The Peacock softball team celebrated Senior Day on Sunday at the Eischeid Softball Complex, but it was the visiting U-Mary Marauders who celebrated with a pair of wins on the diamond. In the final home NSIC weekend for Upper Iowa, U-Mary swept the day with a close win in game one despite a late comeback by the home team. UM was in control for the majority of game two as well, even though the Peacocks having multiple chances on offense. With the two losses, Upper Iowa falls to 17-29 overall and 9-15 in the Northern Sun Conference. U-Mary got two huge wins to remain in the top 10 in the conference standings, and improve to 18-31 overall and 12-12 in league play.

Upper Iowa will host the #11 Minnesota State Mavericks for its home finale on Wednesday, Apr. 26. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 2 p.m. The games will be available online on UIU TV and in eastern Iowa on KCRG TV 9.2.

GAME ONE: UM 5, UIU 4
In a back-and-forth game one, it was the visitors who struck first. U-Mary capitalized on a scoring chance in the second inning with a runner on third and one out. Taylor Lara came through with a sacrifice fly to right to plate the run and take the 1-0 lead off UIU starter Courtney Clayberg. The Peacocks, however, would respond in the third inning.

Sammy Garrett, one of the five seniors recognized on the day, came through with a two-run double to pick up her team-best 28th and 29th RBI of the season. UIU held a 2-1 advantage, but yet again the tide would turn. Clayberg gave up back-to-back two-run innings in the fifth and sixth, with the visitors scoring on a pair of run-scoring singles in the fifth frame. In the sixth, Taylor Mendez rocketed a two-run homer out to left, but both runs were unearned as the batter before reached on an error with two outs in the inning.

The comeback was on in the bottom of the seventh, although it did not appear that way for the Peacocks. After the first two batters were retired, senior Katie Sammons reached on an error shortstop to get a base runner on the paths. Julia Buffington singled to put runners at first and second, and senior Riley Kruel followed it up with a two-run double to left center to bring the deficit to one, 5-4. The next batter Sami Kay Shafranski singled in the infield to put runners at the corners, and Garrett followed with a hit by pitch to load the bases. Senior Tara Walls appeared to have a game-tying hit with a line shot to the first base side, but a great catch by the Marauder first baseman ended the game, and UIU's ferocious two-out rally came to a close.

Clayberg tossed the complete game in the loss, dropping to 4-7 on the season. The sophomore allowed three earned runs on nine hits and striking out three batters. At the plate, the Peacocks were led by their veterans on Senior Day, with Kruel totaling two hits, and Garrett, Walls, and Sammons tallying a base knock as well. Buffington matched Kruel with a pair of hits as well, and Shafranski registered on hit in the game. Kruel and Garrett's two runs batted in each led the way for the home team in the defeat.

GAME TWO: UM 6, UIU 2
The Sunday finale was scoreless to two innings between starting pitchers Emily Kisch and Taylor Lara, but U-Mary would blow the game open in the top of the third inning. A pair of run-scoring singles sandwiched an RBI-double to give the Marauders the 3-0 advantage. The visitors hit well in game two, tallying 10 total hits in the game, highlighted by the big four-hit third frame.

Upper Iowa answered in the bottom of the third, with Garrett leading the charge again. A run-scoring double (Garrett's 30th RBI of the year) got a run back, however, U-Mary would respond again. In the fourth, a mammoth solo home run led off the inning to push the visitor's lead to 4-1, and a few batters later, and rbi-single pushed the lead to four and put a dent in the Peacock's chances.

UIU's best opportunity to get back in the game came in the home half of the fourth inning, when they loaded the bases with no one out. However, an infield fly by Buffington registered the first out, and a ground ball off the bat of Kruel resulted in a force out a the plate for the second out. Shafranski flew out to end the inning, squandering the best chance the Peacocks had all game to score.

Shannon Nix singled in the fifth inning to plate Garrett and cut the deficit to 5-2, but another U-Mary run in the seventh gave the visitors its second four-run lead of the game. Upper Iowa was closed out in the seventh, and the Marauders picked up the Sunday sweep.

Kisch pitched the complete game, but took the loss to fall to 7-13 on the year. The freshman allowed six earned on 10 hits for the game. Garrett's 3-for-4 effort led the Peacocks at the plate, while Brennan and Nix each tallied two hits as well.

Senior Serenity Higgins stepped up the seventh for her first at-bat of her career. Higgins spent the first season as a manager before her hard work and effort earned her a spot on the active roster. Higgins will graduate in three years in biology pre medicine, and was able to tally her first at-bat of her career.

The 2017 senior class was recognized between games, and as a group they have compiled 102 wins, just one shy of the Upper Iowa record for wins by a senior class (2016), including 61 wins in the NSIC. This class made three straight trips to the NSIC Tournament, and was a major part of the record-setting 2016 campaign that featured an NSIC Tournament Championship and an NCAA Tournament berth. These ladies have racked up a combined 542 hits and scored 281 runs. They have a total of 74 doubles, 31 home runs and 209 RBI in 643 games.