The Upper Iowa University softball team opened their 10-game slate at The Spring Games in Auburndale, Fla. on Saturday. The Peacocks were scheduled to open their time with a matchup against Kentucky Wesleyan College, but the game was canceled due to a lack of umpires. UIU made up for it in game two by putting 21 runs on the board in just five innings in a shutout win against Stonehill College. The Peacocks scored four or more runs in all but the second inning, and the UIU defense allowed just one hit in the 21-0 romp. The Peacocks also added a game against Nyack College and picked up a 4-2 win in a competitive game. UIU improved to 4-5 with the wins and 2-0 at The Spring Games.

The Peacocks jumped out to an early lead with a seven-run top of the first inning against the Skyhawks. Kaylee Frenette got things started with a leadoff single, and a sacrifice bunt from Sara Jessie put runners on first and second after reaching on an error. Katie Crogan put UIU up 1-0 with a one-out RBI single. Consecutive hit-by-pitches from Calista Brockman and Hannah Bridgewater brought home another run, and a two-out walk from Aubree Terris increased the lead to 3-0. Samantha Jessie earned an RBI with yet another HBP, and Frenette worked a walk to notch an RBI and get on base for the second time in the inning. Sara Jessia slapped a two-RBI single to put the Peacocks ahead 7-0 before a lineout ended the inning.
 
Sydney Wilcox and the Peacock defense sat the Skyhawks down in order in the first inning and stranded a runner in the second. The UIU offense stranded two in the top of the second, but the Peacocks got right back on track in the top of the third. The Jessie sisters reached on errors to sandwich a Frenette walk and load the bases, and an RBI single from Amelia Fitzgerald put UIU up 8-0. Crogan increased the lead to 9-0 with an RBI groundout, and two UIU walks from Brockman and Carley Jeanes sandwiched a line out to force a Stonehill pitching change at 10-0. Terris reached on the third error of the inning to push the lead to 11-0 before an out on an advance ended the half-inning. 
 
Rylee McGonigle took over in the circle in the bottom of the third and sat the Skyhawks down 1-2-3. Upper Iowa kept the offense rolling in the top of the fourth as Sam Jessie got plunked, Frenette singled, and Sara Jessie picked up an RBI single. Crogan hit a one-out RBI single to put UIU ahead 13-0, and Brockman mashed a three-run home run over the center-field fence to give Upper Iowa a 16-0 lead before the end of the inning. 
 
McGonigle and the UIU defense compiled another three-up, three-down half-inning in the bottom of the fourth. However, the Peacock offense would not be outdone, as Sam Jessie took the first pitch of the top of the fifth deep to give UIU a 17-0 advantage. Frenette, Sara Jessie, and Fitzgerald went walk, fielder's choice, and single, respectively, to put two on with one out, and Crogan reached on an error that saw Jessie score. An RBI single from Brockman in the next at-bat put the Peacocks up 19-0 before Bridgewater reached on an error to keep the inning alive. Ari Charles hit an RBI single to score UIU's 20th run, and Alli Schaffer notched an RBI groundout to give the Peacocks a 21-0 edge before a flyout from Sam Jessie in her second at-bat of the inning. Upper Iowa sat the Skyhawks down in order yet again as McGonigle struck out the final two batters to clinch the 21-0 win in five innings due to the run rule.

The first run in game two came in the top of the third as Nyack took a 1-0 lead. A single and a double led off the inning, but the Peacock defense turned a double play in the next at-bat by throwing out the runner coming home. However, a two-out single in the next at-bat pushed a run across and put the Peacocks in an early deficit. Fitzgerald led off the bottom of the fourth inning with a single before a one-out single from Brockman, and a sacrifice fly by Wilcox gave her an RBI and tied the score at 1-1. Bridgewater shot a single up the middle in the next at-bat to score Brockman and give UIU a 2-1 edge before the end of the inning. The UIU offense kept it going in the bottom of the fifth as Frenette and Sara Jessie reached on a walk and a HBP, respectively, before a two-RBI double from Fitzgerald doubled UIU's score and put them ahead 4-1 before the end of the inning. Nyack answered with a run on two hits in the top of the sixth to cut UIU's lead in half, 4-2, and the Wilcox and the Peacock defense stranded a leadoff single in the top of the seventh to clinch the 4-2 win.

Up next, the Peacocks are scheduled to face Nyack College at 8 a.m. CST (9 a.m. local time) and the University of the Sciences immediately after at 10:15 a.m. CST/11:15 a.m. EST.