One day after upsetting #1 St. Cloud State and handing the Huskies their first loss of the season, the Peacocks dropped both games of a doubleheader to SCSU, 13-10 and 14-4. Upper Iowa was in both games early, tied 4-4 in the third inning of game one, and held a 4-2 lead in the third inning of game two, but couldn't keep the Huskies off the board late. With the losses, UIU fell to 10-13 overall and 6-6 in conference play, while the pair of wins moved St. Cloud State to 25-1 and 10-1 in the NSIC.
The Huskies came out strong in the first inning of game one, scoring three runs on four hits and added another run in the second to take an early 4-0 lead.
The Peacocks stormed back with a two-out rally to tie the game in the third inning.
Anthony Calton led off the frame with a double and
Cody Booker brought him home with a two-out single.
Mitch Moser came up next and drew a walk that set up
Jacob Greco for a three-run bomb, his second of the year, that tied that game at 4-4.
SCSU responded in a big way as the Huskies brought 10 men to the plate in the bottom of the third and scored six runs on six hits, including a pair of two-run home runs to take a 10-4 lead.
In the top of the fifth, UIU began to chip away at that six-run deficit. Booker started the inning by getting hit by a pitch and Moser followed with a single. Two batters later,
Colton Janssen belted his second homer of the season, a three-run shot, to make it 10-7.
After a 1-2-3 fifth for SCSU, the Peacock tried to continue the comeback in the sixth with runners on the corners and two outs, but a fly out to center ended the threat. In the bottom half of the inning, the Huskies hit their third long ball of the game, another two-run homer, and added an RBI single to extend their lead back to six, 13-7.
In their last at-bats, UIU rallied for three runs in the top of the seventh, but it wasn't enough as SCSU pitcher Sheldon Miks came on for the save.
It appeared as though the two teams were having déjà vu as game two started. The Huskies got on the board first, scoring two runs in the bottom of the second.
The Peacocks used a two-out rally again in the third to score four runs and take their first lead of the day. After a caught stealing and strike out, Luis Ravelo jump started UIU with a walk. Booker was then hit by a pitch and Calton hit a three-run shot, his first of the year. Greco and Janssen followed the home run with a pair of doubles and added another run to the Peacock tally, which gave UIU a 4-2 lead.
But just like in game one, SCSU came right back, this time with nine runs on seven hits to jump back out front 11-4. The Peacocks had just three hits over the final four innings and the Huskies added a run in the fourth and two more in the bottom of the sixth to extend their lead to 10, 14-4.
Collin Thomas (1-2) took the loss in game one as he came on in relief of starter Zachary Cain in the third inning. Thomas threw the final 3.2 innings, allowed six runs, five earned, on eight hits and struck out three. Moser (4-1) took his first loss of the year in game two as he allowed 11 runs, 10 earned, on 10 hits in 2.2 innings.
UIU gets back on the diamond this Wednesday, April 13, as the Peacocks travel to Sioux Falls, S.D. to take on the Sioux Falls Cougars in an NSIC doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
