The Upper Iowa softball team split its season's penultimate doubleheader on the road against Minnesota State University Moorhead. The Peacocks waltzed to a 14-3 win in five innings in game one after an 11-run, seven-walk third frame. In game two, the Peacocks took a lead in the seventh before the Dragons hit a walk-off home run to win 5-3. UIU moves to a 22-25 (13-14 NSIC) record, while MSUM moves to 8-34 (5-21 NSIC).

UIU scored 14 runs on just seven hits in game one, thanks largely to a season-high nine walks. Kaylee Frenette led the way with three walks in the leadoff spot and scored three runs. Katie Crogan and Amelia Fitzgerald tallied three RBI apiece, while Sara Jessie and Ari Charles notched two. Fitzgerald was 2-3 with a double and a run, while Crogan was 1-3 with two runs, a home run, and a walk.

Hannah Bridgewater paced the Peacocks in game two, with two hits and two runs. Sydney Wilcox hit 1-2 with a two-run home run and a sacrifice bunt.

Wilcox (11-14) earned the game-one win after allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits, three walks, and a wild pitch. Rylee McGonigle (5-5) took the game-two loss after allowing five runs (three earned) on seven hits. She struck out three, walked none, and had a wild pitch.

Avery Steffen was the hero for MSUM in game two, hitting 3-4 with three RBI. She also came around to score once on her two-run, walk-off home run. In game one, Jordey Smith led the Dragons with two hits in three at-bats and scored a run.

In game one, Emma Abbott (0-6) took the loss after allowing six runs (one earned) on two hits, four walks, a wild pitch, a hit-by-pitch, and a strikeout in 2.0 innings. Reece Dahl pitched three innings of relief, allowing eight earned runs on five hits, five walks, two wild pitches, and a HBP while striking out two. Evey Evans (3-5) won game two after pitching five innings of relief, allowing one run on five hits and two walks. Starter Anna Lang pitched two innings of two-run, two-hit softball.

Game 1: UIU 14, MSUM 3 (5 Inn.)
The Peacocks scored first in the top of the first inning after coming around to score before their first hit. Kaylee Frenette worked a leadoff walk before stealing second and getting to third on a wild pitch, and Sara Jessie notched an RBI groundout to put UIU ahead 1-0.

MSUM answered with a run in the bottom of the first to tie the score at 1-1, thanks to a pair of two-out hits. The Dragons took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the second after an RBI and a throwing error allowed two runs to come home before an inning-ending double play. 

Upper Iowa flipped the script and took a commanding 12-3 lead in the top of the third thanks to 11 runs on just two hits. The Peacocks worked walks in seven at-bats and got plunked twice, and a pair of runs came across on two wild pitches.

UIU added a run on three singles in the fourth, capped off by an RBI single from Ari Charles. In the fifth inning, Katie Crogan put the cherry on top of a 14-3, five-inning win with a solo home run before Sydney Wilcox and the Peacock defense clinched the game-one win.

Game 2: MSUM 5, UIU 3
The Peacocks took a 2-0 lead in the second inning of game two thanks to a two-out, two-run home run from Wilcox after a two-out single from Hannah Bridgewater.

The Dragons responded with a run in the bottom of the third, making it a 2-1 game thanks to an unearned run after reaching on an error with two outs and hitting an RBI single.

The next run came in the sixth innings after MSUM hit a two-out double before reaching on an error and scoring in the ensuing at-bat, tying the game at 2-2 with another unearned run.

Upper Iowa put the first two runners on in the top of the seventh before a sacrifice bunt moved them into scoring position. MSUM threw a UIU runner out at home in the ensuing at-bat for the second out, but Ari Charles came up with a go-ahead RBI single to put the Peacocks up 3-2 before the end of the inning.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Dragons put runners on second and third with one out after a pair of singles sandwiched a sacrifice bunt. MSUM tied the game on a steal of home, and a two-out, walk-off home run gave the home team a 5-3 win.

Up next, the Peacocks close their 2022 regular season campaign with a doubleheader against Northern State University (11-37, 3-23 NSIC) on Monday, May 2, at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. in Aberdeen, S.D. Upper Iowa will then play in the 2022 NSIC Tournament in Rochester, Minn., which begins on Thursday, May 5.