Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 The Upper Iowa University softball team picked up two more wins as they secured a sweep in the second day of double-header action at the Drury Invitational. The Peacocks opened their penultimate day in Springfield, Mo. with a 4-2 win over the William Jewell College (Mo.) Cardinals before following the opening victory with a 3-1 win over the Bearcats of Southwest Baptist University. Upper Iowa improves to 3-1 on the weekend with two more games to play, and holds a 3-5 record on the season.
Upper Iowa 4, William Jewell 2
The Peacocks were down early against William Jewell as the Cardinals flew out to an early lead in the first inning after their offense gave them two runs on three hits in the top of the first and their defense followed it up by sitting UIU down in order in the bottom of the first to secure a 2-0 advantage. The Peacocks responded by stranding a Cardinal on third before getting their offense rolling in the bottom of the second.
Sydney Wilcox hit a leadoff double into left field before crossing home thanks to an RBI single from
Sadie Carpenter in the ensuing at-bat.
Sara Jessie later hit a 2-run homerun that scored Carpenter and gave the Peacocks a 3-2 lead after two innings.
Upper Iowa stranded one Cardinal runner in the third, two more in the fourth, and one in the fifth to keep their lead.
Katie Crogan launched a solo homerun in the bottom of the fifth to double up William Jewell and give UIU a 4-2 lead that they would not relinquish. Pitcher
Abby McKay struck out three Cardinal batters in the top of the seventh to put the game away as she finished with 9 Ks in the contest and picked up a win for the Peacocks.
Upper Iowa 3, Southwest Baptist 1
Upper Iowa looked to maintain their momentum coming off a win in game one. The UIU offense got hits in each of the first two innings, including a two-out double by
Katie Crogan in the first, but was unable to score any runs. The UIU defense held firm as
Sydney Wilcox did not allow a Bearcat hit through the first two frames while only facing one more than the minimum through two.
The Peacock offense came alive in a third inning that began with a leadoff single from
Kaitlyn Carlson after she beat out a throw from third to secure an infield hit.
Kaylee Frenette advanced the runner in the ensuing at-bat, and
Amanda Williams followed that up by putting a ball in play that drew an errant Bearcat throw which scored Carlson and allowed Williams to reach safely. Corgan stepped up to the plate with a 1-0 lead and promptly hit a 2-run homerun to give the Peacocks a 3-0 lead.
Crogan hit another double in the sixth to go 3-3 with one HR, two doubles, and 2 RBI on the day, but the UIU offense was unable to tack on additional runs as they stranded runners on third in the sixth and seventh innings. However, the Peacock defense continued to hold down the Southwest Baptist University attack as Wilcox allowed just two hits going into the seventh and final inning. With the team down to its final two outs, the Bearcats reached safely on an error before pushing that runner across and cutting their deficit to 3-1 thanks to an RBI double in the following at-bat. Upper Iowa walked the next SWBU batter and faced a tight spot as the winning run came to the plate with two outs following a fielder's choice that left runners on the corners. The Peacocks got out of the jam with a groundout in the next at bat to hold onto their 3-1 lead and pick up their second victory of the day.
UP NEXT... The Peacocks take the field for their third and final two-game set as part of the Drury Invitational on Feb. 28. Upper Iowa will face off against the Mustangs of Midwestern State University Texas at 10 a.m. before playing a rematch against the Drury University Panthers, the tournament hosts, at 12 p.m. for their last game in Springfield, Mo.
