The Upper Iowa University softball team secured a doubleheader sweep on their second and final day at the Lewis Flyer Dome Invitational to pick up the team's first wins of the season. The Peacocks opened the day with an early-morning 4-3 win over the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. UIU struck first and last, made two comebacks, & stranded the tying run on third in the bottom of the 7th to secure the season's first victory. In game two, Upper Iowa closed their tournament slate with a 10-3 win over Ursuline College. The Peacocks erased an early deficit with a seven-run fourth frame and never looked back. UIU improved to 2-5 on the season while UWP fell to 0-9 after the loss and UC dropped to 2-6 following their defeat.
Upper Iowa 4, Wisconsin-Parkside 3
Three straight one-out singles got the Peacocks on the board first in the top of the first inning.
Kaylee Frenette started the string with a hit before advancing to third on a hit from
Amelia Fitzgerald, and
Katie Crogan's RBI single scored Frenette to put UIU up 1-0. After stranding two, the Peacocks had their lead turned into a deficit in the bottom of the first. A hit-by-pitch and a walk put the first two batters on base, and a double in the third at-bat put Wisconsin-Parkside up 2-1 before three outs ended the inning.
Nothing came of lead-off singles from UIU in the second and third innings, and the fourth frame started with back-to-back walks from
Sara Jessie and
Aubree Terris to set the Peacocks up.
Hannah Bridgewater delivered with an RBI single up the middle to score Jessie. Upper Iowa could not convert a two-on, no-outs situation to take the lead, but the run tied the game at 2-2. In the bottom of the fourth, the Rangers reclaimed a lead, 3-2, thanks to an RBI double that scored a lead-off runner who reached via error.
After stranding back-to-back lead-off singles in the top of the fifth, the Peacocks came back once again in the top of the sixth inning. A one-out double by Bridgewater was followed by a walk from
Ari Charles, and
Calista Brockman delivered a two-out, two-RBI, pinch-hit double after a fielder's choice to give UIU a 4-3 advantage.
The Peacock defense stranded a lead-off single by the Rangers in the bottom of the sixth, but Wisconsin-Parkside returned the favor by keeping
Katie Crogan on the bases after she led off the seventh inning with a single. Needing one last defensive stand in the bottom of the seventh, UIU faced immediate pressure as UWP hit a lead-off double to put the tying run in scoring position with no outs. A foul out got the Peacocks one step closer to closing the game, and a sacrifice bunt moved the tying run to third with two outs.
Sydney Wilcox induced a ground-out that Frenette handled as the Peacocks held on to win 4-3 and secure the season's first victory.
Upper Iowa 10, Ursuline 3
The Arrows struck the scoreboard first in game two thanks to a two-run home run in the bottom of the third inning. Ursuline notched a lead-off double before a two-run home run, and they kept passing the baton with a single and a stolen base to have a runner in scoring position with no outs. Wilcox and the UIU defense locked in with two ground-outs and a line-out to strand the runner and limit the damage to two runs.
UC's 2-0 lead was short-lived as the Peacocks put a seven spot on the board in the ensuing half-inning.
Sara Jessie led off with a single, and an RBI double from Fitzgerald made it a 2-1 game. Crogan followed the RBI double with one of her own to knot the score at 2-2. A ground-out by
Alli Schaffer moved Crogan to third, and she was able to take home on an error to put UIU up 3-2. A strikeout made it two outs with no one on, but singles from Wilcox and Charles put two Peacocks on base.
Samantha Jessie and Frenette worked back-to-back walks to give Frenette an RBI, and
Sara Jessie earned an RBI after scoring earlier in the inning by getting plunked by a pitch in the next at-bat to give Upper Iowa a 5-2 edge. Fitzgerald notched her second hit of the inning and picked up two RBI in the next at-bat, but she was thrown out advancing to second to end the inning with a 7-2 Upper Iowa advantage on the scoreboard.
Each team stranded a pair of runners in the fifth frame, and the Peacocks maintained their momentum by adding to their lead in the top of the sixth.
Samantha Jessie worked a lead-off walk before a ground-out, passed ball, and hit-by-pitch for
Sara Jessie put runners on the corners with one out and forced a pitching change. Sam Jessie scored on a wild pitch in the next at-bat, and Crogan crushed a two-out round-tripper to put the Peacocks ahead 10-2.
Needing to score at least one run to avoid the game-ending by run rule, the Arrows notched a one-out single before the baserunner picked up a steal and made it to third with two outs. UIU could not close out the game early as the next UC batter hit an RBI single to make it a 10-3 game. The runner left early in the next at-bat to end the inning and send it to the seventh. Both squads stranded a lead-off hit in the final frame, including a lead-off triple from Ursuline, as the game ended with a 10-3 Upper Iowa win.
UP NEXT... The Peacocks head to Winterhaven, Fla., for a 10-game slate as part of the Rebel Spring Games. Upper Iowa is scheduled to play doubleheaders on Saturday, Mar. 5, Sunday, Mar. 6, Monday, Mar. 7, Wednesday, Mar. 9, and Thursday, Mar. 10. Times of the games are still TBD, but UIU is scheduled to start its stretch against Kentucky Wesleyan College and Stonehill College on Mar. 5.
