THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK SOFTBALL… The Upper Iowa University softball team travels to St. Joseph, Mo. for a four-game slate as part of the Missouri Western Hy-Vee Classic from Mar. 20-21. The Peacocks will play two games each day, with Saturday's action coming against Northwest Missouri State at 10 a.m. and #9 Rogers State at 4 p.m. Sunday's contests will be against Missouri Southern at 10 a.m. and tournament-host Missouri Western at 4 p.m.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE PEACOCKS... There are several options for staying up to date on UIU softball while the team is on the road. For the Peacock matchup against Rogers State, live stats and a possible radio broadcast produced by the Hillcats will be available on UIUPeacocks.com/LIVE and can be accessed through the links in this story and on the schedule. For the UIU matchup with Missouri Western University, live stats and a webcast produced by the Griffons will be available on UIUPeacocks.com/LIVE and can be accessed through the links in this story and on the schedule. Follow @UIU_Softball on Twitter for updates of the gameday action. Final scores will be posted on Upper Iowa's official social media pages, and box scores will be posted online as soon as they become available.

LAST AT BAT… The Peacocks picked up their first three wins of the season as part of the Drury Invitational from Feb. 26 to 28. Upper Iowa went 3-2 over the course of their road trip to Springfield, Mo., securing victories against the University of Illinois Springfield, William Jewell College (Mo.), and Southwest Baptist University.

PACING THE PEACOCKS… Kaylee Frenette continues to lead the Peacock offense from the leadoff spot with a team-high .448 batting average and a .515 on-base percentage. Frenette also leads the team in hits (13), stolen bases (2-2), triples (1), and is tied for the team-high with 5 runs. Katie Crogan has provided power to the Peacocks with team-highs of 8 RBI, 4 doubles, and 3 home runs. Her 3 home runs are tied for fourth in the NSIC. Crogan is hitting .333 on the year with a .357 on-base percentage while also leading the team in on-base plus slugging (OPS, 1.172) and slugging percentage (.815). Abby McKay has led the Peacock pitchers with 2 wins, 4 complete games, 35 strikeouts, and a .279 opponent batting average while recording an ERA of 3.34. McKay's 35 strikeouts are tied for seventh in the NSIC.

SCOUTING THE COMPETITION… The Northwest Missouri State University Bearcats carry a 5-3 record into the Hy-Vee Classic. The Bearcats are 1-3 in their last four games following a 4-0 start to the season. Fifth-year infielder Kaitlyn Wies leads Northwest Missouri State with a .600 batting average, a 2.292 OPS, 12 hits, 6 home runs, 14 RBI, 6 walks, a 1.600 slugging percentage, and a .692 on-base percentage. The Hillcats of Rogers State University hold a 10-4 record on the season and are ranked 9th in the latest NFCA Division II Softball Poll. The Hillcats are just 2-2 in their last four games entering the weekend, but started the season at 8-2 with two different four-game winning streaks. The Rogers State offense is led by Makayla Bowman and her .409/.422/.795 slash line, 5 home runs, and 16 RBI. Elexis Watson also has 5 home runs and 16 RBI, while Danelle Day has 4 HR and 15 RBI. The Missouri Southern State University Lions have a 6-6 record on the year, and are coming off a 2-4 weekend in their last outings. Kara Amos leads the Lions with a .520 batting average and .625 on-base percentage, while Ashlynn Williams leads MSSU with 3 home runs, 16 RBI, and a .838 slugging percentage. The Missouri Western State University Griffons will host the Hy-Vee Classic and hold an 11-1 record on the season. Missouri Western is riding a six-game winning streak and opened the season at 5-0 before losing their first game. Junior Sydni Hawkins leads the Griffons in batting average (.591), on-base percentage (.617), slugging percentage (.932), OPS (1.549), runs (19), hits (26), home runs (4), stolen bases (8-8), and is second on the team with 12 RBI.