The Upper Iowa softball team picked up their second ever win against Minnesota State on Wednesday, rallying with two-out runs in game one of a doubleheader to beat the Mavericks, 10-4. The Peacocks dropped game two, 6-0, to split the day. The Peacocks moved to 12-21 on the year and 7-5 in conference, while the Mavericks are now 25-15 and 10-4 in the NSIC.
 
Minnesota State jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning of game one, then pushed it to 4-0 on a Dana Mogren two-run homer in the third.
 
With two outs in the bottom half of the third, Jacqueline Flood and Erica Kirgan hit back-to-back singles to bring three runs across. Flood then took the mound for the Peacocks, replacing Brooke Redmond, and shut down the Mavericks in the fourth and fifth innings to hold the MSU lead to one, 4-3.
 
Again with two outs fifth, the Peacocks came through in the clutch. This time it was Katie Sammons hitting a two-run, laser of a home run over the left field fence to give Upper Iowa a 5-4 lead.
 
After another scoreless inning for Flood, UIU broke the game open in the bottom of the sixth. Upper Iowa brought 10 hitters to the plate in the inning, scoring five runs on five hits. The Peacocks did most the damage with two outs, scoring four runs on three straight hits from Kirgan, Sammons and Lauren Marlinghaus to push their lead to 10-4.
 
Minnesota State went quickly 1-2-3 in the seventh and the Peacocks earned just their second victory in seventeen games against the Mavericks.
 
Game two started as a pitchers dual, with neither team scoring in the first four innings. Flood took the mound again to start game two, while Libby Bemis worked efficiently from the circle for the Mavericks.
 
MSU finally broke the tie in the top of the fifth, bringing a run home on a triple to the left field corner. Redmond relieved Flood in the inning and stranded the bases loaded to keep it a one-run game.
 
UIU couldn't mount much of a comeback, going down in order in the fifth. The Mavericks put up a four spot in the sixth and added an insurance run in the seventh to win the game 6-0.
Flood took the win in game one and the loss in game two. On the day, she threw 8.2 innings of one-run ball, allowing nine hits while striking out four and walking three. Her record now stands at 6-9.
 
The Peacocks will conclude their current homestand with a pair of doubleheaders this weekend at the Eischeid Softball Complex. The games on Saturday against the Minot State Beavers will begin at 1 p.m. and the first pitch of Sunday's twin-billing against the U-Mary Marauders will be at 2 p.m.