FAYETTE, Iowa - Upper Iowa baseball (4-3) takes on Purdue Northwest (Ind.) in a three-game series this weekend. The teams play Friday, Feb. 20, at 1 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 21, at 12 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 22, at 12 p.m. at Dowling Park in Hammond, Indiana.
LIVE OPTIONS
Fans unable to attend the games this weekend can stay connected with a pair of live options available at UIUPeacocks.com/Live, featuring access to live stats and a pay-per-view webcast through Flo Sports. Fans can also refer to the links attached to this story for all live options.
LAST TIME OUT
The Peacocks went 3-1 this past weekend against Newman (Kan.) (2-7). Senior infielder Gabe Bombardier led the team, batting 7-of-17 with two doubles, two home runs and 13 RBIs.
Upper Iowa scored five runs in the sixth inning of game one to win, 7-6. UIU had a five-run lead on Newman in game two before the Jets tied it up at 7-7 and went to extra innings. Upper Iowa got a run in the 10th inning after JJ Vargas reached on an error. Garrett Bougie earned a save, striking out a batter in the bottom of the inning to get the win.
The Peacocks exploded for 13 runs in the fourth inning of game three to win, 15-3. Bombardier totaled seven RBIs in the game, highlighted by a grand slam. UIU lost game four, 6-2, with Thane Meiners hitting a 2RBI single.
GLVC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Bombardier earned GLVC Player of the Week after his spectacular weekend, slashing .412/.474/.882. He became the first player in program history to earn a GLVC Player of the Week award, and the first since 2023 to earn a conference weekly award.
STATISTICAL SUMMARY
Brock Zimmer leads the Peacocks with a .320 batting average. He is 8-for-25 with two home runs and five RBIs. He's walked five times and has been hit-by-pitch five times. He leads the conference in hit-by-pitches for a batter and ranks 26th nationally.
Bombardier is slashing .313/.371/.594 with 10 hits, three doubles and two home runs. His 14 RBIs this season lead the GLVC. The senior averages two RBIs per game, ranking 16th in the nation.
Meiners is batting .300 with nine hits, three doubles and six RBIs. Cael Luzum is batting .280 with seven hits, three doubles and two RBIs. He leads the team in stolen bases with four. Paul Safranski is batting .240 with six hits and six RBIs.
On the mound, senior Gabe Olson has a 1.29 ERA while tying for the team-high in innings pitched with seven. He's allowed one earned run and one walk this season with a team-high 10 strikeouts. Dylan Hesch is 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA in seven innings pitched. He's thrown six strikeouts.
Kyle Hrncir, Jaxon Valdez and Landon Boisen each have a win this season as well. Hrncir posted a 2.25 ERA in his lone appearance. Valdez has tallied seven strikeouts.
AROUND THE GLVC
Drury (Mo.) (4-0), Rockhurst (Mo.) (3-0), and Lincoln (Mo.) (2-0) are the lone undefeated teams in the conference so far. The Blue Tigers opened their season with two wins against Harris Stowe (Mo.) this past weekend.
Illinois Springfield (5-2) has the most wins in the conference after a series split with Florida Southern this past weekend. UIU and Quincy (4-4) each have four wins. Truman State (Mo.) (3-1) started its season this past weekend against Northeastern State (Okla), winning the four-game series.
UIS's Isaac Graf earned GLVC Pitcher of the Week. He allowed no runs and no hits in 3.1 innings of relief against Florida Southern. Graf also tallied six strikeouts.
ABOUT THE PRIDE
This is the opening weekend for Purdue Northwest, and the team is coming off a 17-27 2025 campaign. The Pride tied for sixth in the GLIAC Preseason Coaches Poll.
Purdue Northwest's top four batters from last season, AJ Reid, Kam Earley, Dan Puplava and Drake Ballard, all graduated. The top returner at the plate is sophomore Joey Guiliano. He batted .242 during his freshman season with six doubles, two triples and a homer.
On the mound, sophomore Mitchell Stanton is the top returner after posting a 5.65 ERA in 51 innings pitched last season. He totaled 34 strikeouts. Senior Owen Walkowiak pitched 42.1 innings with a team-high 44 strikeouts and a 5.95 ERA last season.
Head Coach Dave Griffin is in his 13th season with the Pride. The Dolton, Illinois, native played professionally for nine seasons with the Atlanta Braves, Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees organizations. Drafted by the Braves in the 16th round in 1982, Griffin spent most of his career playing at the Double-A and Triple-A levels in the Atlanta farm system.
