The Peacock baseball team scored 15 of their 19 runs on Friday in the first through fourth innings of their double header, but the three runs they scored in the bottom of the ninth in game two stole the show. Upper Iowa swept a pair of games against Southwest Minnesota State University for the second straight year in Fayette. UIU won game one 9-3 and then rallied with two outs in their final at bat for a 10-9 walkoff win. The sweep pushed Upper Iowa's record to 14-17 overall and 12-13 in the NSIC, while SMSU fell to 11-21 overall and 6-16 in the conference.
Upper Iowa heads to Minot, N.D. for a four-game series against the Beavers of Minot State University this Saturday and Sunday, Apr. 28-29.
Game One: Upper Iowa 9 - Southwest Minnesota State 3
Ryan Munoz (4-1) earned his fourth win of the season with a solid five innings of work on the hill. The lefthander kept the Mustangs off the board until the fourth and fifth innings when three runs scored for SMSU.
The Upper Iowa bats provided Munoz with all the support he needed early in the game. UIU batted around in the first inning scoring four runs on four hits and a pair of walks. The big inning was fueled by an rbi-single by
Tony Salato and a two-run single down the right field line by
Hans Alwin.
UIU went right back to work in the second inning with eight Peacocks coming to the plate. The home team scored four more runs on five hits including a leadoff double down the left field line by
Callahan Seehase, a sac fly from
Jacob Greco and a double to right center by
Riley Braughton that plated a pair of Peacocks.
The Peacocks scored their final run of the game in the third inning when
Zac Cain hit a single to center to drive in
Emmett Kulick, who walked with one out.
SMSU got a run in the fourth and two more in the fifth.
Collin Thomas came on in relief and shut down the Mustang rally in the sixth and seventh innings. Thomas allowed only one hit in his two innings.
Cain racked up three hits in the game, while Seehase and Salato each had a pair of hits.
Game Two: UIU 10 - SMSU 9
Upper Iowa led 6-2 after four innings in game two, but the Mustangs slowly got back into the game with a pair of runs in the fifth, one in the sixth and then three in the seventh to take a 8-6 lead. Both teams scored a run in the eighth and the game moved to the ninth inning with Southwest Minnesota State leading 9-7.
Freshman pitcher
Chris Webber made just his third appearance for UIU in the ninth and held the Mustangs scoreless in the top half of the inning. A.J. Friedrich opened the final frame with a single to left center;
Sam Broome then took his place on the basepaths to run for UIU. A grounder to second pushed Broome up a base and a wild pitch allowed him to reach third. A strikeout took the Peacocks down to their final out. Seehase walked to put runners on the corners and Kulick followed with a single to right that scored Broome and pulled UIU within one, 9-8. A fielding error at third base kept the inning alive and brought Cain to the plate. Cain was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force in the tying run and Salato came up with the game-winning single to right field that scored Kulick and gave Upper Iowa their third walkoff win of the season at home.
Early on UIU scored a pair of runs in the first inning thanks to an rbi-triple by Greco and a sac fly off the bat of Cain. Seehase drove in a run on a fielder's choice in the second inning and
Conner Klostermann singled in a run in the third inning. The Peacocks made it 6-2 in the fourth with a pair of runs on a single up the middle by Cain.
Upper Iowa had their chances in the sixth and seventh innings to score a pair of big innings, but came away empty in both frames. The Peacocks loaded the bases in the sixth with no outs, but a play at home and a ground ball double play ended the threat. UIU left two more on base in the seventh inning after a hit and a walk gave the home team a pair of base runners with only one out.
The Mustangs pushed their lead to 9-6 in the top of the eighth, but the Peacocks were able to get that run back in the bottom of the inning. The UIU run came without a hit after a leadoff walk to Kulick, an error on the infield and a wild pitch.
Kolton Gonnerman got a no-decision after four innings on the hill; the senior allowed two runs on four hits while walking three and striking out three.
Tanner Poor and
Parker Kray both came on in relief throwing a combined three innings.
Seehase and Kulick each had three hits in the number one and two spots in the lineup. Both players scored three runs and added one rbi. Salato,
Dominic Hillesheim and Friedrich all had two hits in the game, while Cain drove in four runs for the home team.
