The 2018 season is officially getting started for the Peacock baseball and softball teams this week in Fayette. With the spring semester underway, student-athletes have the opportunity to begin workouts and practices for the upcoming season. And now, they have a new way to prep for the year.

The new Peacock Athletic & Arts Center (PAAC) building on campus opened up just before the holiday break, and now student-athletes have the chance to use the facility for indoor hitting work, as well as drills and limited work for the field. Pitchers and catchers have new space for bullpen sessions, and there is now space for multiple hitters to work on their swing at the same time. There is also space for golfers to work on their swing indoors through the cold winter months.

Upper Iowa baseball enters its second season under the direction of Head Coach Brandon Hunt in 2018, after finishing the 2017 campaign with a 19-29 record overall and a 15-25 mark in the Northern Sun. UIU ended the season in 13th place, but only three games back of sixth place. Pitcher Brett Fanning and shortstop Luis Ravelo earned All-NSIC Second Team honors, while Ravelo also claimed a position on the 2017 NSIC Gold Glove Team. Fanning was Upper Iowa's ace on the mound, posting a 6-3 record with a 2.29 earned run average in 63 innings after bouncing back from a pair of season-altering injuries over the last two seasons. The Spring Valley, Illinois, native was even better against Northern Sun Conference opponents, with a 5-3 record and a 1.36 ERA, which was second best among conference starting pitchers. Four Peacocks finished the season with a batting average above .300, led by sophomore Zackary Cain (.338); Cain also registered a 3-6 mark on the mound with 10 starts in 12 appearances. The quartet of .300-plus hitters also included seniors Alex George (.331), who closed out his career with 214 hits, Anthony Calton (.318) and Colton Janssen (.303). Jake Greco (.298), Ravelo (.296) and Dominic Hillesheim (.288) all fell just shy of the .300 mark.

Peacock softball and Head Coach Amanda Bradberry closed out 2017 with an overall record of 19-33, and a final mark of 11-19 in the NSIC. The Peacocks missed the postseason for the first time since 2012, bring back a lot of young talent for their run in 2018. Last year's senior Riley Kruel was named to the All-NSIC Second team. In 2017, Kruel hit .319, registering 59 hits in 185 at-bats, both career bests. This year, junior Sami Kay Shafranski, senior Shannon Nix and sophomore Jordyn Brennan headline the returners for the team, while Emily Kisch led the Peacocks with eight wins and a 3.62 earned run average in the circle.

The 2018 season for UIU softball opens on Feb. 2 in St. Cloud, Minn., while the baseball campaign gets underway on Mar. 7 in Fayette at Robertson Woods Field.