The Upper Iowa softball team earned their first Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference sweep of the season against the Southwest Minnesota State University Mustangs on Saturday afternoon. The Peacocks earned a 9-1 run-rule victory in game one before celebrating a dramatic finish in game two where UIU won 13-9 in extra innings thanks to a walk-off grand slam by sophomore Katie Crogan. Upper Iowa improved to 14-13 (6-6 NSIC) with the sweep while SMSU fell to 12-12 (6-6).

As a team, the Peacocks hit .429 while racking up 22 runs on 27 hits. UIU's pitching crew was impressive on the day, striking out six batters while holding the Mustangs to a .305 average. 

Fueled by her first grand slam as a Peacock, Crogan batted .625 on the day with five hits including two crucial home runs in the second game. The first baseman finished the day with seven RBI and three runs scored while slugging 1.375. 

Erin Drahozal also had a stellar day for UIU both at the plate and in the circle. Drahozal hit .500 with three hits, including her fifth long ball of the season, two runs scored, and an RBI. The senior also recorded a team-best 1.50 ERA after only allowing two runs, one earned, on six hits in 4.2 innings of work. 

The Peacocks are set to hit the road for six NSIC games next week. UIU will travel to Wayne State College for a midweek DH on Wednesday before heading to Bemidji State University and the University of Minnesota Crookston over the weekend. 

Game One: Upper Iowa 9, Southwest Minnesota State 1 (5 innings)
The Mustangs were able to score one early in the game when an rbi-double brought in a run after the inning was extended by a fielding error in the Peacock infield.

Upper Iowa shook off the early error and was able to piece together five hits to score four in the home half of the first. Sami Kay Shafranski was the first to reach on a base hit to left field and Jordyn Brennan showed power early with a bomb to right center to quickly regain the lead at 2-1. Michaela Schumacher and Emily Draeger each drove in a run later in the inning after Crogan and Julia Buffington got on board with a single and a double, respectively. 

The Peacocks plated two more runs in the third to extend their lead to 6-1. Shafranski and Brennan each singled to get to first and Buffington brought them both home with her second straight double.

After a quick 1-2-3 inning by the Mustangs, the Peacocks tallied three more insurance runs on four hits and an SMSU error. Kaylee Frenette drove in Drahozal who led the inning off with a single through the right side and Crogan brought Frenette home with a base hit. Buffington put the cherry on top with her third RBI of the game to give Upper Iowa the eight-run advantage they were looking for.

Emily Kisch coaxed three outs in the top of the fifth to preserve the 9-1 advantage and give the Peacocks their first run-rule victory of the season. 

Kisch (9-5) struck out three batters and only allowed one run on three hits to take the win in game one. 

Athena Golling (7-6) took the loss after giving up nine runs, seven earned, on 12 hits in 3.2 innings.     

Game Two: Upper Iowa 13, Southwest Minnesota State 9 (8 innings)
Things did not get off to a great start for the Peacocks in game two as the Mustangs quickly took a 3-0 lead with two homers off UIU starter Jaclyn Thompson. Following the second long ball of the inning, Drahozal came on in relief and coaxed back-to-back groundouts to end the inning. 

Upper Iowa scored its first run of the game in the third when Jenny Budds doubled down the right field line and scored on a throwing error on the next play.  

Both teams exchanged a pair of runs in the fourth inning, each as a result of nearly identical errors. SMSU had a pair of runners on board when Bailey Johnson's single up the middle took a hop and was mishandled by Shafranski, and Draeger plated herself and Buffington, who reached on a throwing error, with a single that went clear back to the fence after getting past the center fielder.

In the fifth inning, the Peacocks used momentum created by a clutch strikeout from Drahozal that left three Mustangs stranded to tie the ball game up. Budds started the inning with a single to left field and advanced to second on a groundout. She later scored when pinch hitter Ali Green roped a picture-perfect hit to the gap in left center for a stand-up double. Brennan followed suit with her own double to left center to score Shafranski, who reentered the game as a pinch runner for Green. 

SMSU was able to load the bases for the second straight inning, but this time the Peacocks weren't able to get out of the jam without trouble. After drawing the leadoff walk, the Mustangs used two singles to fill the bags with no outs. Abbie Decker hit a hard ball to third that looked to break the tie but Brennan fielded the ball cleanly and made the throw home to keep the score level. SMSU was able to bring three other runners home shortly after, though, with two singles to make the score 8-5. The frame ended with a groundout to Kisch, who started the inning in the circle for the Peacocks. 

After cutting the gap to 8-6 in the bottom of the sixth, the excitement at Eischeid Softball Complex began in the home half of the seventh inning. Brennan swung on the first pitch offered by Athena Golling and reached first with a single to the left field, her fourth hit of the day. The Peacocks then tied the game at 8-all when Crogan took the Mustangs dead-center for her first home run of the game to send the game to extra innings. 

SMSU quickly broke the tie with a home run of its own in the top of the 8th. The Mustangs were able to get one more baserunner in the extra frame, but Kisch settled in to record three outs and hand the game over to the UIU bats. 

Drahozal gave UIU fans the first bit of excitement in the eighth as the senior retied the game for the third time with a solo shot down the left field line to keep the home team alive. With one out down, the Peacocks continued to pressure the defense by loading the bases after two singles and a fielder's choice. UIU then sent Crogan to the plate and the sophomore from Watertown, Wis. proved why she bats the cleanup spot as she launched her fifth hit of the day out of the park for the walk-off, grand slam victory.

Kisch earned her second victory of the day after coming in to pitch the final 3.0 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits. Drahozal only gave up one earned run on six hits in a no-decision effort.