THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK BASEBALL
Peacock baseball returns home this weekend to take on Rockhurst in a doubleheader series on Friday and Saturday. Both games will begin at 12 p.m. UIU heads into the weekend with an overall record of 11-13 and a 7-5 mark in GLVC action. 
 
LIVE OPTIONS
Fans can stay connected to the games this weekend with live stats and a webcast at the links attached to the story or every day at UIUPeacocks.com/Live. The live stream can be found on the GLVCSN app, which is compatible with all smart devices. 
 
REVIEW OF THE LAST ACTION
​The Peacocks secured three victories in their recent four-game series against Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri. The series began with a loss, but UIUU rebounded in the subsequent games, winning 5-0, 6-5, and 8-6. ​
In the series opener, the Bearcats scored 10 of their 11 runs in the first three innings, building a substantial early lead. Despite a late rally by the Peacocks, which included a two-RBI double from Ethan Sawyer, they were unable to overcome the early deficit, resulting in an 11-8 loss. 

The following day, the Peacocks dominated the first game, shutting out the Bearcats 5-0. In the second game on Saturday, Upper Iowa secured a 6-5 victory. The series concluded with an 8-6 win for the Peacocks, improving to seven GLVC victories. 

EARLY LEAGUE STANDINGS
Upper Iowa is currently tied for 5th in the GLVC standings with a 7-5 conference record. They are coming off a loss and will look to bounce back in their upcoming doubleheader against Rockhurst this weekend. Lewis leads the conference with a strong 10-2 record, followed by Drury at 6-2 and Missouri S&T at 8-4. Rockhurst sits just ahead of Upper Iowa with a 5-3 conference record, while Missouri-St. Louis is also tied with the Peacocks at 7-5. Indianapolis and Illinois Springfield round out the top 8 with records of 4-3 and 6-5, respectively.
 
A NEAR NO-HITTER 
Freshman pitcher Ethan Bombardier threw six no-hit innings in game two against Southwest Baptist before being relieved in the seventh inning. He allowed zero hits, walked eight batters and rang up eight Bearcats in his outing. 
 
Greg Sieck threw Upper Iowa's last no-hitter back in 2009 in the team's win over Minnesota Crookston. 
 
ABOUT THE HAWKS
Rockhurst has had a strong start to the season, with an overall record of 15-7 and a 5-3 mark in the conference. In their last series, RU started off with a dominant 16-4 victory over Quincy University, where senior pitcher Michael Laudando earned his fourth win with 10 strikeouts in six innings. They followed up with two 6-4 wins in the next games of the series, showing strong hitting and pitching. However, they fell 8-6 in the series finale, allowing Quincy to break a 4-4 tie with four runs between the sixth and seventh innings. 
 
Andrew Loeffelman and Adonis Forte lead the team with over a .400 batting average, while Drew Cornelison has a team-high eight home runs. 
 
CHASING THE HOME RUN RECORD
Graduate student Gunnar Wicklund currently leads the GLVC with 12 home runs on the season. He is just two shy of Upper Iowa's all-time record of 14, set by Jared Jones in 2000. Wicklund notched 12 home runs last campaign, sitting at 24 for his Peacock career. He has recorded 32 hits with a .368 batting average in 2025. 
 
ON DECK
The Peacocks head to Kenosha, Wis. to take on UW Parkside in a single contest on Tuesday, April 1 at 3 p.m.