THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK BASEBALL… Upper Iowa is on the road this week with five games on the slate. The Peacocks will take on the No. 22 Vikings of Augustana University on Wednesday in a double header and then line up against the No. 19 Mavericks of Minnesota State University, Mankato on Saturday and Sunday in a three-game series. The Peacocks (9-24, 7-14 NSIC) head into the week in 13^th place in the Northern Sun Conference standings, while No. 22 Vikings (34-7-1, 24-4 NSIC) are in second place behind the No. 19 Mavericks (27-5, 20-3 NSIC), who are in first place by .013 percentage points.
 
LIVE OPTIONS… Fans that can't make it to Sioux Falls, S.D. or Mankato, Minn. for the games can follow along with a couple of live options. Live stats and a webcast will be provided for all five games. Fans can follow the links above or visit UIUPeacocks.com/Live on gameday to access the live options.
 
CHECKING THE REARVIEW… Last week, the Peacocks posted a 1-3 record at home in four games against the University of Sioux Falls and Winona State University. UIU split with the Cougars on Tuesday, 4-3/6-7, before falling in a pair of tight decisions to the Warriors, 4-5/4-6. Cael Luzum and Samuel Grushkin led the Peacocks at the plate combining for 11 of the team's 29 hits in the four games. Grushkin's five hits included a double and three home runs including two that were game-tying shots. The Peacock third baseman also walked three times and was hit by a pitch for an on-base percentage of .563. Despite the production of Grushkin and Luzum, the team hit .240 in the four games. On the mound, the Peacocks posted an ERA of 4.50 in 34 innings and five pitchers were not charged with an earned run led by Colin Lacey, who threw six innings with a no-decision in the team's win over Sioux Falls. Reliever Sam Marhefke posted a 2.70 ERA in three appearances and 6.2 innings, but was saddled with a 1-2 record.
 
THE THIN LINE BETWEEN WINNING AND LOSING… The Peacocks are now 3-13 in games decided by two runs or less this season including an 0-7 mark in two-run decisions. The 3-6 record in one-run games includes wins over Rockhurst University (5-4), the University of Mary (6-5) and Sioux Falls (4-3). UIU has lost one-run contests at the University of Missouri-St Louis (4-3), at William Jewell College (7-6), at home to Northern State University (3-2), at St. Cloud State University (3-2) and on Tuesday at home to Sioux Falls (7-6) and Sunday at home to Winona State (5-4).
 
STACKING UP THE PEACOCK TEAM STATS… Upper Iowa is hitting .257 as a team this season with a .356 slugging percentage and a .348 on-base percentage, which rank 10^th, 12^th and 12^th, respectively, in the Northern Sun. UIU has been issued the fewest walks in the conference earning a free pass just 86 times this year. The Peacocks do rank sixth in the NSIC in stolen bases with 63 on the year on the way to doubling their total from a season ago. UIU's ERA of 5.36 is ranked 10^th in the conference, while their 172 walks are third-most and 275 strikeouts are ninth-best. The UIU pitchers have allowed the 12^th-fewest hits in the league at 324. Upper Iowa's defense ranks sixth in fielding percentage at .963 with the ninth-fewest errors (49).
 
SCOUTING THE NO. 22 VIKINGS… Augustana heads into the week on a six-game win streak after grabbing a 6-4 win in the final game against Wayne State College and then sweeping Winona State in a double header and Concordia University, St. Paul in a three-game series. In their last four games, the Vikings offense has put 42 runs on the scoreboard, while the pitching staff and defense has only allowed six runs. Carter Howell leads the team with a .400 batting average and Will Olson follows closely behind with a .385 average. Howell has 60 hits including eight doubles, a pair of triples and 10 home runs, while Olson's 50 hits including nine doubles and nine homers. As a team, Augie is hitting .316 at the plate and slugging .490. Tanner Brown leads the pitching staff with a 6-0 record and a 1.58 ERA, with Ryan Jares, Caleb Saari and Seth Miller all have five wins on the mound. As a team, the Vikings have recorded a 2.81 ERA as a staff in 336.2 innings and hold opponents to a .200 batting average.
 
SCOUTING THE NO. 19 MAVERICKS… The Mavericks are moving into the week on a seven-game win streak and will play Sioux Falls on Wednesday. Minnesota State has posted three straight sweeps over the University of Minnesota Crookston, Winona State and Concordia-St. Paul to move into first place in the NSIC standings. MSU has scored 64 runs during their seven-game streak while only allowing 18 opponents to touch home plate. Minnesota State is hitting .330 as a team and slugging .522 led by Nick Altermatt and his .405 batting average and .802 slugging percentage. Altermatt has 47 hits including 14 doubles, a triple and 10 home runs. Seven more Mavericks have batting averages above .300 including five with averages above .340. On the hill, Altermatt is equally impressive carrying a 7-0 record in seven starts with an ERA of 2.19 and 50 strikeouts in 37 innings. Brendan Knoll (6-1) and Cam Kline (5-0) have been great on the mound as well leading the Maverick staff to a team ERA of 2.70 and 318 strikeouts in 260 innings.
 
UP NEXT… The Peacocks will close out the regular season next week with a final double header on the road at Concordia-St. Paul on Tuesday, May 3, and a three-game series at home against Wayne State on Friday and Saturday, May 6-7. Upper Iowa will recognize and honor a big group of seniors during the series with the Wildcats at Robertson Woods Field.