Upper Iowa lost a pair of Northern Sun Conference games on Wednesday against the Cougars of the University of Sioux Falls. The Peacocks were tied or lead in the late innings of both games, but couldn't hold on as Sioux Falls picked up a pair of conference victories.  UIU falls to 10-15 overall and 6-8 in the NSIC, while USF moves to 13-14 overall and 7-4 in the conference.  The losses drop UIU into ninth place in the NSIC, while USF moved to sixth.
 
Brett Fanning started game one and had a solid appearance for two innings as he begins his return from injury.  Fanning allowed an unearned run on four hits in his outing.
 
Upper Iowa jumped out to an early lead thanks to a pair of runs in the first inning and another in the second for a quick 3-1 lead.  Ethan Eckelberg took over on the UIU mound in the third inning, but the wheels started to come off during the fourth and fifth innings as the home team took a 5-3 lead fueled by three scores in the sixth.  Tanner Poor closed the rally out and held the Cougars scoreless over the final five outs.  Eckelberg took the loss in game one.
 
At the plate, a fielding error allowed the Peacocks to score first and then the team added an rbi-single off the bat of Alex George.  Jacob Greco reached on a fielder's choice to plate the team's third run.  After falling behind by two runs, UIU was able to cut the gap to one when a grounder from Luis Ravelo got through for a run-scoring single. UIU had the tying run just 90 feet away, but came up shy on the final scoreboard.
 
In the second game, the hitters for both teams were on fire.  Sioux Falls outhit their guests 18-14.  After the Cougars got out to a quick 2-0 lead, the Peacocks bounced back with three runs in the top of the second and another in the fourth to take a 4-2 lead into the bottom of the third.  The Cougars stormed back with four runs in the bottom of the third giving Sioux Falls a 6-4 lead.
 
The Peacocks took a 7-6 lead in the fourth inning thanks to the first four batters of the frame reaching safely on a pair of walks, an rbi-double for Greco and a two-run single off the bat of Colton Janssen.  The lead held until the bottom of the fifth when USF scored four runs on just two hits and a Peacock error.  On the day, Upper Iowa committed 7 errors in the field.
 
UIU came to the plate in the seventh still trailing 10-7, but a two-run single to center by Mitch Moser and a sac fly to right by Janssen tied the game at 10-10. Unfortunately for the Peacocks, momentum would not stay on their side as Sioux Falls got three runs on five hits to break the tie and take a 13-10 lead.
 
The visitors got one run back in the eighth inning cutting the gap to just two runs, 13-11, but the Cougars responded with two runs of their own on three hits to add some insurance heading to the final inning.  UIU got a runner on second in the final inning, but no further as Sioux Falls claimed the wins in Upper Iowa's first mid-week double header.
 
UIU's defense struggled in the second game committing a season-high seven errors which led to four unearned runs for the Cougars.  Miguel Rodriguez took the loss with 2.2 innings of relief allowing four runs on six hits. Garrison Becker started the second game and allowed six runs, three were earned, on seven hits in his three innings of work.
 
Janssen picked up four hits on the day, while Jordan Kearns, Luis Ravelo and Jacob Greco all got three hits on the day.  Kearns hit a home run and a double, while Greco had a pair of doubles. 
 
The Peacocks will close out their 10-game road trip this Saturday and Sunday, Apr. 16-17, with four games at the University of Minnesota Crookston.