The Peacock baseball team (14-21, 10-14 NSIC) dropped a pair of 2-1 decisions at Southwest Minnesota State University (6-25, 4-12 NSIC) on Sunday including a 10-inning affair in the first game. SMSU posted the wins despite tremendous pitching from
Collin Thomas in game one and a shared effort on the hill by
Tanner Poor and
Ethan Eckelberg in game two. The Peacock pitchers allowed just four runs in their sixteen innings of work, but the Mustangs held the UIU bats to just two runs in seventeen innings on the day.
Thomas (1-3) was electric on the mound for the Peacocks taking the loss after going the distance into the tenth inning in Marshall, Minn. The junior righthander allowed a run in the third inning and one in the tenth after scattering 8 hits over 9.1 innings. Thomas struck out 11 batters in the game.
However, as good as Thomas was, Erik Thorvilson had the Peacocks off balance at the plate allowing a run in the first inning but dominating late as he sat down 15 of the last 16 batters he faced. Jake Leighton relieved Thorvilson and threw the tenth inning in front of SMSU's winning run in the bottom of the inning to get the win.
Jacob Stenberg had two of UIU's four hits in the day's opener.
The second game, which was shortened to seven innings after the first game went to extra innings, was another pitchers' duel. The Peacocks got on the scoreboard first in the top of the second inning when Zach Cain singled with one out, advanced to second on a passed ball and scored on an rbi-single by Luis Ravelo.
The Mustangs got the run back in the bottom of the second off Poor, UIU's starter, with two outs and took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the third inning after a pair of errors gave the home team runners on second and third with no outs. Poor got a strikeout and a ground out without allowing the runners to advance, but a wild pitch allowed one run to score before an inning-ending, pop-up on the infield.
The Peacocks' best chance to rally came in the fifth when
Cody Booker singled to right and advanced to second on a sac bunt, but the team couldn't bring Booker in stranding him at second base. Booker made it to second base once again in the bottom of the seventh with two outs, but a strikeout ended the rally and the game as the home team grabbed a pair of 2-1 wins.
Poor (0-3) took the loss with 4 innings; he allowed 2 runs, only 1 was earned, on five hits while striking out 4 batters. Eckelberg came on in relief and threw 2 innings without allowing a run.
Once again the SMSU pitcher did even better as he improved to 1-4 on the year. Davis Bryan threw 7 innings and allowed just 6 hits while holding the Peacock offense at bay and striking out 5 batters.
The losses keep UIU in ninth place in the NSIC standings just one spot out of the conference tournament if the season were to end today. Upper Iowa still has 12 games to play over the next two weeks with 8 of them coming at home in Fayette.
The Peacocks will host the red-hot University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs on Wednesday, Apr. 27, at 1:30 p.m. in an NSIC double dip. The Bulldogs have won 12 straight to move into second place just percentage points behind Augustana University for the top spot.
