TODAY IN PEACOCK SOFTBALL… Upper Iowa (21-18, 13-11 NSIC) is in Sioux Falls, S.D. awaiting a tough NSIC matchup against the No. 14 Augustana University Vikings at 3 p.m. The Peacocks are playing on the road for the first time since Apr. 9 when UIU swept Wayne State College before returning home for the next 10 games at Eischeid Softball Complex. Live stats for Wednesday's doubleheader will be provided by AU through the links at UIUPeacocks.com/Live.

PLAYOFF PICTURE… The Peacocks are currently in a three-way tie for sixth place in the conference with Concordia University, St. Paul and the University of Sioux Falls. At the end of this week, the top-10 teams in the standings will go on to play in the NSIC postseason tournament on May 2-4 in Rochester, Minn. The 7-10 seeds will play first on Thursday with the winners moving on to either face the No. 1 or No. 2 seed and the losers awaiting their second match-up on the back side of the bracket. The Peacocks are looking to participate in the tournament for the first time since 2016 when Upper Iowa won the tournament and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Central Region Tournament.

LAST WEEK IN FAYETTE… The Peacocks went 1-5 at home last week with a split against St. Cloud State University between dropping a pair to Minnesota State University-Mankato and the University of Minnesota Duluth. The team hit .252 for the week and scored less than three runs per game, while allowing the opponents to hit .296 and average nearly seven runs per game. Katie Crogan (.353) and Jenny Budds (.333) led the offense with six hits apiece. Crogan and Erin Drahozal each homered and drove in four runs to pace the UIU offense. Sydney Wilcox appeared in two games and allowed just one run in her seven innings of relief.

ABOUT THE VIKINGS… No. 14 Augustana (42-7, 22-2 NSIC) ran its win streak to 10 games with three more series sweeps last week against Sioux Falls, Northern State and MSU Moorhead. The Vikings outscored their opponents 55-8 in those six games with three shutouts. Along with a No. 14 nod in the nation, Augustana is currently ranked No. 3 in the NCAA Division II Central Region Rankings released on Apr. 24. AU leads the NSIC and stands top-10 in the nation for batting average (7^th), slugging percentage (6^th) and runs scored (10^th). Vikings' senior Shannon Petersen earned NSIC Player of the Week honors this past week after finishing the six-game stretch with a .684 batting average, 1.368 slugging percentage, and .700 on-base percentage. The Vikings are batting .354 as a team with 484 hits, 365 runs scored, 337 RBI, 93 doubles, 19 triples and 60 homeruns. The AU pitching squad holds a 1.73 ERA with 298 strikeouts and 89 walks.

UP NEXT… Upper Iowa will return back home to host Minot State University and the University of Mary over the weekend. The Peacocks are currently scheduled to face the Beavers on Saturday and the Marauders on Sunday for Senior Day, but the high chance of weekend rain showers throughout the Midwest may affect the schedule. An update will be provided along with weekend scouting reports later this week on UIUPeacocks.com.