Upper Iowa started the year with a dominant and dramatic win in their day one sweep at the 8-State Classic in Bentonville, Ark. The Peacocks began the day with a 10-0, five-inning victory over Pittsburg State, then followed it up with a come from behind, walk-off 5-4 win over Southwest Baptist. 

UIU will look to continue their hot start tomorrow when they take on Northwest Missouri State at 2 p.m., followed by a meeting with Illinois Springfield at 6 p.m. Both games were moved back an hour from their originally scheduled times due to porjected cold temperatures overnight in Arkansas.

Game 1
The Peacocks burst onto the scene in 2016 with a season-opening 10-0 victory in five innings over the Pittsburg State Gorillas. The UIU offense exploded for six runs in the second inning to propel themselves to the five-inning win. Senior pitcher Jacqueline Flood earned the win by throwing a three-hit shutout, while senior Tara Duran and junior Tara Walls each had two hits and three RBI.

Upper Iowa got on the board in the first when senior Erica Kirgan hit a sacrifice fly to center that allowed freshman Jenny Budds to score.

In the second inning, Upper Iowa had eight consecutive batters reach base with two outs and scored six runs to go up 7-0. Walls had both of her hits in the inning, including a two-RBI single to cap the six run third, while Duran hit a bases loaded double to plate two of her three RBI.

UIU added three more runs in the fourth to push the lead to 10-0. The Peacocks had four straight batters reach base to start the inning, including Duran's second double of the game, and got back-to-back sacrifice flies from Walls and freshman Erin Drahozal. 

Flood (1-0) sent down the final seven Pitt State batters in order to complete the five-inning, three-hit shutout. The Mount Vernon, Ill. native struck out seven, walked none and didn't allow a Gorilla runner to reach third base. 

Game 2
Upper Iowa followed its opening game win with a a thrilling, 5-4 walk-off victory over the Southwest Baptist Bearcats. SBU scored in the top of the eighth before UIU rallied for a pair of runs in the bottom half to win the game. Senior Brooke Redmond threw all eight innings for Upper Iowa to earn the win.

The Peacocks got out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when a apir of sacrifice bunts allowed junior Riley Kruel to come around and score.

Southwest Baptist tied the game in the third with a solo home run by Kori Hillenburg, then took the lead, 2-1, with a Hillenburg RBI double in the fifth. Upper Iowa came back with a run of their own in the bottom half of the fifth when Budds singled, scoring sophomore Sammy Garrett.

SBU regained the lead a half inning later when an error and a passed ball allowed the Bearcats to take a 3-2 lead. 

With the Peacocks down to their last out, Flood hit a solo home run to tie the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh. 

In the eighth inning, both teams were able to start with a runner on second base. Southwest Baptist scored one run in the top half of the extra inning to give themselves the 4-3 lead. UIU came back with freshman Sami Kay Shafranski on second to start the inning and she moved to third on a Duran sacrifice bunt. Junior Katie Sammons then roped a double down the left field line to score Shafranski and tie the game. One batter later, Walls hit a ball to right field that was misplayed by the SBU outfielder, allowing Sammons to score from second to win the game.

Flood picked up two hits for her second straight game, while Sammons had her first two hits of the year. Each added a run scored and an RBI to their tally. Redmond (1-0) threw eight innings of two-run ball, surrendering just five hits and two walks while striking out 10.