Upper Iowa dropped a pair of close contests Saturday afternoon to Rockhurst University on the road. The Hawks won 5-4 in game one and 8-7 in game two. Following the double header, Upper Iowa moves to 1-2 on the season while Rockhurst improves to 2-1.
GAME ONE: Rockhurst 5, Upper Iowa 4
Upper Iowa got on the board first in the opening frame. Ryan Hull began the game with a walk and immediately went from first to third on a wild pitch. A sac fly off the bat of Nolan Freidrichs brought Hull home. A second run came across the plate when a pair of walks and a fielder's choice put Peacocks on first and third before Alex Greene singled bringing AJ Friedrich in and giving UIU a 2-0 advantage to start the day.
Rockhurst opened things up in the third. With two down in the bottom half of the inning, the Hawks strung together five consecutive hits including a double, two triples, and a home run to claim a 4-2 lead through three. Blake Thiesse went 2.2 innings in his first start of the year fanning down one Hawk. Chris Webber came in for relief ending the third with a five-pitch strikeout.
Freidrichs cut Upper Iowa's deficit in half with a solo shot to kick off the fifth inning. Rockhurst regained its two-run advantage in the bottom half of the frame following an error and a double.
The Peacocks continued to crawl back in the sixth. Alex Greene singled to the opposite field then advanced to third on a failed pick off attempt. Hogan Penny hit a hard ground ball to the left side of the infield allowing Greene to come home making the score 5-4 with an inning to play.
Webber's day came to an end with two outs in the sixth. In three innings of work, the junior struck out three while allowing just one unearned run and one hit. Samuel Grushkin came in to close the frame with a six-pitch strikeout. UIU could not complete the comeback as the Peacocks went down 1-2-3 in the top of the seventh.
GAME TWO: Rockhurst 8, Upper Iowa 7
UIU began the matinee ahead 1-0. Friedrich doubled into the gap and was quickly brought home thanks to an opposite field single from Friedrichs. Rockhurst responded with three runs of their own in the bottom half. The scores were provided by a pair of walks and a trio of base hits that put the home team up 3-1 through one inning of play.
The Peacocks tied things up in the ensuing frame. A single and a bean ball put runners on first and third. Jerry Garcia then singled up the middle scoring Greene. Kyle Routhieaux crossed the plate on a wild pitch evening things up at three.
Upper Iowa regained the lead in the fourth when Greene scored on a Garcia ground out after reaching on a base hit and moving up to third on an infield single from Jake Hilmer. Rockhurst made it four all in the bottom half after a pair of two-out base knocks drove in a run.
UIU gained some separation again in the fifth. A pair of walks and a Hogan Penny single loaded the bases. A sac fly off the bat of Greene scored one and a throwing error by Rockhurst's center fielder brought in another. Hilmer then walloped a double into the left field gap scoring Penny and making the game 7-4.
Grushkin came in for relief of starter Duncan Snider in the fifth. Snider allowed four earned runs and struck out four Hawks in four innings of work. Rockhurst rallied late. In the bottom of the seventh with two outs, the Hawks scored four runs on five hits swiping the victory away from the Peacocks at the very last moment. Grushkin hadn't allowed a single run up until that point, but he suffered the loss after allowing four earned runs in the final inning.
PEACOCKS OF THE GAME…
UP NEXT… Upper Iowa will play a single nine-inning game to close out their series with Rockhurst on Sunday, Mar. 7 at 1 p.m.
