The Peacock baseball team swept a pair of Northern Sun Conference baseball games at the University of Sioux Falls on Saturday. Upper Iowa claimed game one 6-1 behind a two-hitter by redshirt junior
Brett Fanning and game two 13-9 thanks to a nine-run explosion in the seventh inning. The two wins improved UIU's record to 16-20 overall and 12-16 in the NSIC, while USF falls to 14-24 overall and 11-17 in the conference.
In the top of the third inning, Mith Moser singled and moved to second on a sac bunt. With two outs and runners on first and second,
Alex George singled to left sending Moser to the plate for the game's first run.
Jacob Greco followed with a single to center, which scored
Anthony Calton and a throwing error on the play moved the UIU runners to second and third.
Luis D. Ravelo-Herrera singled to left and drove in the final run of the frame as UIU posted a 3-0 lead.
Emmett Kulick singled to center to open the fifth and moved to second on a sac bunt. George sent Kulick home for UIU's fourth run with a single to center. Later in the inning with the bases loaded, Upper Iowa moved out to a 5-0 lead on a wild pitch that allowed all three runners to move.
Sioux Falls broke through for their only run of the game in the bottom of the fifth after a leadoff double and eventual sacrifice fly to center.
UIU got the run back in the sixth after a pair of hit batsmen and a walk loaded the bases with one out.
Zackary Cain hit a sac fly to center sending Calton home.
The run support was more than
Brett Fanning, UIU's starting pitcher, needed. Fanning was in control on the mound throwing his sixth complete game of the season to improve to 5-2 on the year. The redshirt junior allowed one run on two hits while striking out a pair of Cougars.
Alex George and
Emmett Kulick each had two hits, while George pushed a pair of Peacocks across the plate with his basehits.
In the second game, the Cougars struck for a pair of runs in the first inning on three hits. Upper Iowa answered with two runs of their own in the top of the fourth on a two-run double off the bat of Cain. The Peacocks then took a 3-2 lead in the fifth when George singled to left to drive in
Dominic Hillesheim, who walked to open the inning.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Cougars took advantage of a pair of Peacock errors to score six runs on four hits to take an 8-3 lead into the sixth inning.
UIU wouldn't be denied though. The Peacocks scored nine runs, their biggest inning of the season, in the top of the seventh on six hits and aided by three errors. The inning was highlighted by a three-run homer by
Anthony Calton and a pair of two-run errors by the Cougar defense. UIU sent 13 batters to the plate in the inning.
Both teams scored a run in the eighth inning. Upper Iowa scored an unearned run after a one-out double by Ravelo and a fielding error on the infield, while Sioux Falls pushed one across on a sac fly to center.
Tanner Poor (3-0) got the win with 2.1 innings of relief shutting out the Cougars on just two hits and
Parker Kray came on to hold the lead over the final two innings allowing just one run on two hits.
Tyus Adkins took a no-decision with 4.2 innings of work. Adkins allowed eight runs, only two earned, on eight hits.
George and Ravelo both tallied three hits apiece, while Calton made the most of his one hit and drove in five runs and Cain picked up three rbi with one hit.
The two teams will get back together for the final two games of the series on Sunday afternoon in Sioux Falls at 12 p.m.
