Upper Iowa slipped into a tie for tenth place in the Northern Sun Conference standings after Minot State University completed a four-game sweep in Minot, N.D. The Beavers used the two wins on Sunday to move into first place in the NSIC standings; MiSU won the games by scores of 6-1 and 4-2. After the losses, Upper Iowa falls to 14-21 overall and 12-17 in the conference. Minot State improved to 27-14 overall and 25-6 in the NSIC.
The Peacocks will return to Fayette and Robertson Woods Field for their final six games of the regular season. Upper Iowa hosts the Hawks of Quincy University on Tuesday, May 1 for a non-conference doubleheader and the Mavericks of Minnesota State University, Mankato on Friday and Saturday, May 3-4.
Game One: Minot State 6 - Upper Iowa 1
The Peacocks scored the first run of game one in the top of the first.
Callahan Seehase led off with a walk and made it to third with a stolen base and a ground out.
Jacob Greco singled to center field to plate Seehase.
Upper Iowa's starter
Ryan Munoz held Minot State off the scoreboard for the first four innings, but in the bottom of the fifth the Beavers scored five runs on five hits and a pair of Peacock errors. Due to the two infield throwing errors, four of the five runs were unearned. MiSU added one more run in the sixth inning off of reliever
Tanner Poor to close out the game's scoring at 6-1.
Munoz (4-2) suffered the loss after five innings of work; the lefty allowed five runs, only one was earned, on eight hits while striking out six batters.
Reilly O'Rourke (3-1) earned the win after allowing just three hits to the Peacocks.
Greco came up with two of UIU's three hits in the game;
Conner Klostermann registered the only other hit for the Peacocks.
Game Two: Minot State 4 - Upper Iowa 2
UIU's
Kolton Gonnerman and MiSU's Zach Newman took control of game two from the hill. Neither team scratched the scoreboard until the bottom of the sixth inning. Gonnerman racked up three strikeouts through the first five innings while only giving up one hit. On the flip side, Newman got four punchouts and allowed 3 hits to the Peacocks.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Beavers had runners on the corners with two outs after Gonnerman's fourth strikeout, but a single to right pushed a run across before the senior right hander posted his fifth strikeout to end the threat.
UIU tied the game in the next half inning when
Riley Braughton singled to center with one out to spark a rally. Braughton moved to second on a grounder and then came home on a throwing error on the infield to tie the game at 1-1.
The teams continued to exchange scores in the bottom of the seventh and top of the eighth to remain tied at 2-2. MiSU's run came on a two-out single up the middle, while UIU's run came on a two-out double to the gap in left centerfield by Klostermann to plate
Zac Cain.
Minot State broke the pattern in the bottom of the eighth with a pair of runs off reliever
Tyus Adkins to get ahead 4-2. A Beaver double came between a ground out and a shallow fly to left; the home team scored the go-ahead run with two outs on a single to left center and then scored an unearned, insurance run after a throwing error on the infield allowed the inning to continue.
UIU put a runner on in the ninth thanks to a leadoff single by Braughton, but couldn't bring any runs across.
Adkins (1-2) took the loss with his inning on the mound allowing a pair of runs, only one was earned, on three hits. Gonnerman got the no-decision after seven innings on the hill; he allowed a pair of runs on five hits and posted six strikeouts.
Aaron Kern (3-0) earned the win in relief for the Beavers with two innings of work despite allowing both UIU runs during his tenure on the mound. Wyatt Moore threw the scoreless ninth inning to get the save (3).
UIU's bats came up with seven hits in the game, but Braughton (3) and
Tony Salato (2) combined for five of those seven. Klostermann and A.J. Friedrich were the only other Peacocks to get a hit in the series finale.
