THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK BASEBALL… Upper Iowa (11-17, 7-10 NSIC) is on the road for the first time since Mar. 15 after 17-straight games at home; the Peacocks will play a mid-week double header at Minnesota State University, Mankato (22-7, 12-2 NSIC) on Wednesday, Apr. 12 at 1:30 p.m. UIU will return home for a three-game series against Wayne State College (14-15, 8-7 NSIC) on Friday and Saturday, Apr. 14-15. The WSC series moved up a day to avoid weather forecasted for late Saturday into Sunday. The Peacocks and Wildcats will get together for a pair of games on Friday and one on Saturday; first pitch for both days is scheduled for 12 p.m.
LIVE OPTIONS... Both live stats and live video are available for all five games this week. 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 the home games versus Wayne State at
UIUPeacocks.com/Programs. Fans can also stream the games through the NSIC Network app on their favorite streaming devices.
THE THIN LINE BETWEEN… Upper Iowa has dropped eight of their last ten conference games after a five-game win streak that included wins of the University of Mary, Bemidji State University and the University of Minnesota Duluth. The Peacocks two wins came against St. Cloud State University (6-2) and Minot State University (10-7), while the losing skid includes six losses by two runs or less; 2-0 to SCSU, a pair of 3-2 losses to Southwest Minnesota State University with one coming in extra innings, a 6-5 loss to the University of Minnesota Crookston and a pair of two-run losses to Minot State (9-7 and 7-5).
PUTTING THE NSIC GAMES UNDER THE MICROSCOPE… In NSIC games,
Justin Baehler has a batting average of .370 with an OPS of 1.041 thanks to 10 hits including a pair of doubles and a homer, as well as six walks.
Ethan Sawyer is hitting .333 with 22 hits in NSIC play and is second on the team in RBIs with 10, while
Ryan Hull has driven in a team-high 14 Peacocks during UIU's 17 NSIC games.
Kyle Hrncir has a 2-1 record with an ERA of 2.28 (6
th NSIC) and 21 strikeouts in 23.2 innings, while
Colin Lacey is 1-2 with an ERA of 4.32 against the NSIC in 16.2 innings.
UIU SEASON LEADERS… Sawyer leads the team in hitting with a .340 average thanks a team-high 35 hits including six doubles and four home runs; the sophomore infielder leads the club in run production having driven in 24 runs.
Ryan Hull is coming off a good week that saw his average improve to .303 with 27 hits and a second-best 21 RBI.
Bryce Hall has 21 hits and 21 walks to go along with five hit batsmen to post an on-base percentage of .443.
Sam Marhefke (0-1, 3.91 ERA) has six saves on the season to lead UIU's effort out of the bullpen, while
Austin Shingledecker (2-2, 4.03 ERA) has two saves as well; the pair have combined for 45 strikeouts in 45.1 innings.
Jarrett Ramer (3-1),
Kyle Hrncir (2-3),
Colin Lacey (2-4) and
Keaton Parker (2-3) continue to give the Peacocks solid starts and have all been on the mound for more than 28 innings apiece this year.
SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS… The Mavericks come into the Wednesday double header with a 12-2 mark in NSIC games and sit in first place in the conference. MSU had won five straight games against NSIC opponents prior to a non-conference loss to Gustavus Adolphus College on Monday. Minnesota State's two losses in the conference play have come to the UMary and Minot State. As a team, MSU is hitting .279 with an OPS of .838. The team is averaging 7.8 runs per game while holding their opponents to just 4.1 runs per game. Matthew Fleischhacker (.321), Jackson Hauge (.313) and Aidan Byrne (.305) lead the team at the plate, while Hauge holds the team lead in slugging percentage (.596) thanks to four doubles, six triples and four home runs. The team is also a terror on the base paths with 53 steals in 60 tries. On the mound, a trio of pitchers have led the starting rotation and all have solid ERAs with over 34 innings pitched. The Maverick pitchers pound the strike zone and have recorded 248 strikeouts to just 62 walks this season; an insane ratio of 4:1.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS… The Wildcats enter the week riding a six-game win streak in the conference thanks to a win of the UMary, a double header sweep of the Minnesota Duluth and a three-game sweep of Bemidji State. Wayne State faces Minot State on Wednesday before heading to Fayette for the series at Robertson Woods Field. The early NSIC losses for WSC came against Minnesota Crookston, Southwest Minnesota State and UMary. The Wildcats are hitting .280 as a team this year with an OPS of .817 and are scoring 6.2 runs per game while allowing 7.4 runs a contest. Carter Thomas (.389), Quinn McCafferty (.361) and Colin Lynam (.359) lead the team at the plate with a combined 109 hits including 25 doubles, six triples and 10 home runs between the trio. Several of the team's wins have come with relief pitchers on the mound including a 3-1 record for Josh Kilzer, who has appeared in 10 games as a reliever with 23.2 innings. Opponents are batting .311 against the Wildcat pitchers who have struck out 196 and walked 133 batters.
LOOKING AHEAD… Next week, the Peacocks will host Concordia University, St. Paul on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. for a pair of NSIC games and then head to Augustana University for a three-game series in Sioux Falls, S.D. UIU is set to close April with a busy week including a non-conference game at the University of Iowa on Apr. 25 at 4 p.m., a double header at the University of Sioux Falls in South Dakota on Apr. 26, and a three-game series at home against Winona State University on Apr. 29-30.
