THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK BASEBALL… Upper Iowa is slated to take the field for five games this week starting with a double header at William Jewell College on Wednesday, Mar. 8 in Liberty, Mo. beginning at 2 p.m. The Peacocks will then head to Kirksville, Mo. on Friday and Saturday for three games on Friday and Saturday, Mar. 10-11. UIU will take on Truman State University in a double header on Friday and then wrap the week up with a single, nine-inning game against the University of Wisconsin-Parkside on Saturday.
LIVE OPTIONS... Both live stats and webcasts will be available for fans that can't make the trip into Missouri. Fans can access the live options through the links above or by going to UIUPeacocks.com/Live on game day.
LAST TIME OUT… Upper Iowa split a double header with Purdue University Northwest in Hammond, Ind. last Sunday afternoon. UIU claimed a 4-1 win in game one, while PNW rallied with a 7-1 victory in game two.
Jarrett Ramer (2-0) scored his second straight win on the hill for Upper Iowa with help from
Austin Shingledecker and
Sam Marhefke, who registered his first save of the season. At the plate,
Ryan Hull posted a hit in each game, while
Jared Hoodjer tallied two hits in the second game.
Colin Lacey (0-2) suffered the loss after allowing three runs on five hits with three strikeouts over his four innings. The UIU bullpen couldn't keep the Pride in check over the final innings of game two, while the offense only managed eight hits on the day, but did get on base with nine walks across the 16 innings.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE PEACOCKS… Upper Iowa is hitting .239 as a team, but has a slugging percentage of .443 and an on-base percentage of .338. The Peacocks have registered 15 doubles, seven home runs, 19 walks and eight hit batsmen. UIU is averaging 5.7 runs per game, while allowing 6.3 runs per game to opponents. The pitching staff has an ERA of 6.55 allowing 32 earned runs in 44 innings with 37 strikeouts and 22 walks. As a team, UIU is fielding at a high level with a .978 percentage with just four errors in their first six games.
LEADERS IN THE DUGOUT… On the mound, Jarrett Ramer leads the team with a 2-0 record in a pair of starts, while Austin Shingledecker and Sam Marhefke have been effective out of the bullpen. Colin Lacey has thrown the most innings (11.0), but has suffered a pair of losses in the early going. At the plate, Alex Greene is hitting .417 with five hits including three doubles, while Ryan Hull is hitting .389 with seven hits including a pair of doubles and a home run. Ethan Sawyer (.350) and JJ Vargas (.313) have also started the season with success at the plate combining for 12 hits including four doubles (two each) and three home runs. Vargas and Samuel Grushkin lead the team in runs batted in with seven and five, respectively, while Bryce Hall has scored a team-high seven runs. Upper Iowa has also been solid on the base paths creating more opportunities with 14 steals in 17 attempts.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS… The William Jewell Cardinals are currently 7-3 and hitting .326 as a team with a slugging percentage of .557 led by Jake Wilcox, who is hitting .488 with 21 hits including six extra-base hits and Jordan Phillips, who is hitting .395 with 15 hits and four extra-base knocks. WJC is averaging 9.5 runs per game including nearly 12 runs a game in their last seven (6-1) against Wayne State College and Bemidji State University.
The Truman State Bulldogs are 7-6 and hitting .263 as a team; although, their top end hitters are excellent. Tal Dean is hitting .478 with 22 hits and 16 RBI, while Grant Beck (.350), Holden Missey (.347), Jack Darwin (.333) and Simon Murray (.313) are all hitting above .300 as well. As a team, the Bulldogs are scoring 7.2 runs per game, but their opponents have hit at a .306 clip and are outscoing TSU slightly with 7.5 runs per game.
The Parkside Rangers are 4-4 coming into the week with a potent offense that is hitting .332, slugging .478, and averaging nearly nine runs per game. Eight players are hitting above .300 for the Rangers including five players above .400 through the early going. Andrew Harris leads the team with a .500 average thanks to nine hits including a pair of doubles, while Jared Heinzen has a team-high 13 hits with three doubles and two triples.
ON THE HORIZON… After this week, Upper Iowa is scheduled to play at home on Wednesday, Mar. 15 against William Jewell again in a nine-inning, non-conference game and then open their Northern Sun Conference schedule with a three-game series against the University of Mary on Saturday and Sunday, Mar. 18-19. Of course, weather will play a huge factor in the schedule as northeast Iowa is set to take on 5-7 inches of snow in the next two days and predicted high temperatures don't go above 37 in the ten-day forecast.
