Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 The Upper Iowa University softball team split their penultimate day at The Spring Games in Auburndale, Fla. In game one against Walsh University (Ohio), the Peacocks erased an early deficit by scoring nine unanswered runs and won in walk-off fashion due to run rule. In game two against Shippensburg University, UIU faced a seven-run deficit and could not complete a comeback despite two, two-run dingers leading to four straight scores. The Peacocks finished the day with a 7-7 record on the season and moved to a 5-2 mark at The Spring Games.
Upper Iowa 9, Walsh (Ohio) 1 (5 Inn.)
Three singles in the top of the first inning gave Walsh an early 1-0 advantage before
Sydney Wilcox and the Peacock defense buckled down to strand two. The UIU offense quickly responded as the first three Peacocks reached safely ahead of an RBI fielder's choice from
Katie Crogan in the cleanup spot. A two-out single from
Sophia Heckendorf gave UIU the lead at 2-1, and
Ari Charles increased the advantage to 3-1 with an RBI single before the end of the first inning.
Wilcox and the defense sat Walsh down in order in the bottom of the second, and Crogan kept the UIU offense rolling with a two-RBI double that scored
Amelia Fitzgerald and
Sara Jessie to put UIU up 5-1. In the bottom of the third inning,
Kaylee Frenette and
Sara Jessie walked and singled, respectively, with two outs, and Fitzgerald smashed a home run to left field that increased the Upper Iowa edge to 8-1.
Both squads went down in order in the fourth inning, and the Cavaliers went down 1-2-3 in the top of the fifth. Needing just one run to end the game due to run rule,
Samantha Jessie smacked a leadoff double in the bottom of the fifth to put the winning run in scoring position. A groundout from Frenette moved the winning run to third, and
Sara Jessie scored her sister and ended the game with a walk-off single to clinch the 9-1 UIU win.
Kaylee Frenette (1-3, two runs, one walk),
Sara Jessie (2-3, three runs, one RBI),
Amelia Fitzgerald (3-3, two runs, three RBI), and
Katie Crogan (2-3, one run, three RBI) comprised a top of the UIU order that hit 8-12 (.667), notched eight runs, and drove in seven scores. Defensively,
Sydney Wilcox got the win after pitching five innings of one-run ball, allowing four hits, striking out one, and walking none. The UIU defense did not commit an error as the team won its fifth game in six tries at The Spring Games.
Shippensburg 7, Upper Iowa 4
Upper Iowa's second game of the day got off to a shaky start as the Peacocks found themselves in a seven-run hole through four innings. Both teams went down 1-2-3 in the first frame, but Shippensburg took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. The Raiders worked a walk, reached on a fielder's choice, and moved the runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt before a single scored one. A double in the next at-bat cleared the bases and increased the advantage to 3-0, but
Abby Buckman and the Peacocks got out of the inning by thwarting a first and third situation with one out.
Rylee McGonigle took over in the circle after the UIU offense went down in order in the third. She had two on with two outs as UIU looked to keep their deficit at three, but the Raiders hit a two-out, two-RBI double to go up 5-0 before the end of the inning. After Upper Iowa went down in order again, Shippensburg tacked on two runs in the fourth to hand UIU a 7-0 deficit.
The Peacock offense sprang to life in the top of the fifth after
Katie Crogan led off with a single before
Calista Brockmanbashed a ball over the left-field fence to put two UIU runs on the board, 7-2, before the end of the inning. The UIU defense turned a double play in the bottom of the fifth to keep Shippensburg off the scoreboard before the teams went down 1-2-3 in each of the next half-innings.
Amelia Fitzgerald led off the top of the seventh with a single, and Crogan hit a round-tripper in the ensuing at-bat to cut the Upper Iowa deficit to 7-4. Brockman got plunked to put the tying run on deck, but the Peacocks could not complete the comeback as a strikeout and two groundouts ended the game and gave Shippensburg a 7-4 win.
Katie Crogan and
Calista Brockman's homers accounted for all four of UIU's runs and half of the team's four hits. Croganhit 2-3 with two runs and two RBI, while Brockman hit 1-2 with one run, two RBI, and a HBP.
Amelia Fitzgerald rounded out Upper Iowa's offensive output with a 1-3 mark at the plate and one run.Â
Abby Buckman took the loss in the circle with three earned runs in two innings despite allowing just two hits and one walk.
Rylee McGonigle allowed four earned runs, four hits, and four walks in four innings while striking out two.
Up next, the Peacocks play their final pair of games in Auburndale, Fla. on Thursday, Mar. 10. UIU is scheduled to wrap their time at The Spring Games against East Stroudsburg University at 12:30 p.m. CST (1:30 p.m. EST) before competing against Chestnut Hill College at 2:45 p.m. CST (3:45 p.m. local time).
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