The Upper Iowa University softball team won in walk-off fashion in game one before falling in game two to split their doubleheader against Bemidji State University in Fayette. The Peacocks put up six runs in the bottom of the first in the opening game and would go on to win 9-1 thanks to a walk-off home run that ended the game in six innings due to run rule. In game two, the UIU offense did not have the same success as they fell by a score of 2-1 despite a number of opportunities with runners on base.
 

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GAME 1: Upper Iowa 9, Bemidji State 1 (6 Inn.)

The Peacocks got the scoring started early in the bottom of the first inning as they pushed across six runs to begin the game with a barrage against the Beavers. Kaylee Frenette opened the inning by reaching on an error, and this would spark the UIU offensive attack. Amanda Williams doubled to center field in the ensuing at-bat to score Frenette and give UIU an early 1-0 lead. A strikeout made the first out of the inning, but Katie Crogan singled to score Williams ahead of a back-to-back singles from Sydney Wilcox and Sadie Carpenter that loaded the bases. Samantha Jessie earned an RBI on a hit-by-pitch to push the lead to 3-0 with the bases loaded, and Emily Draeger shot a single through the left side to score the fourth run of the frame. Kaitlyn Carlson worked a walk to pick up an RBI and built the Peacock lead to 5-0 as Upper Iowa batted around. With one down and the bases loaded, Frenette came to the plate for the second time and hit a sacrifice fly to score Jessie and take a six-run lead. Williams popped out to end the inning, but the UIU damage had been done.

Kastenschmidt reached on an error in the bottom of the second prior to a double from Crogan to put two runners in scoring position with nobody out, but the Peacocks were unable to add to their lead. That would change in the bottom of the third inning, however, as Carlson and Frenette hit back-to-back one-out singles ahead of a two-RBI two-bagger from Williams to inflate the lead to eight. A pair of Peacocks got plunked to sandwich a pop out and load the bases with two outs, but UIU left them loaded to end the inning.

Having yet to allow a hit in the top of the fourth Abby McKay allowed a one-out double, hit a Beaver batter, issued a walk, and gave up her first run on a SAC fly that made the score 8-1. It would be the only hit and lone run that McKay would allow as she only saw one more Beaver reach base on a hit-by-pitch.

Williams notched her third double in four at-bats in the bottom of the fifth as UIU was looking at a potential walk-off situation due to the run rule, but she was caught trying to steal third ahead of an inning-ending ground out.

After McKay sat Bemidji State down in order in the top of the sixth, Crogan crushed a long home run to left center field in the first at-bat to end the game 9-1 in six frames due to run rule with a walk-off winner.
 

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GAME 2: Bemidji State 2, Upper Iowa 1

Game two started with Bemidji leaving a runner on in the first and two runners on in the second, and UIU left a runner of their own on base in the first frame. In the bottom of the second, Samantha Jessie hit a two-out double to keep the inning alive and Emily Draeger picked up an RBI single to put the Peacocks up 1-0 over the Beavers.

Both teams went down in order in the third, and Bemidji State tied the ball game with one swing of the bat as they hit a home run to lead off the fourth frame. The Beavers followed the game-tying dinger with a walk, a sacrifice bunt, and an RBI single to take a 2-1 lead. 

Both teams would go down one, two, three in the next two half-innings, and UIU would strand two following a leadoff single from Jessie and a one-out walk from Kaitlyn Carlson. The Beavers stranded a runner of their own after a leadoff single in the sixth, but the score stayed at 2-1 after the Peacocks stranded two in the bottom of the inning after a leadoff single from Payton Kastenschmidt and a two-out walk from pinch hitter Calista Brockman.

Bemidji State stranded two more runners in the top of the seventh after reaching on an error ahead of getting hit by a pitch with one out, so the Peacocks were still hoping for a comeback effort in the bottom half of the inning. Draeger came up big with a leadoff single to represent the tying run on first and bring the potential winning run to the plate. A pinch-hit pop out marked the first out, and Kaylee Frenette just missed getting the potential game-tying hit as she scorched a ball down the first base line that found itself in the glove of the first baseman who recorded a game-ending double play. Each team tallied five hits and left six runners on as the Beavers bested the Peacocks by a score of 2-1.
 

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UP NEXT... The Peacocks hit the road as they will be away from Fayette for six doubleheaders before returning to close the season on May 8 and 9. Upper Iowa will first face No. 18 Minnesota State University, Mankato in an NSIC doubleheader on Apr. 21 at 2 p.m. before meeting Minnesota Duluth at 1 p.m. on Apr. 24 and seeing St. Cloud State at 12 p.m. on Apr. 25.