FAYETTE, Iowa - Upper Iowa baseball (15-20, 8-10 GLVC) split Saturday's doubleheader to take three out of four in the series against William Jewell (Mo.) (7-29, 3-17 GLVC). The Peacocks won the first game, 11-2, but couldn't quite complete a comeback in the second game to lose, 10-8. 

Brock Zimmer led the Peacocks on the day with five hits, including a double, home run and four RBIs. He tallied a .714 batting average (5-for-7) and scored three runs. After he reached all nine times on Friday, Zimmer finished the series with a .846 batting average (11-for-13) with six RBIs.

Cael Luzum and Thane Meiners each tallied four hits with an RBI. Luzum hit a double in game two. Jared Hoodjer and Gabe Bombardier each added three hits. Bombardier totaled five RBIs with a double and a home run in game one. 

JJ Vargas also had three hits with two home runs in the first game. He is now up to 28 home runs in his career, two short of Gunnar Wicklund for the most in program history. Paul Safranski added two hits while Hunter Jones and Jayce Klug each had a single. 

Kyle Hrncir earned the win in game one after pitching six innings of the seven-inning game. He totaled a team-high seven strikeouts on the weekend while allowing four hits, four walks and two earned runs. Landon Boisen threw two strikeouts without allowing a hit in two innings of relief in the second game.

The Peacocks head to Springfield, Missouri, next weekend for a four-game series against Drury (Mo.) (21-15, 12-6 GLVC). First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 5 p.m. with a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday and a noon game on Sunday. 

Game One: Upper Iowa 11, William Jewell 2
Hrncir retired the side in the opening inning, and the Peacock bats got rolling almost immediately. Meiners and Zimmer singled, allowing Bombardier to hit a three-run homer for the early advantage. 

Hoodjer followed with a single, and Vargas drilled a homer deep near the left field line to lead, 5-0. After Safranski and Trevor Kelling walked, Safranski scored on a throwing error, and Luzum later hit a sacrifice fly to lead, 7-0. 

The score remained 7-0 until the Cardinals added a run in the top of the third on a single, a walk and a groundout RBI. Koen Gakstatter reached on a single in the sixth, advanced to third on a throwing error and scored on a wild pitch to trail, 7-2.

UIU added four runs in the bottom of the sixth. Meiners started with a single and Zimmer was hit by a pitch. Bombardier then smacked a 2RBI double to right-center. A few at-bats later, Vargas smacked his second homer of the game to left center for an 11-2 advantage. 

Vargas led the Peacocks, batting 3-for-4 with two homers and four RBIs. Bombardier totaled five RBIs on his home run and double. Meiners added three singles while scoring twice. Zimmer had two hits and scored twice. 

Hrncir got the win after pitching six innings with seven strikeouts and improved his record to 3-1. He's thrown five or more strikeouts in five of his six appearances this season. He allowed two earned runs on four hits and four walks. Marcus Champagne pitched the final inning in relief, allowing one hit, one walk and throwing one strikeout. 

Gakstatter led the Cardinals with two hits, while Blake Tigges had the only extra-base hit with a double. Ryan Hunt took the loss on the mound after starting the game. He only got one out and allowed six earned runs. Thomas Adair pitched five innings in relief, four of which were scoreless.

Upper Iowa outhit William Jewell, 13-5. The Peacocks committed two errors to WJC's one. William Jewell left eight runners stranded while the Peacocks left five. 

Game Two: William Jewell 10, Upper Iowa 8
Following a scoreless first, WJC took an early 2-0 lead on a Mike Wunderlich 2RBI single in the second inning. A Tigges RBI single in the third extended the lead to 4-0. 

After Luzum singled in the third, Zimmer hit a two-out RBI double down the right field line to score UIU's first run of the game. William Jewell responded with a four-run fourth inning, including three hits and a Luke Isaacs 2RBI single that bounced off the Peacock pitcher into the outfield. The Peacocks trailed 8-1 after four innings of play.

UIU started trying to mount the comeback in the fifth with a Zimmer two-run homer. Koen Gakstatter added a run on an RBI single in the sixth. The Peacocks scored two runs in the bottom of the inning with Hrncir reaching home on an error and Meiners hitting an RBI single to trail, 9-5.

WJC maintained that four-run lead until the bottom of the eighth. Jones hit a single, Luzum doubled and Meiners was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out. Zimmer brought a run in on a sacrifice fly to trail, 9-6.

Bombardier kept the inning going with a single to third base, loading the bases once again. Hoodjer then got a hit through the right side for two runs to trail, 9-8. After Miles Hanzel came in on a pitching change, Vargas flied out to center for the last out of the inning. 

The Cardinals added an insurance run in the ninth with a Tigges sacrifice fly. UIU threatened with runners on first and second and two outs in the bottom of the inning, but could not convert to tie or take the lead. 

Luzum finished the game 4-for-5 as the leadoff hitter and scored three runs. Zimmer went 3-for-4 with a home run, double and four RBIs. Hoodjer tallied two hits and two RBIs while Meiners had a hit and batted in a run. 

Isaiah Maes took his sixth loss of the season on the mound. He pitched 2.2 innings, allowing four earned runs on five hits, two walks and a strikeout. Boisen was the lone Peacock pitcher to not allow a hit or a run while adding a team-high two strikeouts. 

Gakstatter led WJC with three hits while Tigges had three RBIs with one hit. Charlie Rambo earned the win, pitching 5.2 innings with five earned runs on eight hits, two walks and five strikeouts. Hanzel got the save after pitching 1.1 innings of relief and not allowing a run or a hit.

Both teams tallied 13 hits and two errors. William Jewell walked five times while Upper Iowa walked four times. UIU left 12 runners stranded while WJC left five.