The Peacock softball team honored its six seniors between a pair of wins over the Minnesota State Moorhead Dragons on Sunday afternoon. With the wins, UIU (31-13, 17-5 NSIC) has turned in its first ever 30-win season and is just one win away from tying the school record for conference wins in a season. The Dragons fell to 14-26 overall and 7-17 in conference play with the losses.

The seniors for the Peacocks, Mara Jones, Tara Duran, Lauren Marlinghaus, Erica Kirgan, Brooke Redmond and Jacqueline Flood, have been a core group for this record-breaking season. Over their careers, as a group they have compiled an Upper Iowa record for wins by a senior class with 103, including 63 wins in the NSIC. This season will mark their fourth consecutive trip to the NSIC Tournament, the first Upper Iowa senior class to accomplish that feat. These ladies have racked up a combined 590 hits and scored 296 runs. They have a total of 116 doubles, 80 home runs and 395 RBIs in 769 games. They have 94 wins in the circle, 18 shutouts and 825 strike outs.
 
Flood and Redmond spun a couple gems for the Peacocks and both tied the school record for wins in a single season with 15. Flood (15-7) started game one and went the distance setting a new career-high for strike outs in a game with 13. The Mt. Vernon, Ill. native allowed just four hits and one run without issuing a walk. Redmond (15-4) got the ball for game two and also went all seven innings. The lefty surrendered just two runs on five hits and struck out nine Dragons.
 
Although it was senior day, it was junior Katie Sammons who made sure the Peacock seniors had a day to remember. The junior right fielder went 3-for-5 in the two games with a home run, two RBI, two runs scored and two stolen bases.
 
UIU will finish the home portion of the schedule on Wednesday, Apr. 20 with a doubleheader against the Wayne State Wildcats. First pitch is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
 
Game 1: Upper Iowa 3, MSU Moorhead 1
 
Upper Iowa threatened early in game one as the Peacocks loaded the bases in the bottom of the first. Senior Tara Duran earned an RBI the hard way when she was hit by a pitch that brought the game's first run across with junior Riley Kruel coming home to make it 1-0.
 
MSUM tied in the top of the second when the Dragons strung together a single, double and another single, but Flood worked out of the jam to hold the Dragons to one run in the inning.
 
The Peacocks had runners in scoring position with less than two outs in the second and third inning, but couldn't take back the lead until the fourth inning. Freshman Sami Kay Shafranski led off the fourth with a triple to right field. Flood came up next and laid down a perfect bunt for a squeeze play that allowed Shafranski to score and Flood was safe at first. Senior Erica Kirgan came up next and appeared to single up the middle, but a great play by the Dragon shortstop turned it into a double play ad ended the UIU rally.
 
Sammons and sophomore Sammy Garrett had back to back singles in the bottom of the sixth to extend the Peacock lead to 3-1, and that was more than enough for Flood.
 
The senior right-handed pitcher was perfect over her final five innings of work and sent down 17 Dragon hitters in a row to end the game. Flood struck out a career-high 13 in the complete game win, her 15th of the year, tying the school-record for wins by a pitcher in a single season.
 
Sammons was the leader at the plate for UIU in game one, going 2-for-3 with a run scored and a pair of stolen bases.
 
Game 2: Upper Iowa 3, MSU Moorhead 2
 
Upper Iowa got on the board first in game two, but it wasn't until the bottom of the third inning. Garrett started a two-out rally with a walk, then stole second to get into scoring position. The next hitter was Kruel, who promptly brought Garrett home to score on an RBI single through the left side.
 
In the bottom of the fifth, UIU extended its lead to 3-0. Once again, it was a walk that came back to bite the Dragons as Duran led off the inning with a free pass. After senior Lauren Marlinghaus laid down a sac bunt to get Duran into scoring position, Sammons hit a laser of a shot over the wall in right center to put the Peacocks up by three. The home run was Sammons eighth of the season, tying her for the team-lead with Flood.
 
Redmond pitched one of her better games of the season with just one mistake in the top of the seventh. With two outs and a runner on second, the lefty surrendered a two-run home run that cut the Peacock lead to one, 3-2. Redmond came back and struck out the next MSUM hitter to end the game, her ninth strike out of the afternoon, to secure her 15th win of the year, tying her own record for single season wins by a pitcher.