The Upper Iowa University softball team picked up their first home win of the season in Fayette as they defeated Northern State University in game one of their doubleheader. The Peacocks hit four home runs while allowing just four hits to the Wolves as they claimed a 9-1 win after a walk-off home run ended the game in five innings due to run rule. The Wolves got the best of the Peacocks with 14 runs on 15 hits in game two as UIU committed five errors. Upper Iowa allowed just two earned runs in game number two, but UIU fell by a score of 14-0 in five innings.
GAME 1: Upper Iowa 9, Northern State 1 (5 Inn.)
The scoring got started early in game one of the NSIC doubleheader as Northern State scored their leadoff hitter after getting on with a walk before a steal and a single gave NSU the 1-0 lead. The Peacocks quickly came up with an answer in the bottom half of the first inning as
Katie Crogan hit a two-out single before scoring thanks to a defensive error after a single by
Payton Kastenschmidt got past the right fielder.
Both the Peacocks and the Wolves went down in order in the second inning, and UIU got three consecutive outs to close out the top of the third after allowing a leadoff single. At the plate in the bottom of the third inning,
Kaylee Frenette recorded a base knock with one out before
Amanda Williams worked a walk. With two runners on the bases, Crogan hit a three-run home run to right center field to give the Peacocks a 4-1 lead. Kastenschmidt mashed a solo shot out to left center field just two pitches later as Upper Iowa hit back-to-back home runs in Fayette for the first time in five years, claiming a 5-1 lead in the process.
Sydney Wilcox connected on the very next pitch as she came out swinging in the ensuing at-bat and was just a couple feet away from hitting an opposite field home run and making it a back-to-back-to-back situation for the Peacocks as she flied out to right.
Northern State came to the plate in the top of the fourth looking for an answer and looked to have something brewing after a leadoff single and a walk. An infield fly and a strikeout made it two outs with two runners on, but another walk from the Wolves loaded the bases and brought the tying run to the plate.
Abby McKay got out of the jam with a big strikeout to end the inning and preserve the Peacock lead.
The Peacocks opened the bottom of the fourth with two quick outs, but
Kaitlyn Carlson and Frenette hit a pair of singles to give UIU two on with two outs. Williams just missed a big hit as she swung on the first pitch and quickly got down in the count 0-2 before getting another lease on life following an error on a dropped foul ball. The Peacock junior made the most of her second chance as she crushed a three-run home run to left center field to give UIU an 8-1 lead. Crogan doubled in the ensuing at-bat before a groundout ended the inning as the Peacocks carried a seven-run advantage into the fifth frame.
McKay came out and recorded a groundout and strikeout to start the fifth inning, and a pop-out following a double would close the door on the NSU offense. Needing one run to end the game in five due to run rule, the Peacocks opened the bottom of the fifth with a pop-out of their own.
Emily Draeger came in to pinch hit for
Aubree Terris in the next at-bat, and the pinch hitter would end the game on a walk-off home run to left center field to end the game. The fourth Upper Iowa long ball of the game clinched a 9-1 win for the Peacocks in five innings due to run rule, giving the team their first home and conference win of the year.
GAME 2: Northern State 14, Upper Iowa 0 (5 Inn.)
In game two against the Northern State, the Peacocks found themselves in an early deficit following a six-run top of the first inning from the Wolves.
Abby McKay came back out to the circle as the Peacock pitcher after picking up the win in game one, recording a quick groundout to open the game. The ensuing at-bat saw Northern State reach on an error from the UIU left fielder and advance to second, and a double from the next NSU batter gave them the 1-0 lead. A single followed by another error from left field loaded the bases for the Wolves, and a two-run single in the next at-bat pushed Northern State's lead to 3-0 with one out. McKay recorded a strikeout to get the second out, but a stolen base and a walk loaded the bases again for NSU. The Wolves got a single from their next batter, and the third error of the opening inning from left field helped the hit clear the bases and give Northern State a 6-0 lead through one. McKay ended the inning with another strikeout but was sitting in a 6-0 hole even without allowing a single earned run.
The Peacocks could not turn three Northern State errors over the bottom halves of the first and second innings into any runs, and the score stayed 6-0 until the top of the third. The Wolves got a runner on to open the inning following a hit by pitch, and a subsequent steal and passed ball put the runner on third with no outs and no hits in the inning. A single from NSU scored the runner and pushed the lead to 7-0 before the inning ended, giving the Wolves their first earned run of the game.
Sydney Wilcox came in to pitch for UIU to open the fourth inning, and Northern State hit a leadoff home run to go up 8-0 and welcome the new Peacock pitcher. An error, a walk, and a single loaded the bases for Northern State with no outs, and two consecutive fly balls scored a run and put two outs on the board as the second fly was deep enough to serve as a sacrifice. Leading 9-0 with only two earned runs, the Wolves hit a single to score another unearned run as the Peacock defense committed their second error of the inning and fifth of the game to put runners on the corners with two outs. NSU hit a double in the ensuing at-bat to push their lead to 12-0, and the Wolves followed that with a single and a steal of home to go up 13-0 and score their 11th unearned run. Another single from Northern State ended the pitching appearance for Wilcox and extended the lead to 14-0, and
Abby Buckman came on in relief to close out the seven-run NSU half of the fourth inning.
Upper Iowa went down in order to end the fourth inning and was able to hold the Wolves scoreless in the top of the fifth after allowing a leadoff walk and a single thanks to a successful pickoff play.
Hannah Bridgewater hit a single to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning as UIU needed to mount a comeback to extend the game past five innings, and pinch hitter
Calista Brockman kept the spark alive for Upper Iowa with a single to put two Peacocks on with no outs. The runners advanced on a groundout from
Kaylee Frenette, but the Peacocks followed that with a fly-out and a strikeout to end the game in five innings due to run rule.
UP NEXT... The Peacocks continue their long home stand with another NSIC doubleheader in Fayette, Iowa against Minnesota State University Moorhead on Apr. 3. The two-game set is scheduled to start at 12 p.m. at the Eischeid Softball Complex, with game two being scheduled for 2 p.m. immediately following the action.
