THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCKS BASEBALL… Upper Iowa is set to play five home games in a four-day span starting Mar. 25 with a twin bill against Minot State University. The doubleheader was initially scheduled for Mar. 24 at 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. with the games now taking place the following day at the same times. Per NSIC norm, the first game will be a seven-inning affair followed by a full nine-inning bout. UIU will then host the undefeated University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles for a three-game series on Mar. 27-28. First pitches are set for 12 and 2 p.m. on Saturday with a single nine-inning game taking place at noon on Sunday. An audio broadcast and live stats will be available at UIUPeacocks.com/LIVE while gameday programs can be found at UIUPeacocks.com/PROGRAMS.
CORRALLING THE MUSTANGS… Upper Iowa won its series with Southwest Minnesota State University two games to one over the weekend. The series was capped off by a walkoff win, the first of its kind for the Peacocks since April 2019 which also marked UIU's first series win since the same date. Upper Iowa fell in the home opener 7-4 before rattling off back-to-back wins (5-4, 7-6) to secure the series victory. The win streak marks UIU's largest since another two-game stretch in March 2019.
SAM "CRUSH-KIN'... Peacock third baseman Samuel Grushkin swung his way to an NSIC Player of the Week Honorable Mention after a terrific performance at the plate against the Mustangs. The freshman went 3-8 with a home run, four walks, and a stolen base in UIU's series win in addition to scoring four times and driving in three Peacocks. No moment was bigger over the weekend than when Grushkin hit a three-run home run that sailed deep over the left field fence at Robertson Woods Field to tie Sunday's game up at six in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Mazon, Ill. native finished the weekend with an impressive .375/.583/.750 slash line.
"SNIDER-MAN"... Snider-man, Snider-man does whatever a Snider can. A Snider can do an awful lot as the Peacocks' six-foot seven-inch right-hander tossed over 120 pitches and faced 25 batters in a UIU win on Saturday afternoon. The senior out of Muscatine, Iowa went 7.1 innings allowing just one unearned and five hits and five walks while setting down seven on strikes in the victory.
SWINGING AWAY… Aside from Grushkin, three other Peacocks hit .300 or better over the weekend. Hogan Penny recorded a hit in four of his 11 at-bats, good for a .364 rate from the plate. The senior scored twice, drove in a run, doubled and stole a base during the series. Following close behind was Alex Greene who registered a .333 average after a stellar opening weekend. The freshman went 4-12 with a double, drove in three runs, scored another, and stole a bag against the Mustangs. Completing the quartet was Jake Hilmer who notched a trio of base knocks in ten tries for a .300 mark. The freshman scored three times, drove in a pair of Peacocks, and was hit-by-a-pitch amid the series victory.
BETTING THE BEAVERS… Minot State holds the career series 14-6, all six of Upper Iowa's wins came in a seven-game span between April 2015 and May 2017. The Beavers are currently 5-3 on the year, 3-0 in conference play as they are coming off of a weekend sweep of the University of Sioux Falls Cougars. Jordan Williams is the biggest bat in Minot's lineup having already amassed five home runs and 12 RBI. The junior has registered 10 hits in his first 30 at-bats for a .333 batting average. Nolan Monthei and Ryley Humrighouse are the two other Beavers with at least eight hits and a .300+ average through seven games. Monthei is hitting .364, has scored on six occasions and has driven in five runs. Humrighouse is batting .321, has scored seven times and driven in two. The Beavers have six arms who have gone at least four innings and hold a sub 5.00 ERA. Jordan Chappell, RJ Martinez, and Noah Myhre highlight the group as they've fanned 16, 17, and 18 opposing batters, respectively. As a team, Minot yields a 5.73 ERA while their opponents have posted a 6.35 ERA.
GAUGING THE GOLDEN EAGLES… Minnesota Crookston is winning the all time series 15-10, however, Upper Iowa has been victorious in eight of the last 11. The Golden Eagles as of Wednesday, are a perfect 7-0 overall and 3-0 in NSIC games. The Golden Eagles swept Bemidji State University and St.Cloud State University in a pair of two-game series before beating Winona State University 3-0 to open up the conference schedule. Crookston has scored 10 or more runs in every game they've played thus far including an NSIC season-high of 23 in the season opener. Leading the high-powered offense is the National College Baseball Writers Association Central Region Player of the Week, Brock Reller. Reller has clobbered seven home runs, drove in 19 teammates, and scored 13 times in UMC's first seven games. Five Golden Eagles (Reller, Scott Finberg, Mason Ruhlman, Will Zimmerman, and Landyn Swenson) all have a slash line of .345/.486/.692 or better, nine or more hits, eight or more runs, seven or more RBI, and an on-base plus slugging percentage of 1.129 or better. On the mound, ace Jake Dykhoff possesses a 0.69 ERA and 19 Ks after allowing just one earned run on 10 hits and four walks in 13 innings of work. As a unit, Crookston holds a .323/.476/.662 slash line while their opponents have registered rates of .285/.386/.482.
