The Peacocks achieved their first win of the season on Day two of the MSU Invitational as they defeated the Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears 8-6. They ended the tournament with a 4-6 defeat to the Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs, finishing the tourney with a 1-3 record.

Game 1 vs. Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears
Senior Ari Charles singled to right field on the Peacocks first at bat and proceeded to steal second before sophomore Serah Shafer was walked. Senior Laila Pelds hit her first dinger of the season, as her hit sailed past the right center wall, to give Upper Iowa an early 3-0 lead.

Concordia-St. Paul responded with a five run second inning, highlighted by a two RBI single which scored their first two runs of the game, before an error would give the Bears a 3-2 lead. Concordia-St. Paul scored their fourth run of the day on an RBI single and a ground out to second made it a 5-3 game.

With one out at the bottom of the third inning, senior Rae VanMilligan hit UIU's second homer of the game as her hit sailed past the left center wall. Pelds and sophomore Taylor Sedam each got on base with a single, and advanced to second and third base on a wild pitch. With two outs, senior Hannah Bridgewater reached second base on a crucial error, which brought Pelds and Sedam home, giving the Peacocks a 6-5 lead. The Bears were able to tie the game at six a piece atop the fourth inning on an RBI double to center field.

Addyson Alber hit a double to right center to start the fifth inning and Bridgewater reached first on a fielder's choice. Faced with an 0-1 count and two outs, sophomore Elyse Rios hit a double down the left field line, bringing Bridgewater home on the play. A Charles single on the Peacocks next at bat brought Rios home as well, which gave the Peacocks an 8-6 lead.

Senior Delaney Vetter came up clutch in the sixth and seventh inning, as she didn't allow a hit which secured the 8-6 victory for the Peacocks.

Game 2 vs. Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs
The Peacocks built on their momentum from their opening game victory, and quickly took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Shafer singled up the middle and proceeded to steal second base. VanMilligan hit an RBI single to center field, as Shafer scored on the play.

The Mustangs put together a two run second inning where both runs were scored on singles up the middle. The Peacocks matched the score at two a piece in the bottom of the third inning. Charles opened the inning with a double to center field and was able to advance to third with one out. VanMilligan launched a pop fly towards right field which was caught. But her hit brought Charles home to tie the game.

The Mustangs hit three consecutive ground outs in the fourth inning, but were able to push their lead to two at the top of the fifth. SMSU's third run of the game came on a Peacock error before they successfully stole home to make it a 4-2 game. The Peacocks would successfully tie the game once again in the bottom of the fifth as they started the inning at the top of the order. Charles singled to left and Shafer reached first on a fielder's choice. Once she got on base, Shafer successfully stole second for the second time in the game, and proceeded to steal third and home to score the Peacocks third run. VanMilligan was walked later in the inning and would score UIU's fourth run of the game on a throwing error at third base.

Southwest Minnesota State had a great seventh inning where they scored the final two runs of the game. The Mustangs took a 5-4 lead with no outs on an RBI single down the middle. They recorded another RBI single to the shortstop, which would ice the game and secure a 6-4 victory for SMSU.

The Peacocks will travel to Sioux Center, Iowa to compete in consecutive double headers. UIU faces St. Cloud State on Sunday, Feb. 18 at 6 and 8 p.m. and Winona State on Monday, Feb. 19 at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.