THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK BASEBALL
Upper Iowa baseball is headed to Liberty, Mo. this weekend to take on William Jewell in a three-game series Feb. 23-24. A double header will be played on Sunday at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., followed by a single-game contest on Monday at 1 p.m.
 
LIVE OPTIONS
Fans can stay connected to the games this weekend with live stats and a webcast at the links attached to this story or every day at UIUPeacocks.com/Live. The live stream will be available on the GLVCSN and can be accessed on any Apple or smart device on the GLVCSN app. 
 
RECAP OF THE LAST ACTION
UIU picked up one win in their season's first outing against Rogers State. The Peacocks dropped the first two contests (10-6, 16-8) before rallying in game three for the 7-6 victory. In their one-run win, Gunnar Wicklund, Gabe Bombardier and Jared Hoodjer had home runs, while Ethan Sawyer notched three hits. 
 
The game was captured for the Peacocks as Bombardier's home run in the 10^th inning sealed the win. 
 
GLVC PRESEASON POLL
Upper Iowa was voted 14^th in the GLVC Preseason Coaches' Poll after accumulating 37 votes. Indianapolis was voted in the preseason coaches' poll to win the 2025 Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) baseball championship.
 
Trailing behind the Greyhounds to round out the top five were Maryville (174 votes), Quincy (164 votes), Drury (156) and Missouri-St. Louis (141).
 
Rounding out the poll respectively in fifth through 15^th was Missouri-St. Louis (141 points), University of Illinois Springfield (124), Lewis (123), Rockhurst (107), William Jewell (99), Missouri S&T (89), McKendree (67), Truman State (45), Southwest Baptist (41), Upper Iowa University (37), and Lincoln (14).
 
OUR EARLY LEADERS
Ethan Sawyer leads Upper Iowa at the plate, hitting an impressive .500 behind four doubles while leading in both hits (7) and total bases (11), while contributing 2 RBIs. Bryce Hall boasts a .455 average behind five hits with 3 RBIs and has drawn two walks. Gabe Bombardier is hitting .300 with three RBIs, including a home run. 
 
On the mound, Ethan Bombardier and Tyler Glowacki each posted a 0.00 ERA after four innings of work in their respective outings. Bombardier allowed just three hits over the four innings, striking out five batters while walking three, and holding opponents to a .214 batting average. Glowacki allowed only two hits and one run (unearned), with a team-high six strikeouts, limiting hitters to a .125 average. Steve Marhefke threw for five innings, striking out five batters, while allowing seven hits and five earned runs, resulting in a 9.00 ERA. 
 
ABOUT THE OPPOSITION
William Jewell is 1-1 on the season after picking up a split versus University of Arkansas Fort Smith. They won the first game 3-2 before falling in the second contest 4-3. The Cardinals are led at the plate by Will McCombs, averaging .833 after notching five hits in six at-bats. Jordan Phillips follows behind with a .429 average, having recorded three hits on the year. 
 
Brody Grawe has thrown 2.1 innings without allowing a single run for the Cardinals. Charlie Rambo and Chandler Ashby have each put in over four innings of work. Ashby has thrown a team-high six strikeouts. 
 
ON DECK
The Peacocks are set to head to Romeoville, Ill. next weekend to challenge Lewis. They will go head-to-head with the Flyers in four contests across Feb. 28-Mar. 2 (Friday-Sunday).