TODAY IN PEACOCK BASEBALL… Upper Iowa is on the road in St. Cloud, Minnesota hoping to play baseball between the raindrops. The Peacocks and Huskies of St. Cloud State University are scheduled to play a Northern Sun Conference double header beginning at 11 a.m., but weather across the Midwest may alter those plans. UIU enters the games with an 8-19 record overall and a 6-10 mark in the NSIC, while SCSU is 18-10 overall and 10-4 in the conference.
LIVE OPTIONS… Fans that can't make it to Fayette or Bismarck for the games can follow along with a couple of live options provided by the UIU and Mary Sports Communication offices. Live stats and a webcast will be provided for all games. Fans can follow the links above or visit UIUPeacocks.com/Live on gameday to access the live options.
COMING IN HOT… Both the Huskies and Peacocks are coming off great weeks. St. Cloud State did not have a midweek game on their schedule, but the Huskies swept the Golden Bears of Concordia University, St. Paul on Sunday and Monday. Upper Iowa went 4-1 last week thanks to a double header sweep over Bemidji State University and a series win (2-1) in three games at the University of Mary over the weekend in Bismarck, N.D.
LAST WEEK'S LEADERS… Upper Iowa scored 40 runs on 48 hits for a .310 batting average last week while posting an ERA of 4.50 and allowing just 22 runs and a .221 batting average to the Beavers and Marauder offenses.
Ryan Hull hit .429 with nine hits including a double and scored eight runs; UIU's centerfielder registered an on-base percentage of .478 and added five stolen bases.
Jake Hilmer (.389) and
Ethan Sawyer (.368) both had big weeks as well with seven hits apiece.
Samuel Grushkin slugged .733 in the five games thanks to a double and two home runs with five runs batted in. On the hill,
Colin Lacey led the Peacocks with a near-complete game shutout against the Beavers. Lacey needed help in the seventh inning from Sam Merhefke, who earned the save with a bases loaded strikeout in a 4-0 win. Marhefke also got the win in extra innings at Mary in the first game of the series.
Keaton Parker and
Jason Katz also earned victories on the mound; Parker allowed two runs in five innings of game two at Mary, while Katz threw 4.1 innings of relief against Bemidji State to score the win. In total, six pitchers threw at least one inning without allowing a run in the five games.
THOU SHALT STEAL… The Peacock offense has generated 51 extra-base hits, but opponents have had a hard time keeping them at first base when UIU has reached on 161 singles and 114 free passes (walks and hit batters). UIU has stolen 55 bases in 67 attempts this season for an 82.1% success rate.
Nicolas Vite has a team-high 11 steals in 12 tries, while Hull is 10-11 and eight other Peacocks have swiped at least four bags.
Cael Luzum has eight to his name, while
Jerry Garcia and Hilmer have each stolen seven. The 55 steals rank fourth in the NSIC, while Vite and Hull's totals of 11 and 10 are tied for sixth and ninth among NSIC individuals.
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES… St. Cloud State has won four of the last six meetings with Upper Iowa. The Peacocks came out on top in a 3-0 win on Apr. 2, 2017 in St. Cloud and 10-5 on Mar. 19, 2018 in Cedar Rapids. The two teams haven't met since the Huskies swept a double header (19-0, 13-5) in Fayette on Mar. 27, 2019. SCSU is hitting .295 as a team averaging 7.25 runs per game while slugging .495 with 56 doubles, 13 triples and 34 home runs. Seven regulars are hitting above .300 led by Sam Riola; Riola is hitting .400 with an on-base plus slugging percentage of 1.361 thanks to four doubles, three triples and 12 homers. Riley Ahern leads the pitching staff in innings pitched (39.0) and has recorded an ERA of 3.23 with a team-high 42 strikeouts. Ryan Duffy has also been tremendous on the mound with an ERA of 3.45 in seven starts and 31.1 innings with 37 strikeouts.
UP NEXT... The Peacocks will return to Fayette and enjoy the Easter weekend with no games on the schedule. Upper Iowa returns to action on Wednesday, Apr. 20 at 1:30 p.m. in a Northern Sun Conference double header with the University of Sioux Falls before hosting Winona State University on Saturday and Sunday, Apr. 23-24 in a three-game, NSIC series.
