Upper Iowa (7-7) utilized big innings and strong pitching performances to propel themselves past the Kutztown Bears and Quincy Hawks on the first day of the NTC Spring Games in Clermont, Fla. UIU scored nine runs in both wins and have now won four straight.
 
UIU started the day with a 9-4 victory over the Bears behind a five-run fourth inning and an outstanding effort from senior pitcher Jacqueline Flood. The Mt. Vernon, Ill. native threw a complete game with a career-high 12 strike outs for her third win of the season.
 
In the 9-3 win over the Hawks in game two, the Peacocks had their big inning in the third, when they scored five runs to jump out to a 6-0 lead. Senior Brooke Redmond earned the win for UIU, holding the QU to three runs on seven hits, while striking out six.
 
Junior Tara Walls led Upper Iowa at the plate, going 4-for-8 in the two games, adding two runs scored and four RBI. Flood also had four hits on the day and scored three runs with one RBI. Freshman Jenny Budds went 3-for-8 with three runs scored, while also hitting her first career collegiate home run against Kutztown. Senior Lauren Marlinghaus also hit a home run against the Bears, her team-leading third homer of the year
 
Upper Iowa 9, Kutztown 4
The Peacocks kicked off their spring break trip with hot bats early against the Kutztown Bears. Junior Tara Walls hit a two-out double to center in the first, scoring Flood and Budds. Then in the second, Marlinghaus hit her team-leading third home run of the year, followed by a Riley Kruel RBI single to center, which scored junior Katie Sammons and gave UIU a 4-0 lead.
 
The Bears came back in third with three runs of their own. KU loaded the bases with three singles to start the inning, then scored their first run on a Peacock error. After another single moved everyone up a base and scored another run, Upper Iowa got its first out of the inning on a fielder's choice, nabbing the runner at home. The Peacocks traded a run for an out on the next batter to make it 4-3, before getting the next batter to end the Kutztown rally.
 
After a quiet bottom of the third and top of the fourth, the Peacocks exploded for five runs in the bottom of the fourth. Budds started the scoring with her first career collegiate home run to center, plating junior Riley Kruel. Flood followed the homer with a double to right center and came around to score on Walls' second RBI double of the day. Freshman Julia Buffington pinch-hit for UIU and singled to right, scoring Walls for the fourth run of the inning for the Peacocks. After Buffington stole second, she scored on freshman Erin Drahozal's double that pushed the Upper Iowa lead to 9-3.
 
Kutztown came back with a run on two hits in the top of the fifth, but were held hitless in the sixth and seventh by Flood. The senior pitcher improved to 3-4 on the year with the complete game victory. Flood allowed four runs, two earned, on seven hits while striking out a career-high 12.
 
Upper Iowa 9, Quincy 3
Once again, the Peacocks scored in the first inning against the Hawks. After a Kruel walk started the top half of the inning, Budds sacrificed her to second and Flood singled to score the game's first run and gave UIU an early 1-0 lead.
 
Both teams came up empty in the second, but for the second time on Sunday, Upper Iowa would score five runs in an inning in the third. The Peacocks brought 10 players to the plate in the inning, but had just three hits. Budds led off with a single, followed by Flood and senior Erica Kirgan reaching by way of a hit-by-pitch. This set up another RBI for Walls, who singled and scored Budds. With the bases still loaded, senior Tara Duran came through with a two-RBI double to score Flood and Kirgan to put UIU up 4-0, then Drahozal reached on an error, scoring both Walls and Duran to finish the scoring in the big inning for Upper Iowa.
 
In the bottom half of the third, the Hawks finally got on the board with a two-out, two-run home run to cut the Peacock lead to four, 6-2.
 
 Upper Iowa had another big inning in the fifth, scoring three runs to go ahead 9-2. UIU scored the final two runs on back-to-back wild pitches, bringing home Kruel and junior Katie Sammons.
 
The Hawks scored on a couple of hits in the bottom of the seventh, but Redmond closed out the game for Upper Iowa. The senior threw the second complete game for the Peacocks, surrendered just three runs on seven hits, while striking out six and walking two.