THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK SOFTBALL… Upper Iowa is headed to the state of Minnesota for three double headers against Minnesota State, Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud. They start off in Mankato, Minn. for two games scheduled on Tuesday, April 11 at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. The Peacocks travel to Duluth, Minn. on Saturday, April 15 for two contests at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. They round out their week of action on Sunday in St. Cloud, Minn. with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
 
FOLLOWING THE ACTION... Live stats and webcasts for all games will be available through the links at UIUPeacocks.com/Live and included with this story. The games will also stream live on the new NSIC Network app through Roku and Fire devices, and Apple and Android TV. Search for "NSIC Network" to find the app on your relevant device. Additionally, The @UIU_Softball Twitter account will have gameday updates before, during, and after the games as the team will be live-Tweeting the action.
 
PEACOCK HUE REVIEW… The Peacocks welcomed three different conference foes to Fayette last week: Wayne State, Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State.  UIU began their week going head-to-head with Wayne State, dropping to them in a 15-9 decision. They had originally scheduled a doubleheader for that day, but dropping temperatures resulted in cancellation of game two. The Peacocks quickly turned their week around as they picked up two wins against Minnesota Crookston, earning their first conference sweep of the season. In the first game versus the Golden Eagles, the Peacocks were forced to execute their offense as Taylor Sedam rose to the occasion and smacked a walk-off homerun over the left field fence, bringing in two runs and sealing the 6-5 victory. They went on to win the second game 8-2. Upper Iowa softball closed up a week full of games in proper style, with a win. They hosted Bemidji State University and earned themselves a split, dropping the first game 5-1 and then regrouping to pick up game two, 6-4.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS… Within conference competition, there are several statistics to take note of. As a team, the Peacocks are third in the NSIC in batting average with .307 behind MSU Moorhead (.332) and Augustana (.340). Individually, Laila Pelds is leading the NSIC for batting average, as she is hitting .430 with 40 hits, including two home runs and four doubles. She is also fifth in on-base percentage, registering .485. Ari Charles and Pelds are tied for fifth in hits with 40 apiece. Charles continues to remain in the top spot for stolen bases as she has recorded 27 on the season so far.  Pitcher Delaney Vetter is fifth in the conference for strikeouts, as she has tallied 70 so far in NSIC play. 
 
HOME RUN HEROICS… The Peacocks are undoubtedly unafraid of high-pressure situations, as two of their wins last week stemmed from "last chance" opportunities at the plate when they were in dire need of hits. Not only were hits produced, but the Peacocks ended up cracking two long-balls to propel them to victories. With two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning against Minnesota Crookston, Sedam stepped up to the plate and smacked a walk-off homerun over the left field fence, bringing in two runs and sealing the 6-5 victory. The home run heroics repeated themselves later that week against Bemidji State. With the second game tied at four runs apiece, Rae Van Milligan ripped a two-run shot over the left field fence to put the Peacocks ahead by two runs. They executed three outs in the top of the seventh and ended their week on a high note. 
 
SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS… The Mavericks have a record of 18-12 for the season and 7-5 in the conference. Most recently, they picked up two wins against St. Cloud (7-2), (5-4) and split with Minnesota Duluth after dropping the first game 3-1 and picking up the second 3-0. Their infielder, Cheyenne Behrends was named NSIC Player of the Week on Monday after going 9-for-16 in last week's contests, including four doubles and two home runs. Minnesota State is second in the NSIC for pitching statistics with an ERA of 2.22. 
 
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS… The Bulldogs are third overall in the NSIC with a record of 24-7 and a 10-2 conference mark. One of their conference losses came from their last doubleheader against Minnesota State. They picked up the first game 3-1, but couldn't hold out as they dropped the second game 3-0. Their only other conference loss is to St. Cloud State. UMD's pitcher, Lauren Dixon, was just recently named NSIC Pitcher of the Week. In her team's latest outings, she only allowed 11 hits and one earned run over the spread of three games. Dixon amassed 30 strikeouts in those outings. 
 
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES… The Huskies are 21-14 on the season and 6-4 in the NSIC. They are on a two-game win streak after defeating Concordia-St. Paul 4-3 and 10-3. They are fourth in the NSIC in pitching with a combined ERA of 3.06 and batting with a team average of .306. Sydney Trees leads their team with a batting average of .373 with three home runs and seven doubles on the year. 
 
DOWN THE STRETCH… Coming up, the Peacocks are back at home for one contest before traveling to North Dakota for the weekend. They host Augustana University at the Eischeid Softball Complex on Wednesday, April 19 for games at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. UIU travels to the University of Mary on Saturday, April 22 and Minot State on Sunday, April 23, both days are scheduled for a doubleheader at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.