THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK SOFTBALL… Upper Iowa (10-11, 2-4 NSIC) will open the week with a road trip to St. Paul, Minn. to face Concordia University, St. Paul in an NSIC doubleheader on Tuesday afternoon. The Peacocks will then welcome the University of Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State University to Fayette on Saturday and Sunday. Tuesday's game is set for a 2 p.m. start time while the weekend contests will begin at 1 and 12 p.m., respectively.
LAST TIME OUT… Upper Iowa was swept by No. 22 Winona State University in the NSIC openers on Wednesday and then split both of their doubleheaders against Minnesota State University Moorhead and Northern State University. The Peacocks took a pair of tough losses over the weekend as MSUM hit a walk-off homerun in the bottom of the 10
th inning for the win and NSU was able to outlast a late-game comeback from UIU after using a three-run homer to put themselves ahead on Sunday. The Peacocks batted .259 as a team and allowed their opponents to hit .391.
TOP PERFORMERS… Julia Buffington led the Peacocks in the first week of NSIC action with a .526 batting average and 10 hits, including two home runs. The senior also drove in and scored four runs for UIU in the six games.
Jordyn Brennan had a team-high six RBIs highlighted by a three-run triple and two-run homer in game two against MSUM.
Kaylee Frenette finished with nine hits fueled by three doubles while
Jenny Budds added seven hits.
Erin Drahozal and
Emily Kisch led the team in the circle as Drahozal only allowed one run on 10 hits in her 8.0 innings of work and Kisch threw 12.2 innings and gave up eight runs (five earned) on 21 hits while striking out 12 batters.
ABOUT THE GOLDEN BEARS… Concordia-St. Paul (17-9, 4-2 NSIC) opened the conference slate with a sweep of Minnesota State University-Mankato before splitting the weekend with a loss to Minot State University and a win over the University of Mary in the week's finale. The Golden Bears are batting .312 as a team with 230 hits, 134 runs scored, 115 RBI, 42 doubles, four triples and 11 homeruns. The CSP pitching squad holds a 2.65 ERA (4
th in NSIC).
ABOUT THE COUGARS… Sioux Falls (12-15, 2-4 NSIC) was swept by SMSU in the mid-week conference opener but rebounded with a pair of splits over the weekend against Bemidji State University and the University of Minnesota Crookston. The Cougars are hitting .264 as a team with 194 hits, 121 runs scored, 105 RBI, 28 doubles, three triples and 18 homeruns. The USF pitching staff posts a 3.95 ERA. Sioux Falls is set to play Wayne State College on Tuesday.
ABOUT THE MUSTANGS… Southwest Minnesota State (11-7, 6-0 NSIC) is one of three teams in the NSIC that swept all of its opponents in the first week of conference action. The Mustangs are hitting .307 as a team with 142 hits, 85 runs scored, 76 RBI, 19 doubles, 10 triples and seven homeruns. The SMSU pitching staff holds a 3.73 ERA. The Mustangs are scheduled to face Augustana University and Winona State prior to the DH with Upper Iowa.
UP NEXT… The Peacocks will play all three of their NSIC doubleheaders on the road. UIU will first travel to Wayne, Neb. to face the Wayne State Wildcats in a mid-week matchup. The team will then make their way to northern Minnesota to play Bemidji State and Minnesota Crookston over the weekend.
