Upper Iowa baseball swept Rockhurst in Friday's doubleheader, winning 9-8 and 11-1. With these two victories, the Peacocks' record improved to .500, matching their total wins from last season with 13, as they moved to 9-5 in conference play.
 
The Hawks are back at Robertson Woods Field tomorrow for a doubleheader starting at 12 p.m. to wrap up the series. 
 
William Kiburis and Ethan Bombardier picked up their first wins on the mound today, while Gabe Olsen snagged his first save of the season. 
 
Brock Zimmer led the Peacocks at the plate with five hits between the two games, while JJ Vargas had a team-high 6 RBIs. 
 
GAME ONE UIU-9, RU-8
Rockhurst took an early lead in the second inning of game one on a groundout out to third, bringing in their first run, followed by a single that scored another baserunner to make it 2-0. Upper Iowa responded in the third when Paul Safranski hit a solo homer to right field, narrowing the gap to 2-1.

The Hawks extended their lead in the fifth with a two-RBI single up the middle, scoring two additional runners to make it 4-1. Upper Iowa bounced back in the bottom of the fifth when Bryce Hall hit a sacrifice fly to right field, bringing in McVeigh, while Brock Zimmer followed with another sac fly to left to score Safranski, cutting the lead to 4-3.

Rockhurst responded in the sixth with two RBI singles, scoring four more, pushing their advantage to 8-3. Upper Iowa mounted a comeback in the bottom of the sixth, with Thane Meiners' single bringing in Jared Grams and McVeigh's groundout allowing Meiners to score, making it 8-5.

The Peacocks continued their rally in the seventh and gained their first lead of the contest. Hall homered to left center to pull within two runs, and Vargas followed with a two-RBI homer to left, tying the game at 8-8. McVeigh's sacrifice fly to center scored Grams, giving Upper Iowa the lead at 9-8, which they held onto for the win.

Upper Iowa's defense held out and sealed their first win of the afternoon. 

Kiburis (W, 1-0) threw for four innings, allowing three hits and one run. He struck out eight batters in his outing and only walked one. 
 
GAME TWO UIU-11, RU-1
The Hawks scored their lone run of the game in the first inning when the Peacock defense caught a baserunner attempting to steal second.

Upper Iowa took control in the bottom of the opening frame and did not look back. Vargas hit a two-RBI double to left field, scoring Zimmer and Hall, and then Grams tripled to center to bring in Vargas. Stellmacher added another run with a single to second, driving in Grams to make it 4-1.

The Peacocks continued to build their lead in the second inning with a double from Ethan Sawyer that scored Safranski, making it 5-1. In the fourth, Zimmer tripled to center, bringing in Hall, and Vargas followed with a two-RBI homer to left, scoring Zimmer. Meiners then singled up the middle to bring in Grams, and McVeigh added a run with a bunt single that advanced to second on a throwing error, scoring Meiners.

In the sixth, Meiners hit a solo homer to right, extending Upper Iowa's lead to 11-1. The Peacocks cruised to a dominant victory, securing the win with an impressive offensive display.

Ethan Bombardier (W, 1-2) threw three innings and allowed two hits and one run. Gabe Olsen was called in from the bullpen, where pitched four innings in relief. He allowed zero runs, zero hits, and rung up six batters.