later, Marlinghaus hit her second long bomb of the day, this time a two-run shot to right center. 
 
Upper Iowa added three more in the bottom of the second on four hits, highlighted by a Katie Sammons two-run double off the wall in left center.
 
An RBI single and double plated two runs for the Marauders in the top of the third. U-Mary again chipped away at the UIU lead when leadoff triple came around in the fourth to cut it to a three-run game, 8-5. Flood was called in to relieve the Peacock starter Taylor Bjork in with two outs in the third, but escaped the inning without further damage.
 
The Peacocks got a run back in the fifth on another steal play, with Kruel coming home on a Shelby Crist steal. UIU then scored two more in the bottom of the sixth on a two-RBI double to the right field gap by Marlinghaus and Flood was able to shut the door in the top of the seventh to secure an 11-5 victory and doubleheader sweep for Upper Iowa.
 
Flood earned her second win of the day, tossing a scoreless 3.1 innings, giving up just two hits and striking out four.