Upper Iowa softball opened their 2022 NSIC Tournament with a 3-2 win over Wayne State College. The Peacocks pitched a shutout through 6.1 innings before staving off a late rally to clinch their first NSIC Tournament victory since winning the 2016 NSIC Championship. In their second game, the Peacocks fell 8-0 (5 Inn.) and were no-hit by No. 14 Minnesota State University, Mankato. Securing a win meant UIU advanced and will play a second day at the double-elimination tournament.

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Game 1: UIU 3, WSC 2
Sydney Wilcox (12-15) earned the complete game win in game one. She pitched 6.1 shutout innings before giving up a pair of runs (one earned) in the top of the seventh. Wilcox allowed seven hits, struck out five, hit two batters, and walked one.

Sophia Heckendorf notched a game-high three hits in three at-bats. Hannah Bridgewater went 2-3 with a run and an RBI. Sara Jessie and Katie Crogan came around to score, while Calista Brockman and Ari Charles notched UIU's other RBI.

Kim Vidlak went 1-4 and accounted for the Wayne State offense with a two-RBI hit in the seventh inning. Nine Wildcats were left on the bases compared to five Peacocks.

Hadley Chvatal (2-18) took the loss after allowing two runs on five hits, two walks, and a HBP in four innings while striking out one. Samantha Felt allowed one run on two hits and a walk in two innings of relief.

The teams had a feeling-out period in the early goings as Wayne State left three runners on base over the first two innings and Upper Iowa left the bases loaded in the bottom of the second.

Sydney Wilcox and the Peacock defense sat the Wildcats down in order in the top of the third, and the Peacock offense used some two-out hitting to take a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the frame. Sara Jessie got hit by a pitch before a two-out single from Katie Crogan, and Calista Brockman smacked an RBI double to put the first run on the scoreboard. Hannah Bridgewater beat out an infield single in the ensuing at-bat to earn an RBI and double the UIU lead to 2-0 before the inning's end.

Wilcox and the Peacock defense maintained UIU's control of the game by stranding two Wildcats in the fourth, one in the fifth, and two in the sixth. Upper Iowa's offense loaded the bases before their first out, thanks to singles from Bridgewater and Sophia Heckendorf and a Samantha Jessie walk. Ari Charles notched an RBI on a groundout to put UIU ahead 3-0, but WSC turned a double play in the ensuing at-bat by throwing Heckendorf out at home after a groundout to end the inning.

Wayne State quickly put a runner in scoring position in the top of the seventh after reaching base and advancing to second on a throwing error. A single in the next at-bat put runners on the corners with no outs. WSC's Kim Vidlak hit a one-out, two-RBI single to put the Wildcats on the board and cut the UIU lead to 3-2. Wilcox and the Peacocks stranded the tying run in scoring position with a strikeout and a groundout to clinch the 3-2 tournament victory.

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Game 2: #14 MSU 8, UIU 0 (5 Inn.)
Sara Jessie (HBP in 1st) and Katie Crogan (BB in 4th) were the only Peacocks to reach base as MSU's Mackenzie Ward threw a no-hitter. Ward (28-3), the NSIC Pitcher of the Year, finished with nine strikeouts, one walk, and one HBP.

Rylee McGonigle (6-6) took the loss after allowing three runs on five hits with a strikeout in 1.1 innings. Abby Buckman allowed five runs (three earned) on eight hits and two walks in 3.1 innings of relief.

Sydney Nielsen led MSU with three RBI on a 2-3 clip. Ellie Tallman (two runs) and Madi Newman (one run, two doubles) were each 3-4. No. 9 hitter Sydney Nelson hit a home run while No. 3 hitter Cheyenne Behrends added two RBI.

The No. 14 Mavericks struck first in game two, scoring two runs on three singles and two steals in the bottom of the first before the inning's first out. MSU finished with four first-inning hits, but Rylee McGonigle and the UIU defense stranded two Mavericks on the bases to end the inning with a 2-0 deficit.

After Mackenzie Ward struck out the UIU side of the second, Sydney Nelson added a run with one swing of the bat to put MSU ahead 3-0 on a one-out home run and force a Peacock pitching change. Abby Buckman allowed a double off the centerfield fence before a fly out to the warning track ended the inning.
Minnesota State loaded the bases and scored two runs before the first out of the third inning thanks to a walk, a single, an error, and a two-RBI single. MSU loaded the bases again with two outs, but Buckman and the Peacock defense got out of the jam to stay within 5-0.

After UIU left a walked batter on base, a walk, an error, an RBI groundout, and an RBI single made it a 7-0 ballgame through the fourth inning. Ward struck out the side in the top of the fifth to clinch a no-hitter, and Minnesota State clinched an 8-0 win by run rule in the bottom of the fifth thanks to a two-out single.

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Up next, the Peacocks will play the #9-seeded University of Sioux Falls. Upper Iowa will take the field at 10 a.m. in Rochester, Minn. on Friday, May 6, for their second day at the double-elimination NSIC Tournament. Should UIU win on Friday morning, the Peacocks would play again at 2 p.m. on May 6.

Upper Iowa is 9-10 overall and has won four straight in the all-time series against Sioux Falls, including a 9-3 win in their lone matchup this season before a rainout canceled game two. The Peacocks opened their NSIC schedule against the Cougars on Apr. 3 and earned the win on their home field. UIU jumped out to a 9-0 lead through four innings before three late USF scores made it a 9-3 final.

In the earlier matchup, the Peacocks hit .345 as a team with ten hits, compared to a .250 mark on seven hits for the Cougars. Sar. Jessie, Amelia Fitzgerald, Crogan, and Charles each notched two hits. Crogan led the offensive output with a 2-3 (.667) clip, three RBI, one run, one home run, and one walk. Brockman and Charles tallied two RBI apiece, while Kaylee Frenette and Sar. Jessie each scored twice.

Buckman earned the win for Upper Iowa after allowing one earned run and three scores in 6.0 innings. The sophomore allowed seven hits and walked one, and the UIU defense recorded all 21 putouts.

Leadoff batter Lexie Swift led USF with two RBI thanks to her two-run homer, while Reese Holzhueter notched the other Cougar RBI. Hanna Cress picked up the loss after allowing six earned runs and seven total scores in one inning. Bailee Lampman allowed one earned run, six hits, and two walks with two strikeouts in 5.0 innings of work.