The Upper Iowa University softball team split their penultimate road doubleheader against the University of Mary in Bismarck, N.D. The Peacocks picked up a 5-2 win in game one after their offense put up three runs in the top of the first and their defense stranded the tying runs on base in the bottom of the seventh. In game two, UIU fell by a score of 8-4 despite allowing just four earned runs and out-hitting the Marauders 13-11. A controversial interference call took away two UIU runs in the top of the sixth that would have cut the score to 8-5, but the Peacocks stranded three in the sixth and two in the seventh as their comeback came up short.
 

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GAME 1: Upper Iowa 5, UMary 2

The Peacocks got things going early as Kaylee Frenette led off the first inning with a hit-by-pitch ahead of back-to-back one-out singles from Katie Crogan and Payton Kastenschmidt that loaded the bases. Sydney Wilcox drove in two runs with a double in the ensuing at-bat to put UIU up by two, and Emily Draeger picked up an RBI on a groundout in the next at-bat to give Upper Iowa a 3-0 lead before the end of the inning.

Abby McKay struck out three UMary hitters in the bottom of the first as she was dealing early. In the top of the second, Frenette hit a one-out single ahead of a two-out single from Crogan to put a UIU runner in scoring position. Kastenschmidt slapped a third consecutive single that scored Frenette and pushed the Peacock lead to 4-0 through the top of the second inning. 

McKay recorded three more strikeouts in the bottom of the second after a leadoff double from the Marauders and sat them down in order in the bottom of the third while the Peacocks stranded a runner in each of their next two innings at the plate.

The next offensive opportunity came from UMary in the bottom of the fourth frame as they hit consecutive singles with one out before a two-out walk loaded the bases. McKay got out of the jam and ended the inning by recording her seventh strikeout of the game. Draeger secured a one-out single in the next half-inning before Samantha Jessie worked a walk to move Draeger into scoring position. Aubree Terris reached on an error that scored Draeger and gave Upper Iowa a 5-0 advantage in the fifth frame.

UMary got on the board in the bottom of the fifth with a one-out single and an RBI double in back-to-back at-bats, but the runner was thrown out at third as she tried to advance and UIU held a 5-1 lead through five innings. The Peacocks went down in order in both the sixth and seventh innings, and McKay struck out two more Marauders in the sixth as the score remained 5-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh.

The Marauders hit back-to-back singles to start the bottom of the seventh inning, and a walk loaded the bases and brought the tying run to the plate with no outs. The Peacock defense pulled in consecutive pop outs to push UMary to their final out, but another walk pushed runner across and cut the score to 5-2. Upper Iowa was able to hold on and secure the win as UMary flied out to end the game and clinch a 5-2 UIU victory. 
 

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GAME 2: UMary 8, Upper Iowa 4

Game two started with three straight UIU ground outs and three UMary strikeouts mixed in with a pair of two-out singles that were stranded. The Peacocks stranded a runner of their own in the second, and the Marauders stranded a runner after a leadoff triple as they grounded out three consecutive times in the second inning.

Upper Iowa went down in order in the third, and UMary put their leadoff hitter on base thanks to a UIU error. A sacrifice bunt pushed the runner into scoring position, and a single scored the first run of the game as UMary took a 1-0 lead. A fly out marked what should have been the final out of the inning, but the Marauders took advantage of the extra out thanks to the earlier error as they doubled and singled in back-to-back at-bats to push their advantage to 3-0 despite all three runs being unearned.

The Peacocks answered in the top of the fourth as Katie Crogan hit a one-out single and Sydney Wilcox hit an RBI double with two outs to score the first UIU run of the game and cut their deficit to 3-1. Wilcox advanced to third on a passed ball and Emily Draeger worked a walk to put two Peacocks on the bases with two outs, but a line out to first ended the inning.

The Marauders hit a one-out single in the bottom of the fourth, and a UIU error allowed a UMary runner to reach. A wild pitch advanced both UMary runners, and a single in the next at-bat opened up a 5-1 lead for the Marauders thanks to four unearned runs. A fielder's choice and a walk put two Marauders on with two outs and saw Abby McKay come in to relieve Wilcox of her pitching duties. McKay ended the inning and stranded two to limit the damage to two UMary runs in the fourth frame.

Upper Iowa got a leadoff single from Kristin Sadler in the top of the fifth as they looked to answer the Marauders and cut into their deficit. Sadler advanced to third thanks to a sacrifice bunt from Kaitlyn Carlson and a wild pitch, and an RBI single from Kaylee Frenette scored the runner and made it a 5-2 ball game. Crogan hit a two-out single to put two Peacocks on with two outs and bring the tying run to the plate, but a line out ended the UIU run.

After opening the bottom of the fifth inning with a pop out, UMary worked a walk ahead back-to-back singles that scored a run and made it 6-2. Another pop out marked the second out, but a two-RBI double extended the UMary lead to 8-2 before the inning ended with the runner being thrown out while going for third. 

Wilcox opened the top of the sixth inning with a leadoff single, before Samantha Jessie hit a one-out single and Sadler notched an RBI single in the ensuing at-bat to cut the UMary lead to 8-3. Sara Jessie hit a pinch-hit single to load the bases and bring up the top of the UIU order, and Frenette hit what initially looked to be a two-RBI single that would have cut the deficit to 8-5. However, the officials called Sadler out for interference as a runner and sent Samantha Jessie back to third in a controversial call that took two Upper Iowa runs off the board. A fielder's choice in the next at-bat left the bases loaded and ended the inning as the Peacock comeback effort was cut short in the sixth.

McKay sat the Marauders down in order in the bottom of the sixth inning to quickly bring the UIU offense back to the plate as they looked to mount a comeback. Payton Kastenschmidt hit a one-out single to put a Peacock on base as Carly Jeans came in to pinch run. A ground out advanced the runner before McKay reached on an error to keep Upper Iowa alive with two outs and runners on the corners. Samantha Jessie hit an RBI single to cut the score to 8-4, but a fly out ended the UIU comeback effort and saw UMary claim an 8-4 win.
 

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UP NEXT... Upper Iowa is set to play their final road games of the season against Minot State on May 2. The Peacocks battle the Beavers in Minot, N.D. in a two-bill scheduled for 12 and 2 p.m.