The Peacock baseball team dropped a pair of close games in Minot, N.D. to the Beavers of Minot State University 2-1 and 7-4. Late runs in both games by the Beavers allowed the home team to nab a pair of Northern Sun Conference decisions. After the losses, UIU is now 14-19 overall and 12-15 in the conference, while MiSU improves to 25-14 overall and 23-6 in the NSIC.
Upper Iowa and Minot State will get together again on Sunday for a second double header. The games mark UIU's final road games of the regular season with six games slated for Robertson Woods Field next week.
Game One: Minot State 2 - Upper Iowa 1
Minot State got the scoring started in the bottom of the second inning when a Peacock error on the infield allowed a Beaver batter to reach. After a walk, MiSU had runners on first and second with one out. An rbi-single pushed a run across before the final two outs of the inning.
Both pitchers and defenses locked down and didn't allow a run until the seventh inning.
UIU's
Riley Braughton homered over the wall in right field to lead off the seventh inning tying the game at 1-1. UIU's starter
Brett Fanning got the first two batters out in the bottom of the seventh, but a single followed by an rbi double to left gave Minot State a walkoff win over Upper Iowa.
Fanning suffered the hard luck loss to fall to 1-4 on the year. He threw 6.2 innings allowing a pair of runs, one was earned, on seven hits. The right hander also struck out 6 batters.
Callahan Seehase and
Tony Salato each had a pair of hits accounting for four of UIU's seven hits in the game.
Game Two: Minot State 7 - Upper Iowa 4
Upper Iowa jumped out to an early lead in game two with a big second inning. The Peacocks sent eight batters to the plate coming up with four hits and a walk. The big four-run inning was highlighted by an rbi-single from
Cole Scieszinski, a sac fly from
Jack Thode and a two-run single to right field off the bat of Seehase.
The Peacocks held their 4-0 lead until the middle of the fourth.
Colin Lacey worked out of a jam in the bottom of the fourth, but not before Minot State scored a run. Lacey forced a grounder to short with the bases loaded to end the threat.
In the fifth, Minot State scored four runs on four hits fueled by a three-run homer to right center. The big inning pushed the home team ahead 5-4 on the scoreboard. The Beavers added two more in the eighth inning when they strung four hits together with another Peacock error.
Trailing by three in the ninth, the Peacocks loaded the bases with one out, but a ground ball, double play ended the Upper Iowa comeback.
Lacey took the loss to fall to 3-4 with 7 innings on the mound. The freshman allowed 6 runs on 8 hits while recording 3 strikeouts.
Scieszinski (3), Seehase (2) and
Conner Klostermann (2) combined for 7 of UIU's 10 hits.
