SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Peacock baseball (15-23, 8-13 GLVC) could not get the bats going on Saturday's doubleheader against Drury (Mo.) (25-16, 16-7 GLVC). The Panthers relied on two-out hitting to sweep the doubleheader, 6-0 and 5-1.
JJ Vargas reached base three times, two walks and a single. Vargas also scored the only run of the day for the Peacocks from a Christopher Schneider triple.
The Peacocks only used three pitchers between both games: Dylan Hesch, Jaxon Valdez and Kyle Hrncir. Hrncir did pitch a complete game in game two, but took the loss.
The Peacocks and Panthers will wrap up their series on Sunday at 12 p.m.
Game One: Drury 6, Upper Iowa 0
Hesch started game one of the doubleheader with the 10th-best ERA in the GLVC. The Panthers got to Hesch right away with the first three batters reaching. Then Connor Bain drove in two runs with a double to right center.
The Panthers tacked on another run in the third inning, after loading the bases with one out. Greydon Miller hit a sacrifice fly to left field, bringing the score to 3-0. Hesch got the final out to strand two runners on base.
Jared Hoodjer put the Peacocks in the hit column with a two-out single in the top of the fourth. Hoodjer was stranded at first base. The Panthers had two out hits of their own when Landon Willbrand singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Luke Matschiner drove Willbrand in with a single on a groundball to left field.
Hunter Jones led off the fifth inning with a single to center field. But he was stranded at first base. Valdez took over for Hesch in the fifth and let off a leadoff double to Logan Reidelberger. Miller singled to left field, and after an error by Paul Safranski, Reidelberger came home to score to make it 5-0 Panthers. The Panthers weren't done after Colin McClure singled in Miller for their sixth run of the game.
Hesch pitched four innings, giving up seven hits and allowing four runs, all earned. Hesch struck out one batter and walked three batters before giving way to Valdez. The Freshman pitched the final two innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits. Valdez struck out one batter and walked one. Hoodjer and Jones each recorded a single.
Anthony Vita went the distance for Drury, pitching seven scoreless innings, only allowing two hits, striking out three batters and walking three. Six Panther batters recorded a hit with four having multiple hits. Bain had two RBIs. Miller, McClure and Matschiner also recorded an RBI.
The Peacocks were only able to record two hits in game one and had an error. The Panthers scored six runs on 11 hits. The Peacocks drew three walks while the Panthers drew four. Peacocks pitching recorded two strikeouts while the Panthers struck out three batters.
Game Two: Drury 5, Upper Iowa 1
Hrncir took the mound for game two as the Peacocks aimed to split the doubleheader. The Panthers threatened early with two runners in scoring position. But Hrncir struck out Miller to strand them.
The Peacocks led off the second inning with back-to-back walks, but then the next three batters struck out to end the threat.
The scoring started in the top of the fourth. After the first two batters struck out, Vargas singled to right-center field to give the Peacocks their first hit of the game. Schneider followed with an RBI triple to right field to give the Peacocks a 1-0 lead. The Panthers responded immediately with back-to-back one-out singles before Jackson Edwards smacked a 2RBI double to left field, giving the Panthers a 2-1 lead.
The Panthers stayed hot heading into the fifth inning, tallying another run with an RBI single from Reidelberger. After two quick outs in the bottom of the sixth, back-to-back singles scored another run for the Panthers. That was followed by a Willbrand RBI double to make it 6-1 Panthers heading into the final inning.
Peacocks were set down in order to finish off a 5-1 loss to the Drury Panthers. Upper Iowa's offense was kept quiet once again, only tallying one run on three hits. The Panthers scored five runs on eight hits.
Hrncir suffered his second loss of the season. He threw 90 pitches across six innings, allowing five earned runs on eight hits. He also struck out six batters, walked one and hit one. Vargas, Thane Meiners and Schneider were the only Peacocks to record a hit in game two.
Caden Crask-Weeks got his first win of the season after pitching five innings, only allowing one run on three hits. He struck out eight batters and walked four of them. Trayce Mercer earned the save, pitching two hitless innings and striking out two batters. Jackson Edwards went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
Drury outhit UIU, 8-3. Peacock's batters struck out 10 times and drew four walks, while the Panthers struck out six times and only drew one walk. Both teams left five runners on base.
