The Upper Iowa softball team secured a weekend sweep on Senior Day to close their home slate, winning 14-4 (5 Inn.) and 6-5 against the University of Mary. The Peacocks won in walk-off fashion in game one after scoring 14 runs on 12 hits, including three home runs. In game two, UIU held a 6-1 edge before holding off a late UMary comeback to win 6-5. The Peacocks improve to 20-21 (11-10 NSIC) while the Marauders fall to 5-33 (3-15 NSIC).
Upper Iowa combined for 20 runs on 20 hits over the doubleheader, Senior Day sweep. Five Peacocks had two-hit games in game one, while four of those five had three-RBI games.
Katie Crogan,
Calista Brockman,
Hannah Bridgewater, and
Sydney Wilcox each tallied two hits and three RBI.
Ari Charles also notched two hits.
Every UIU batter came around to score, and
Amelia Fitzgerald led the way with three runs while
Kaylee Frenette and
Sara Jessie scored two apiece. Fitzgerald finished 1-1 with three runs, three walks, and an RBI. Three of the five graduating Peacocks hit homers in game one as Crogan hit her season's 15th, Brockman hit her fourth, and Wilcox hit her second to give Upper Iowa a walk-off win.
Wilcox (10-12) also earned the win in the circle after allowing four runs on eight hits and a HBP in a 5.0 inning complete game.
In game two, the first six UIU batters each scored a run and five of the 1-6 hitters combined for the team's eight hits. Fitzgerald led the way with a 3-4 mark with an RBI and a run. Allie Schaffer hit 2-3 with a run, and RBI, and a double. Brockman went 1-3 with three RBI and a run.
Abby Buckman (6-6) earned the complete game win after allowing five runs (three earned) on 11 hits with a walk, a wild pitch, and a strikeout.
Haley Berube batted in all four UMary runs in game one, going 2-2 with a double and a sacrifice fly. Avery Dome and Eryn De Jonge each scored twice. In game two, De Jonge hit 2-3 with a double and three RBI. Rachel Laetsch went 3-3 with two RBI and a run, highlighted by a two-run home run.
Emari Evans (1-11) took the game-one loss after allowing nine runs on nine hits, three walks, and three HBPs with one strikeout in three innings. Nicole Eckhardt allowed five unearned runs in 1.2 innings of relief on three hits and two walks while striking out two. Hannah Chambers (1-10) took the loss in game two after allowing six runs (five earned) on eight hits, four walks, and a HBP while striking out one.
Game 1: UIU 14, UMary 4 (5 Inn.)
The Marauders struck first in the top of the first inning thanks to a single, a stolen base, and a two-out, RBI single. Upper Iowa quickly erased its deficit and took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the inning. Frenette and Sar. Jessie led off the inning with a walk and a hit-by-pitch, respectively, before Fitzgerald tied the game with an RBI single. Bridgewater put UIU ahead 2-1 with an RBI single before the end of the inning.
Upper Iowa maintained the momentum in the second inning as
Sophia Heckendorf rounded the bases in the leadoff spot after hitting a triple and coming home on an error. The leadoff run sparked a four-run frame that saw UIU notch three hits and two HBP. Crogan earned an RBI on a HBP, Brockman hit an RBI single, and Bridgewater had an RBI groundout in consecutive at-bats to put the Peacocks up 6-1
UMary added a run in the top of the third thanks to three consecutive one-out singles, but UIU stranded two runners on base. The Peacocks increased their advantage in the fourth as the first three runners scored. Fitzgerald walked before Crogan Crushed a two-run home run, and Brockman hit a round-tripper in the next at-bat to give UIU a 9-2 lead and force a UMary pitching change.
The Marauder pulled within 9-4 in the top of the fifth inning, but the Peacocks responded by loading the bases thanks to an error and two walks. Brockman picked up an RBI sacrifice fly to give Upper Iowa a 10-4 edge, and Bridgewater notched an RBI single in the ensuing at-bat to pull the Peacocks within a run of winning by run rule. Wilcox gave the Peacocks the run they needed and added two more for good measure, hitting a three-run to give UIU a walk-off 14-4 win by run rule.
Game 2: UIU 6, UMary 5
An RBI single from Fitzgerald scored the first UIU run for the second game in a row, this time putting UIU ahead 1-0 through one inning. The lead doubled to 2-0 in the second inning thanks to an unearned run that brought Bridgewater home, but an RBI single from UMary in the third made it a 2-1 ballgame.
In the fifth inning, the Peacocks took a 6-1 lead thanks to four two-out runs on four hits. After a pair of groundouts, Sar. Jessie walked before Fitzgerald and Crogan singled to load the bases. Brockman unloaded the bases with a swing of the bat, racking up three RBI on a double to put UIU up 5-1. Allie Schaffer added to the string of two-out hits with an RBI single in the ensuing at-bat, pushing the lead to 6-1.
The Marauders answered in the bottom of the inning after a fielding error with two outs extended the inning. Rachel Laetsch made the Peacocks pay with a two-run shot in the next-at bat to tack on two unearned runs and pull within 6-3.
Upper Iowa loaded the bases and put four different batters on base in the bottom of the sixth, but a caught stealing and an inning-ending double play kept UIU from adding to their lead. UMary nearly completed a comeback in the top of the seventh after a two-out, two-RBI double made it a 6-5 ballgame with the tying run in scoring position, but Bridgewater made a nice catch on a line out to end the inning and clinch a 6-5 Peacock victory.
Up next, the Peacocks close their regular season campaign with four road doubleheaders. UIU takes on Concordia University, St. Paul at 2/4 p.m. on Tuesday, Apr. 26, before facing Winona State University at 2/4 p.m. on Thursday, Apr. 28. Upper Iowa matches up against Minnesota State University Moorhead at 1/3 p.m. on Saturday, Apr. 30, before closing the season against Northern State University on Sunday, May 1, at 12/2 p.m.
