The Peacocks (17-9, 3-1 NSIC) picked up a convincing sweep on Friday afternoon when they defeated the Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles (6-16, 0-2 NSIC) 9-0 and 8-0 in a pair of shortened five inning games. Upper Iowa pitching allowed just two hits over the course of the 10 innings, while the offense scored in nine of the ten innings.
 
Senior Jacqueline Flood threw a five-inning, complete game one-hitter in game one. Not to be outdone, senior Brooke Redmond surrendered just two hits in her five-inning, complete game, while she struck out 10 Golden Eagles.
 
Junior Tara Walls led UIU with five hits in six at-bats, including three doubles, and five RBI in the two games. When Walls wasn't supplying the offense, junior Katie Sammons was as the Ottumwa, Iowa native matched her season-total of two home runs coming into the game with two bombs to left field. Senior Tara Duran added a couple doubles and a pair of RBI.
 
The Peacocks return to action with an early doubleheader on Sunday, Mar. 26, when they play Bemidji State at the Eischeid Softball Complex at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
 
Game 1: Upper Iowa 9, Minnesota Crookston 0 (5 inn.)
 
UIU wasted no time in game one as the Peacocks scored four runs in the bottom of the first. After junior Riley Kruel led off with a single and freshman Jenny Budds reached on a Golden Eagle error, Walls came up with an RBI single to bring home the first UIU run. Senior Lauren Marlinghaus came up next and got on via another UMC error, loading the bases for Duran, who brought home two more on a double. Marlinghaus scored a batter later on a passed ball to make it 4-0 after one inning.
 
After a scoreless second inning, Upper Iowa added to their lead in the third. Walls led off the inning with a double, then Sammons hit a towering, two-out home run to left field to put the Peacocks up 6-0.
 
To cap the scoring in game one, UIU added three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Kruel reached on a walk to start the inning and scored on a Flood double. Two batters later, Walls doubled home Flood, then Marlinghaus singled home Walls to make it 9-0, Peacocks.
 
Flood (7-5) allowed a leadoff single in the top of the fifth, but capped the game by getting the next three hitters in order to shut the door on the Golden Eagles. The senior had three 1-2-3 innings in the game and finished with six strike outs compared to just one hit allowed.
 
Upper Iowa 8, Minnesota Crookston 0 (5 inn.)
 
The Peacocks scored in all five innings of game two, but it was a big fourth inning that broke the game open.
 
In the first, Walls singled to left field and brought home freshman Sami Kay Shafranski. The second inning saw UIU scratch the scoreboard once again, as Duran doubled to center, then scored on a Kruel double to left field.
 
In the third inning, Flood led off by getting hit by a pitch and came home a few batters later when Marlinghaus had a two-out RBI single to center to put UIU up 3-0.
 
The Peacocks scored four runs on three hits and a UMC error in the fourth to push their lead to 7-0. Sammons led off with a laser home run over the left field wall. Sophomore Sammy Garrett followed that with a single, Shafranski walked and Flood reached on an error to load the bases. Senior Erica Kirgan hit a sacrifice fly to center that scored Garrett and moved up Shafranski and Flood one base, setting up Walls for her fourth and fifth RBI on her third double of the day.
 
After Redmond struck out the side in the top of the fifth, the Peacocks ended the game with a walk-off RBI single by Kruel. Sammons drew a one-out walk and moved up to second on a Garrett ground out before Kruel singled to center and brought Sammons home to end the game.
 
Redmond (9-2) sent the Golden Eagles down in order in four of her five innings. The left-handed pitcher allowed just two hits and struck out 10 hitters in her five-inning complete game.