The Peacock softball team traveled north for their final road games of the season Wednesday, and it was the Mavericks of Minnesota State University who came out on top on the last midweek doubleheader of the regular year. The home-town Mavericks held UIU to just four hits in game one, and used a six-run sixth inning in game two to earn the sweep. With the losses, Upper Iowa drops to 18-22 overall and 5-15 in Northern Sun Conference play.

UIU will head back home for the final weekend of the season on Saturday and Sunday, Apr. 28-29 for a quartet of NSIC games. The Peacocks will take on the Wolves of Northern State University on Saturday at 1 p.m., and will host Strikeout Cancer Day. On Sunday, it is Senior Day at the Eischeid Softball Complex in Fayette for a doubleheader with the Dragon of Minnesota State University Moorhead, which begins at 12 p.m.

Game 1: MSU 2 - UIU 1
The opening game featured a pitching dual between Mackenzie Ward and Emily Kisch. Two two combined for a total of three runs on 10 hits, and Kisch alone allowed just two runs on six hits in a complete-game loss. The Mavericks scored both runs right away in the first two innings, and the sophomore for the Peacocks then took over. Last season in Fayette, Kisch held the Mavericks scoreless for multiple innings in a doubleheader as a freshman, and this season, picked up right where she left off.

MSU scored in the first on an rbi-single to center field, and added a run with a double in the second. The Peacocks looked to get a run back or potentially tie the game, and they earned one back in the fourth on a Katie Crogan single to plate Sami Kay Shafranski. Upper Iowa managed just four hits for the game, with Shafranski, Crogan, Jordyn Brennan, and Erin Drahozal recording the base knocks. UIU managed just two base runners the rest of the game, and went 1-2-3 in the seventh.

Game 2: MSU 11 - UIU 5
The scoring picked up in game two Wednesday, and the sixth inning was the craziest part of the game. However, leading up to that point, the Mavericks appeared to be in control, with Ward back in the circle once again. Minnesota State grabbed the early lead once again, this time with a triple from Jess Meidl to lead 1-0. The Peacocks did answer right back in the second, when Julia Buffington got a hold of one and sent it out of the park to tie the game at one apiece.

The third inning was a big one for the Mavericks, scoring four times off Upper Iowa starter Sydney Wilcox. The freshman tossed 5.1 innings, allowing four earned runs (seven total) on 12 hits, and would go on to suffer the loss.

Trailing 5-1, the sixth inning turned out to be a big one. Minnesota State made a pitching change to start the inning, and the Peacocks took advantage. Crogan doubled down the left field line to bring home a run, and then Drahozal stepped up to the plate. The junior crushed a three-run home run to tie the game 5-5, and life was back for Upper Iowa. The game was back on, but the Mavericks had other thoughts in the bottom half of the inning.

Errors and hits constantly put pressure on the UIU pitchers, with Kisch replacing Wilcox with an out in the sixth frame. After back-to-back rbi-singles to right center, the Mavericks got a little help from UIU on a throwing error at third base, and three more runs would score on the next play on multiple errors in right field. The Mavericks would go on to put up six runs in the inning to lead 11-5, and would not look back. The Peacocks once again went 1-2-3 in the seventh, and the defending national champions earned the sweep.

Buffington's 3-for-3 effort led the wya in game two, while Drahozal's two hits were huge, including the three-run homer.