The Upper Iowa softball team dropped both games on the final day of the WSU Dome Tournament at the RCTC Dome in Rochester, Minn. The Peacocks (3-5) fell 8-4 in extra innings in game one to Washburn, the dropped the evening game, 7-5, to Northwest Missouri State.
 
UIU will play four games at the Lewis Flyer Dome Invitational next weekend, Feb. 26-27, in Rosemount, Ill.
 
Washburn 8, Upper Iowa 4 (9 innings)
The Peacocks fell in extra innings, 8-4, to the Washburn Ichabods to start day two at the WSU Dome Tournament in Rochester, Minn. Upper Iowa led 3-0 early, only to have Washburn rally for three runs across the fifth and sixth innings to force extra innings. Both teams scored in the eighth, ­and then the Ichabods put up a four spot in the ninth.
 
Junior Riley Kruel stayed hot at the top of the lineup for the Peacocks to start the game. The Horicon, Wis. native picked up her fifth hit of the weekend to lead off the first for UIU, stole second and third, then scored on senior Erica Kirgan's sacrifice fly and gave Upper Iowa a 1-0 lead in the first.
 
UIU added two runs in the second inning. Senior Tara Duran, who reached on a single, scored from third when Washburn attempted to throw out freshman Sami Kay Shafranski stealing second. One batter later, sophomore Sammy Garrett singled to center and plated Shafranski, putting the Peacocks up 3-0.
 
Upper Iowa loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth with just one out, but the Washburn worked out of the jam without surrendering a run. The Ichabods used that momentum to pick up their first hit of the game in the top of the fifth and rallied for two runs.
 
Senior Jacqueline Flood took over in the circle for the top of the sixth inning. The Ichabods led off the inning with a double and used a sacrifice bunt to move the runner to third. After Flood picked up a strike out for the second out, Washburn tied the game at 3-3 with an RBI single to center.
 
The Peacocks responded by loading the bases in the bottom of the sixth, but for the second time in two innings, came up empty. Both teams stranded a couple runners on in the seventh and the game headed for extras.
 
In the eighth, a runner was placed on second to start the inning. Washburn scored its placed runner on an error, but Flood was able to strike out the next three hitters and strand an Ichabod runner at third. Freshman Julia Buffington was placed on second for UIU and moved to third on a senior Lauren Marlinghaus sacrifice bunt. Buffington then scored on a wild pitch to tie the game 4-4. In the ninth, the Ichabods had four hits and scored four of runs to take an 8-4 lead.
 
Flood took the loss in relief, allowing four runs on six hits in 3.2 innings and striking out seven. Duran, Marlinghaus, Shafranski and Garrett each had two hits to lead the Peacocks offensively.
 
Northwest Missouri State 7, Upper Iowa 5
For the third time this season, the Peacocks fell to the Bearcats of Northwest Missouri State by less than three runs. Upper Iowa dropped their final game of the WSU Dome Invitational on Saturday evening, 7-5, with the Bearcats scoring six of their seven runs in the third inning.
 
UIU started the game with a pair of runs in the first as Kruel scored on a Flood RBI single, followed a few batters later by a Duran single to score Flood. In the second inning, Marlinghaus  crushed her first home run of the year that gave the Peacocks a 3-0 for the second consecutive game.
 
The Bearcats exploded in the third inning for six runs on six hits, including back-to-back home runs, and took a 6-3 lead.
 
Marlinghaus helped UIU chip away at the lead in the fourth inning with her second long ball of the game and Tara Walls singled home Julia Buffington in the fifth to cut the deficit to one, 6-5.
 
Northwest Missouri State would add a run in the bottom of the sixth and the Peacocks went down in order in the seventh inning to end the game.
 
Freshman Courtney Clayberg (0-1) took the loss in her first career start, going two innings and allowing five runs on six hits. Flood, Duran, Marlinghaus and Garrett each picked up a pair of hits.