Upper Iowa jumped out to an early lead and never looked back on Sunday afternoon, defeating Missouri S&T 22-5 in an impressive offensive display, taking the series 3-1. The Peacocks scored a massive 11 runs in the fifth inning, establishing a commanding lead that the Miners couldn't overcome. The home team improved to 21-25 overall and 15-17 in the GLVC.
Senior second baseman Ethan Sawyer collected the 218th hit of his career in his second at-bat of the day, claiming the UIU baseball all-time hits record. He passed Tyler Adams, who set the record of 217 back in 2014.
The Peacocks started strong in the first inning, with a sac fly by Bock Zimmer that brought in Sawyer for a 1-0 lead. Upper Iowa continued to build momentum as Thane Meiners singled to bring in Bryce Hall and extended the lead to 2-0. A second sac fly by JJ Vargas scored Gunnar Wicklund, giving the Peacocks a 3-0 advantage.
Upper Iowa's offense tallied four runs in the second inning. Wicklund singled to bring in the first run of the frame, and a fielder's choice by Zimmer brought home Sawyer to make it 5-0. Vargas added another sac fly to score Hall, and a bases-loaded walk from Justin Baehler extended the lead to 7-0.
After Missouri S&T got on the board with a walk-off RBI in the fourth inning, the Peacocks responded in a big way in the fifth. Meiners smashed a three-run homer, scoring Zimmer and Hall, and then Safranski reached on a fielder's choice, driving in two more runs. The Peacocks tacked on additional runs, including a single by Grams that plated two more. UIU finished the fifth frame ahead 18-1.
The Peacocks didn't let up, adding to their tally in the sixth with a fielder's choice RBI from Will Smith, and a three-run blast by Braden Herr in the following at-bat, extending the lead to a commanding 22-1.
Missouri S&T fought back in the seventh, with a three-run homer by and an RBI single that brought the score to 22-5, but the deficit was too large to overcome.
Meiners led the offensive charge, going 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs, while Grams and Sawyer each added two hits of their own. Upper Iowa tallied 17 hits while Missouri S&T collected nine.
Steve Marhefke (3-4) took the win on the mound after lasting 6.1 innings. He allowed eight hits and five runs in his outing. Matt Hughes came out of the bullpen to record the final two outs of the contest.
The Peacocks wrap up the regular season on the road next weekend at Grand Valley State in Peru, Ill.
