Upper Iowa finally got on the diamond against Quincy University this season. The Peacocks and Hawks have postponed their non-conference doubleheader on two different occasions due to winter weather. Quincy was ranked 8th in the first NCAA Regional Polls that were released last Wednesday. The Hawks rallied to steal a win in game one, 8-6, taking their first lead of the game in the seventh inning and then controlled game two from the outset, 15-3, to improve to 33-13. The Peacocks are now 14-23 overall.
 
Upper Iowa will close out the regular season this Friday and Saturday at home when they host the Mavericks of Minnesota State University, Mankato. First pitch for both doubleheaders is set for 1 p.m. at Robertson Woods Field. The Peacocks need to have a big series against Minnesota State and get some help from the three teams above them to earn a spot in the 2018 NSIC Baseball Championships next week.
 
Game One: Quincy 8 - Upper Iowa 6
Upper Iowa got on the board quickly in the first game thanks to four hits including back-to-back doubles off the bats of Jacob Greco and Zac Cain. Greco's double plated Callahan Seehase, who led the game off with a single. After Cain sent Greco to the plate, the Peacock first baseman made it to third base on a passed ball and came home on a single to right by Riley Braughton.
 
Quincy began to chip away at the home team's lead scoring a run on two hits in both the second and third innings before Chandler Purcell hit a solo homerun to center fielder in the fourth. 
 
Conner Klosterman led off the bottom of the fourth with a single to left, and after Riley Braughton switched places at first on a fielder's choice, Hans Alwin stepped to the plate and hit a home run to left center field. Cole Scieszinski followed with a second straight homerun; this one to right center to push Upper Iowa's lead to 6-3. Both long balls marked the first of the season for the two junior transfers.
 
The Peacocks didn't stay comfortably in front for long though. With one out, Cody Birdsong hit a homer to left to cut the margin to two, 6-4. After a walk and a double to right center put two Hawks in scoring position, Michael Nielsen got an rbi on a ground out to the right side. Quincy loaded the bases with two outs when Tanner Poor came on to relieve UIU's starter Collin Thomas. Poor forced a flyout to left to end the threat and preserve a one-run lead, 6-5.
 
Greco opened the bottom of the fifth with his second double of the game and moved to third when Cain was able to put a roller on the grass toward the right side. Quincy's top reliever Karl Hirsch got a strikeout and flyball to center to strand Greco at third and keep the Hawks within one run heading to the sixth inning.
 
Quincy cut loose in the seventh inning after a strikeout began the inning. The Hawks used four hits and a pair of fielding errors to pick up extra bases and score three runs to take their first lead of the game, 8-6, heading into UIU's last at-bats.
 
Salato reached with a leadoff walk in the seventh, but was stranded on first to end the game.
 
Hirsch (2-1) picked up the win with 2.2 innings of work holding the Peacocks scoreless on two hits. Cole Crawford threw the seventh inning for his ninth save of the season .
 
Poor (0-2) took the loss in relief with 2.1 innings; the senior allowed three runs on four hits. Thomas got the no-decision after pitching 4.2 innings and surrendering five runs on seven hits.
Greco and Jack Thode each claimed a pair of hits, while Alwin drove in a pair of runs to lead the team in run production.
 
Game Two: Quincy 15 - Upper Iowa 3
The first four Hawks reached in the first inning with three singles and a walk to score a run and load the bases. A ground ball double play pushed another run across the plate and Purcell capped off the scoring with his second home run of the day to make it 4-0.
 
Upper Iowa answered by loading the bases with one out in the bottom of the first after a walk to Salato and back-to-back singles by Greco and Cain. A grounder off the bat of Klostermann allowed Salato to score and left the Peacocks with runners on the corners and two outs. A second walk in the inning loaded the bases for a second time and A.J. Friedrich walked to force in a run and cut the gap to 4-2. 
 
Three straight singles for Quincy in the second loaded the bases in front of a grand slam blast by Birdsong. The homer was his second of the day and gave the Hawks an 8-0 lead.
 
Quincy made it three straight big innings with four runs on three hits, a pair of walks and a hit batsman in the third inning. The Hawks sent nine to the plate in the frame despite Upper Iowa getting the first two batters of the inning out on fly balls.
 
The visitors added two more runs in the fifth inning and a run in the seventh to reach their final total of 15 runs on 17 hits.
 
The Peacocks scored a run in the bottom of the fifth but missed a chance at more. Upper Iowa had a man on with two out when Cain singled to drive in a run. Cody Ryan followed with a single to put runners on the corners and Brenden Butler was hit by a pitch to load the bases. A flyout ended the rally before UIU could push any more runs across the plate.
 
Dalton Overstreet (1-0) got the win for Quincy with 5 innings of work allowing three runs on four hits.
 
Chris Webber (1-1) took the loss after giving up eight runs on eight hits over the first two innings. Madi Dehart threw two-thirds of an inning and gave up four runs on just two hits and two walks. Jeremy Masachino did not allow a run in his 1.1 innings, while Mac Wolfe threw an inning and Clayton Lieb threw the sixth and seventh; the pair gave up the final three runs to the Hawks over the final three innings.