THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK BASEBALL… Upper Iowa is back on the diamond at Robertson Woods Field in Fayette this weekend with three games against the Beavers of Minot State University on Friday and Saturday, Apr. 7-8. The Peacocks (10-15, 6-8 NSIC) have played 14 straight games on their home field, but UIU was the road team in the game in seven of the contests after weather up north forced site reversals to Fayette. The Beavers and Peacocks will meet for a pair of games on Friday afternoon at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. and then get together for a series finale at 12 p.m. on Saturday.
LIVE OPTIONS... Both live stats and live video are available for the three-game series 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 has dropped six of their last seven after a five-game win streak heading into their weekend series with Minot State. The Peacocks win came in a 6-2 victory over St. Cloud State University, while the losing skid includes losses of 2-0 to SCSU, a pair of 3-2 losses to Southwest Minnesota State University with one coming in extra innings and a 6-5 loss to the University of Minnesota Crookston.
Ethan Sawyer leads the offense with a .323 batting average and a team-high 30 hits and 21 RBI.
Ryan Hull (.291),
Alex Greene (.289),
Justin Baehler (.289) and
Victor Plaz (.275) have found success in the batter's box as well.
JJ Vargas holds a team-high .606 slugging percentage thanks to his team high seven doubles and six home runs, while
Samuel Grushkin hit two long balls on Tuesday against Minnesota Crookston and now has four on the season.
Brock Zimmer is one of the hottest Peacock hitters of late; the freshman has tallied eight hits in the last seven games. Pitching has been the key for Upper Iowa behind starters
Jarrett Ramer (3-0, 26.1 IP, 6.15 ERA, 16 Ks),
Kyle Hrncir (2-2, 24.2 IP, 4.74 ERA, 24 Ks) and
Colin Lacey (2-4, 34 IP, 6.35 ERA, 24 Ks).
Austin Shingledecker (2-2, 2 Saves, 19.1 IP, 3.72 ERA, 21 Ks) and
Sam Marhefke (0-1, 5 Saves, 20.1 IP, 3.98 ERA, 22 Ks) have been huge for UIU coming out of the bullpen as well. As a team, the Peacocks have a staff ERA of 6.90 in 184 innings with 159 strikeouts opposed to 118 walks and 19 hit batters.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS (courtesy of MiSU Media Relations)... Minot State is 16-9 overall and 7-6 in the Northern Sun Conference including a recent slide with just two wins in their last seven games. The Beavers are led by their balanced from an offense led by
Mark Ossanna, who is sixth in the NSIC hitting .398 with 9 home runs and 24 RBIs, while
Brent Riddle is hitting .373, has 7 homers, and is sixth in the NSIC in RBIs with 31, and
Derek Kay is batting .363 with 7 homers and is eighth in the league with 29 RBIs. On the mound, the Minot State pitching staff continues to depend on depth as well with
Bryant Bagshaw leading the way with a 2.73 ERA, third-best in the NSIC, 5 wins, and opponents are hitting just .188 against him.
Trevyn Badger has been equally tough on opposing hitters allowing just a .198 average, and has a 4.28 ERA, and
Craig Schmich has a 5.02 ERA and foes hit just .273 against him. Both Badger and Schmich also have 2 wins each and share the team lead with 33 strikeouts.
LOOKING AHEAD… Upper Iowa is scheduled to play away from Fayette and Robertson Woods Field next Wednesday, Apr. 12 when they travel to Minnesota State University, Mankato for a Northern Sun Conference double header in Mankato, Minn. UIU has played every game at home since Mar. 15 including 17 straight conference games in Fayette due to weather in Minnesota that forced site reversals. The Peacocks will return to Fayette for the weekend three-game series with Wayne State College on Saturday and Sunday, Apr. 15 and 16.
