THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK BASEBALL… Upper Iowa (15-23, 11-16 NSIC) will take on the University of Iowa (29-10, 7-5 Big Ten) in Iowa City in a non-conference game on Tuesday, Apr. 25 at 4 p.m. to open the week. After the clash with the Hawkeyes, the Peacocks will head back west to take on the University of Sioux Falls (10-30, 9-17 NSIC) on Wednesday, Apr. 26 in a Northern Sun Conference double header. UIU is slated to host Winona State University (19-20, 15-9 NSIC) on Saturday and Sunday, Apr. 29-30 in a three-game series. Upper Iowa will honor their large group of seniors after the double header on Saturday.
LIVE OPTIONS... Live stats and live video are available for all six 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 Winona State at
UIUPeacocks.com/Programs. Fans can also stream the games against Sioux Falls and Winona State on the NSIC Network app on their favorite streaming devices for free and the Iowa game on Big Ten Plus with subscription. An audio only option is available for the Hawkeye-Peacock game.
THE THIN LINE BETWEEN… Upper Iowa has lost 10 NSIC games by three runs or less; 2-0 to St. Cloud State University, 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, a pair of two-run losses to Minot State University (9-7 and 7-5), two close losses at Minnesota State University, Mankato (5-2 and 2-1), a 10-8 loss to Wayne State College in the series opener, and a 5-4 loss at Augustana University. During this past week's success, two of UIU's three wins came in close affairs thanks to a 7-6 win in game two against Concordia University, St. Paul and an 11-10 win over Augustana in 15 innings.
CHECKING THE REARVIEW ON LAST WEEK… Upper Iowa averaged nearly seven runs per game last week while posting a 3-2 record thanks to a double header sweep over Concordia-St. Paul and a victory in the series finale against Augustana to move into 10th place in the NSIC standings. UIU registered 46 hits including three doubles, a pair of triples and seven home runs with 23 walks led by
Ryan Hull, who hit .409 for the week with seven runs scored.
Bryce Hall and
Samuel Grushkin each hit .333 in the five games, while
Cael Luzum hit .318 and posted a team-high six RBI along with
Brock Zimmer and
Ethan Sawyer. Several pitchers, five to be precise, had solid weeks with ERAs at or below 3.00 led by
Kyle Hrncir who threw the final four innings of relief with six strikeouts to earn the win in UIU's 15-inning victory.
Sam Marhefke made two appearances going 6.2 innings and grabbing nine strikeouts and an ERA of 1.35.
Jarrett Ramer (2.84),
Keaton Parker (3.00) and
JJ Vargas (3.00) all threw at least six innings on the hill as well.
HISTORY VERSUS THE HAWKEYES… Upper Iowa has posted seven wins in 31 games against the Hawkeyes. Those wins came in 1899 (6-5), 1902 (7-4), 1903 (3-0), 1922 (5-0), 1933 (8-3), 1969 (7-2) and 1970 (5-3). The Peacocks and Hawkeyes last got together in Iowa City in 2014 when Upper Iowa outhit Iowa 14 to 12, but the Hawkeyes came away with an 8-3 win.
VISITING WITH AN OLD FRIEND… When the Peacocks take the field on Tuesday night, they'll see an old friend across from them in the Iowa dugout. Rick Heller, a 1986 graduate of Upper Iowa University, was inducted into the Upper Iowa Athletic Hall of Fame in the coaching category. As an athlete, Heller was a four-year starter at shortstop in baseball and he earned three letters in football as a flanker and two in basketball for a total of nine. In 1987, he returned to Upper Iowa University as head baseball coach and director of residence halls. From 1990 to 1998, Heller was also a member of the Peacock football staff coaching the wide receivers. He spent 12 seasons directing the Peacock baseball program to a 291-194-3 record, three Iowa Conference titles and three league tournament crowns. His team had three regional appearances and earned a berth in the NCAA Division III World Series in 1996. He was named Coach of the Year in 1989, 1993, and 1996 in the Iowa Conference. In 1996, he was named Central Region Coach of the Year and was honored by the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches as the four-year college Coach of the Year in 1993 and 1996. Heller led the Peacocks to 10 straight winning seasons, including five straight 30-win campaigns. He coached 18 All-Region players, three IIAC MVP's and three All-Americans. In 1999, UIU's current Vice President for Athletics Rick Hartzell was the Athletics Director at the University of Northern Iowa, where he hired Heller to take over the Panther baseball program until 2009. After a five-year run as the head coach at Indiana State University (2009-13), Heller was hired as the head coach at the University of Iowa in 2013. He has now won 276 games with the Hawkeyes and 966 in his time as a head coach.
SCOUTING THE HAWKEYES… Iowa is hitting .287 as a team and slugging .466 with 93 doubles, seven triples and 42 home runs. Keaton Anthony (.372), Brennen Dorighi (.326) and Raider Tello (.311) lead the Hawkeye offense that is averaging 8.2 runs per game. Iowa is also aggressive on the bases with 65 stolen bases in 74 attempts. On the mound, starters Brody Brecht (3-2, 3.67 ERA) and Ty Langenberg (4-2, 4.34 ERA), as well as reliever Jack Whitlock (4-0, 0.68 ERA) lead the pitching staff. As a team, the Hawkeyes have posted an ERA of 4.23 this season with 416 strikeouts.
SCOUTING THE COUGARS… The Cougars enter the week on a four-game losing streak against the top two teams in the NSIC. Sioux Falls is hitting .299 as a team with 65 doubles, 13 triples and 31 home runs for a slugging percentage of .444. Brady Klehr (.383), Noah Christensen (.336) and Ben Serie (.333) lead seven players hitting over .300 this season. Serie and Dane Small lead USF with six home runs apiece. Grayson Skinner (2-3, 7.50) leads the arms for USF with 48 innings pitched in nine starts. As a pitching staff, the Cougars have an ERA of 10.08 with 225 strikeouts.
SCOUTING THE WARRIORS… Winona State has won eight of their last 11 games coming into the week. The Warriors are scheduled to play Minnesota State in Mankato on Wednesday. As a team, WSU is hitting .306 with a slugging percentage of .417 thanks to 79 doubles, five triples and 17 home runs. Derek Baumgartner leads the offense with an impressive .402 batting average and an OPS of 1.011 thanks to 16 doubles. Ryland Wall (.388), Kyle Yu (.368), and Steele Beatty (.351) are also having solid seasons at the plate. Justin Firpo (3-2, 5.53 ERA) and Peyton Lee (3-3, 6.91 ERA) lead the pitching staff as starters; as a group, the Warriors have an ERA of 7.21 with 230 strikeouts.
LOOKING AHEAD… After this week, the Peacock have just one NSIC series left on the schedule prior to the postseason. Upper Iowa will travel to Aberdeen, S.D. to take on the Wolves of Northern State University on Saturday and Sunday, May 6-7.
