The Upper Iowa University softball team swept their series against the Wayne State Wildcats in their season's penultimate day of play. After going down 2-0 in the first, the Peacocks rode a pair of three-run home runs to a 9-6 win in game number one. Despite scoring first in game two, UIU had to come back from a 5-1 deficit as they scored seven straight runs and held on for an 8-7 win.
GAME 1: Upper Iowa 9, Wayne State 6
The scoring got started early in game one as Wayne State hit a leadoff double before quickly taking a 2-0 lead with a home run to left field. A single in the ensuing at-bat put a runner on with no outs, but the UIU defense backed up
Abby McKay with a foul out and a pop out before a strikeout ended the inning.
Needing to erase an early deficit, the Peacocks struck out twice to start the bottom of the first.
Katie Crogan worked a walk to keep the inning alive, and
Payton Kastenschmidt laced an RBI-double to right center that made it a 2-1 game.
Emily Draeger got another two-out hit to put runners on the corners, and
Sydney Wilcox emphatically gave Upper Iowa a 4-2 advantage with a three-run home run before the end of the inning.
WSC went down one, two, three in the second. UIU got a leadoff triple from
Kaitlyn Carlson to give the top of the order a runner in scoring position, but two strikeouts sandwiching a groundout ended the inning and stranded Carlson on third.
In the top of the third, Wayne State reached on an error with one out before hitting a two-out single and getting hit by a pitch to load the bases. McKay notched her third strikeout to get out of the jam and strand three Wildcats.
In the top of the fourth frame, Wilcox worked a walk to get things started before a one-out walk from Carlson and a single from McKay loaded the bases full of Peacocks.
Amanda Williams hit a two-out, two-RBI single to push the UIU lead to 6-2, and Crogan went yard in the next at-bat to tack on three runs and put UIU up 9-2 before the end of the inning.
Wayne State hit a solo home run in the top of the fifth to cut the lead to 9-3, and after UIU went down in order the Wildcats kept their scoring streak going in the top of the sixth. WSC hit a leadoff single, and the next batter reached on a fielder's choice in which the lead runner was safe thanks to a UIU error. After a strikeout, the Wildcats hit an RBI-double, scored a run on a UIU error, and then an RBI-single made it a 9-6 ball game before two outs ended the inning.
The Wildcats hit a one-out single in the top of the seventh, and a two-out single brought the tying run to the plate. The game ended as WSC grounded out to McKay, who picked up her 10th win in a 9-6 victory for Upper Iowa.
GAME 2: Upper Iowa 8, Wayne State 7
In the bottom of the first in game two, the Peacocks opened things up with a leadoff single from
Kaylee Frenette ahead of a sacrifice bunt from
Amanda Williams that saw her reach safely due to an error.
Katie Crogan worked a walk to load the bases with nobody out, and Wayne State made a pitching change due to an apparent injury.
Payton Kastenschmidt welcomed the new pitcher with an RBI sacrifice fly on a foul out to right field that scored Frenette and gave UIU an early 1-0 lead. A double play ended the inning as UIU was only able to score one after having three on with no outs.
In the bottom of the second,
Samantha Jessie hit a one-out double ahead of an
Aubree Terris walk to put two Peacocks on.
Kaitlyn Carlson advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt before Frenette worked a walk to load the bases, but UIU left them loaded with a fly out to end the inning.
Wayne State opened the third inning with a pair of infield singles that sandwiched a walk as they loaded the bases with no outs. The Peacocks got a big break as a would-be game-tying sacrifice fly turned into a double play after the runner on third left early and was called out. The Wildcats would get their run with an RBI single in the next at-bat to tie the score at 1-1. A walk of the next batter loaded the bases again, and the Wildcats took a 3-1 lead after a two-out, two-RBI single in the ensuing at-bat. A second consecutive two-out, two-RBI single pushed WSC's newfound lead to 5-1 before a strikeout ended the inning.
Looking to answer in the bottom of the third, the Peacocks got three straight singles from Crogan, Kastenschmidt, and
Emily Draeger as Draeger's base knock cut the deficit to 5-2. Back-to-back fly outs broke up the UIU momentum, but Terris worked her second walk in as many at-bats to get things back on track. Carlson and Frenette hit back-to-back infield RBI-singles that made it a 5-4 ball game before a fly out stranded three Peacocks and ended the inning.
After the UIU defense stranded a leadoff Wildcat baserunner in the top of the fourth frame, Crogan led off with a single for the second straight inning to keep the Upper Iowa comeback rolling. Crogan advanced on a groundout and Draeger picked up her second RBI-single in the next at-bat to tie the game at five runs apiece.
Sydney Wilcox hit a go-ahead RBI-double in the ensuing at-bat to give UIU a 6-5 lead. Walks from Jessie and Carlson sandwiched a strikeout to load the bases with two outs, and Frenette came through with a two-RBI single up the middle that put the Peacocks up 8-5. The Wildcats made a pitching change and ended the inning with a strikeout, but Upper Iowa took a three-run lead to the top of the fifth after scoring seven straight runs.
The Wildcats singled to lead off the fifth frame and hit a one-out single after a passed ball to put runners on the corners. A run scored on a UIU error to make it 8-6, and two runners moved into scoring position with one out after another passed ball. A groundout marked the second out of the inning, but a walk of the next batter put the go-ahead run on base. Wilcox and the Peacocks got out of the jam after Williams and Frenette got the 4-6 force out on a ball hit up the middle.
The Peacocks left a runner on after a one-out double from Kastenschmidt in the bottom of the fifth, and Wayne State hit a leadoff long ball in the top of the sixth to cut the UIU lead to 8-7. A single in the next at-bat put the tying run on base, but the Peacocks turned a double play after a line out to Frenette who fired to Crogan for the second out. A walk and a groundout ended the WSC half of the sixth.
Jessie got on base thanks to a hit-by-pitch to start the bottom of the sixth and advanced to second thanks to a wild pitch to get into scoring position with no outs. UIU flied out and Jessie was thrown out at third as she tried to advance. A strikeout ended the inning and sent it to the top of the seventh.
The UIU defense locked things down in the top of the seventh as a groundout and a pop out to second marked the first two outs before Wilcox struck out the final batter to clinch the 8-7 win for Upper Iowa.
UP NEXT... The Peacocks will play their final pair of games of the season on May 9 in Fayette, Iowa. Upper Iowa will play a doubleheader against No. 1 Augustana University (S.D.) as first pitches are scheduled for 1 and 3 p.m. at the Eischeid Softball Complex.
