THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK BASEBALL… Upper Iowa will host five more Northern Sun Conference games this week at Robertson Woods Field in Fayette. The Peacocks welcome the Huskies of St. Cloud State University on Tuesday for a double header beginning at 12 p.m. UIU and SCSU were originally slated to get together on Wednesday, but the games were moved up a day due to predicted low temperatures. Upper Iowa will then be the visitors on their own field for the second weekend in a row as the Peacocks and Mustangs of Southwest Minnesota State University have decided to bring their series south to Fayette due to snow coverage in southern Minnesota. The teams will line up for a pair of games on Saturday and then one final contest on Sunday to close the three-game series.
LIVE OPTIONS... Both live stats and live video are available for all five games for fans who can't make it to Fayette. Fans can access the live options through the links above or by going to
UIUPeacocks.com/Live on game day. Digital gameday programs will also be available for all three days at
UIUPeacocks.com/Programs. Fans can also stream the games through the NSIC Network app on their favorite streaming devices.
ABOUT THE PEACOCKS… Upper Iowa comes into the week having won five straight games thanks to a victory over the University of Mary and a pair of double header sweeps against Bemidji State University and the University of Minnesota Duluth. The Peacocks have scored 48 runs over the last five outings with 50 hits including five doubles, a pair of triples and nine home runs. For the season, Upper Iowa is hitting .274 and slugging .475 with 33 doubles, a pair of triples and 24 home runs (4
th NSIC). UIU is also 34-41 on stolen base attempts (4
th NSIC) led by centerfielder
Ryan Hull, who has swiped 11 in 12 tries.
Ethan Sawyer leads the team in batting average at .382 after seven hits last Saturday against UMD; the Peacock second baseman is slugging .618 and has driven in a team-high 20 baserunners.
Cael Luzum (.339),
Ryan Hull (.333), and
Justin Baehler (.323) are all hitting above .300 as well, while
JJ Vargas is slugging .661 and has 16 RBI thanks to team-highs in doubles (6) and home runs (5). The UIU pitchers have posted a 6.56 ERA allowing 97 earned runs in 133 innings.
Jarrett Ramer moved to 3-0 with a victory over UMD, while
Colin Lacey is 2-2 in his four starts.
Austin Shingledecker and
Sam Marhefke have been great out of the bullpen for the Peacocks. Shingledecker has a 2-1 record with two saves and an ERA of 2.12 and 21 strikeouts in 17 innings, while Marhefke has four saves in his nine appearances and 14 strikeouts in his 14.2 innings.
Keaton Parker scored his first win of the year over UMD, while
Kyle Hrncir is coming off his first collegiate win with a victory over UMary.
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES... St. Cloud State comes into Tuesday's double dip with a record of 12-8 overall and 4-1 in conference play. The Huskies have won eight of their last nine games including a double header sweep over SMSU (6-3/4-1) and two-of-three from Augustana University. SCSU defeated Augie 1-0 in the first game in 10 innings before grabbing an 8-3 win in game two. The Vikings took the last game of the series 5-2 to snap the Huskies eight-game win streak. As a team, SCSU is hitting .328 and slugging .496 with 51 doubles, seven triples and 16 home runs through 20 games. John Nett and Drew Beier lead the offense with averages of .453 and .405, respectively, while six other players that see the field regularly are all hitting better than .300. Nett is slugging .733 with 10 doubles, a triple and three long balls. On the mound, the Huskies have a team ERA of 5.08 with 158 strikeouts in 159.1 innings. Sam Riola is off to a great start with a 1-1 record and a 3.60 ERA in four starts and 25.0 innings on the hill with 31 punchouts.
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS… SMSU opens the week with an 11-7 record overall and a 3-5 mark in the NSIC. After dropping their opening five games in the Northern Sun to Augustana and St. Cloud State, the Mustangs claimed three victories at Wayne State College by scores of 5-3, 10-3 and 4-1. SMSU will play a double header against the University of Sioux Falls on Wednesday in Sioux City, Iowa before heading to Fayette for the weekend games. As a team, SMSU is hitting .304 and slugging .444 with 35 doubles, nine triples and 11 home runs while averaging 7.2 runs per game. Keenan Wenzel (.400), Peyton Nash (.385), Chase McDaniel (.347) and Isaac Nett (.328) lead the offense and have combined for 78 hits between them. Owen Latendresse has the team-high in RBI with 21, while Jaxon Haase has driven in 18. The Mustangs have posted a team ERA of 4.93 allowing just 82 earned runs over their 149.2 innings aided by 158 strikeouts. Their top three starters have all thrown for more than 20 innings this season with four starts apiece accounting for 64.1 of the team's 149.2 innings. Kolby Kiser holds the strikeout lead on the team with 36 in his 20.2 innings.
LOOKING AHEAD… Upper Iowa is scheduled to head to Crookston, Minn. for a pair of games against the Golden Eagles of the University of Minnesota Crookston on Tuesday, Apr. 4. UIU will return to Fayette for a three-game series with the Beavers of Minot State University on Friday and Saturday, Apr. 7-8 ahead of the Easter holiday.
