Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 The Upper Iowa University softball team ended their time in Auburndale, Fla. with a win to split their final day at The Spring Games. In a game one loss to East Stroudsburg University, each team tallied two first-inning runs and notched four total hits, but the Peacocks could not counter a second two-run deficit late in the game as they fell 4-2. In game two against the College of Saint Rose, UIU scored six straight to overcome a two-run, first-inning deficit to claim a 6-2 victory. UIU moves to an 8-8 record and finishes with a 6-3 mark at The Spring Games.

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East Stroudsburg 4, Upper Iowa 2

In UIU's game against East Stroudsburg, the Warriors jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning thanks to two hits and a hit-by-pitch. Both runs came across with two outs in the inning, and Samantha Jessie secured the third out by catching a runner trying to steal third.
 
The Peacocks responded immediately with two runs in the bottom of the first inning to tie the game. Sara Jessie reached on a bunt with one out before Amelia Fitzgerald took her place on a fielder's choice. A walk by Katie Crogan was followed by an RBI single from Calista Brockman that cut UIU's deficit in half. Sophia Heckendorf and Hannah Bridgewater kept the Peacock parade rolling with a walk and a HBP, respectively, and Bridgewater earned an RBI that knotted the score at 2-2. After an ESU pitching change, a strikeout ended the first frame and left the bases full of Peacocks. The missed opportunity proved to be costly as UIU was held scoreless for the remainder of the game. 
 
The game's next hit came in the bottom of the fourth as Sam Jessie hit a two-out single, but the defensive game persisted as the score remained 2-2 through five innings. East Stroudsburg ended the offensive drought in the top of the sixth as they led off with a walk ahead of consecutive RBI singles, their first hits since the first inning, to go ahead 4-2. The UIU defense recorded three straight outs to strand a runner on third in the sixth, and both teams went down 1-2-3 in each of the next half-innings. 
 
The Peacocks needed two runs to tie and were down to their last out in the bottom of the seventh inning, but Sara Jessie gave the team a spark with a two-out single to bring the tying run to the plate. Fitzgerald worked a walk in the next at-bat to put the tying run on base and bring the winning run to the plate, but Crogan struck out in the final at-bat as the Warriors clinched a 4-2 win.
 
Upper Iowa's 2-5 hitters accounted for three of the team's four hits and both of UIU's runs. Sara Jessie (2-4) led UIU with two hits in the two hole. Amelia Fitzgerald went 0-3 but scored a run after a walk. Katie Crogan went 0-2 with two walks and two K's but came around to score. In the five spot, Calista Brockman hit 1-3 with an RBI, while Hannah Bridgewater notched an RBI on a HBP. Samantha Jessie notched the other UIU hit by going 1-3 in the nine hole. 
 
Sydney Wilcox pitched a complete game and allowed four earned runs on four hits. She struck out two while walking one, and Wilcox and the UIU defense played a tight game with no errors.

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Upper Iowa 6, Saint Rose 2
 
In game two against Saint Rose, the Golden Knights led off with consecutive hits, but Ari Charles gunned down the leadoff runner at home to keep CSR off the board. However, a two-out, two-run homer run emphatically put Saint Rose on the scoreboard and had UIU facing a 2-0 deficit through one inning. 
 
The Peacocks got on the board in the bottom of the second inning after Hannah Bridgewater and Charles drew consecutive walks with two outs. Sara Jessie picked up an RBI on a single to cut the UIU deficit in half, 2-1, before the end of the inning. 
 
After coming up empty with two runners on and no outs in the bottom of the third, the Upper Iowa offense tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth. Bridgewater hit a one-out double to get in scoring position, and Sara Jessie notched her second RBI single to even the score.
 
Sydney Wilcox and the UIU defense got out of a jam after allowing the Golden Knights to load the bases following two quick outs in the top of the fifth. In the bottom of the fifth, Samantha Jessie, Kaylee Frenette, and Sophia Heckendorfreached in order to load the bases with no outs. A two-RBI double from Amelia Fitzgerald in the ensuing at-bat put UIU up 4-2, and a two-RBI double from Katie Crogan in the next at-bat gave the Peacocks a 6-2 advantage. Each team stranded two runners in the sixth inning before Wilcox and the Peacock defense worked a 1-2-3 top of the seventh to clinch a 6-2 win for Upper Iowa. 
 
Sydney Wilcox pitched her second complete game of the day and earned the win in game two. She allowed two earned runs on four hits while striking out a pair and walking three. UIU's two errors did not cost the Peacocks any unearned runs, while the three errors from CSR helped give the Peacocks two unearned runs.
 
Seven of the nine UIU batters recorded a hit, with Sara Jessie's 2-3 mark and two RBI leading the way. Five Peacocks combined for the team's six runs, and Hannah Bridgewater led the team with two scores while hitting 1-2 and working a walk. Amelia Fitzgerald (1-4, one run) and Katie Crogan (1-3) each tallied two RBI thanks to their doubles in the fifth frame.

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Up next, the Peacocks are scheduled to play a quartet of games at the Fairfield Inn and Suites Classic in St. Joseph, Mo. from Mar. 18-19. UIU is slated to play a doubleheader on Friday, Mar. 18, against Northeastern State University at 12 p.m. before taking on the University of Nebraska at Kearney at 2 p.m.