Upper Iowa University Athletics

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - Peacock baseball (17-29, 10-19 GLVC) fell on Friday to Truman State (14-33, 7-24 GLVC) in a pair of walk-offs in the final doubleheader of the season. TSU hit a walk-off home run to win game one, 5-4, and a walk-off sacrifice fly to win game two, 9-8. 

Trevor Kelling and Carsen Sparrow hit their first career home runs for the Peacocks in game two. Jared Hoodjer, Brock Zimmer, Gabe Bombardier and Thane Meiners all tallied three hits. Hoodjer led the team with a home run, a double and four RBIs while also reaching on a walk and a hit-by-pitch. 

Zimmer finished 3-for-6 with a double. Bombardier had a double on his three hits with an RBI. Meiners added an RBI. Kelling totaled two hits, three RBIs, a double and a home run in game two. Sparrow brought in two runs on his game-two homer. 

Dylan Hesch pitched a complete game in the first contest, allowing five earned runs on eight hits, two walks and two strikeouts. Kyle Hrncir started game two, going six innings with six earned runs on nine hits, two walks and four strikeouts. 

The Peacocks and Bulldogs wrap up their seasons on Saturday at noon at Bulldog Baseball Park.

Game One: Truman State 5, Upper Iowa 4
The game was tied at 3-3 entering the final inning. Bombardier was hit by a pitch and got to second on a wild pitch to get the go-ahead run in scoring position. Hoodjer smacked a one-out RBI double to left center, giving UIU a one-run lead, but TSU got the next two outs on the next two batters.

Jaxon Markham walked and stole second to lead off the inning. UIU got two outs after a popout to Meiners and shortstop and a flyout to Cael Luzum at right field. It wasn't quite enough as Tyler Tieman hit a two-run walk-off homer to left field.

UIU scored its first run in the opening inning on a Bombardier RBI single to right field after a Meiners single and Zimmer double. Truman State reclaimed the lead in the third with a two-run home run by Nick Steurer and an RBI single by Tieman for a 3-1 advantage. 

The Peacocks tied the game up in the top of the fourth after getting the bases loaded with a Christopher Schneider RBI single, a Hunter Jones walk and Jayce Klug reaching on an error. Luzum hit a sacrifice fly, and Meiners hit an RBI single to tie the game at 3-3. 

Zimmer and Bombardier both went 2-for-3, with Bombardier tallying an RBI. Meiners was 2-for-4 with the RBI single. Hoodjer was 1-for-2 with an RBI, a walk and a hit-by-pitch. Schneider tallied a hit and scored a run.

Hesch took the loss on the mound, dropping his record to 3-5. He pitched 6.2 innings while allowing five earned runs on eight hits and two walks. He tallied two strikeouts. 

Tieman and Steurer led the Bulldogs with two hits each. Tieman totaled three RBIs and Steurer totaled two RBIs. Reliever Ian Junkin picked up his third win of the season, allowing one run on one hit with no walks and three strikeouts. 

Both teams totaled eight hits, with TSU committing the only error of the contest. The Peacocks left nine runners on base and the Bulldogs left five on base. Truman State pitchers totaled five strikeouts to Upper Iowa's two strikeouts. 

Game Two: Truman State 9, Upper Iowa 8 
The Peacocks trailed 6-4 entering the bottom of the seventh as Luzum and Zimmer walked to get on base. With two outs, Hoodjer drilled a three-run homer to give UIU a 7-6 lead entering the final half-inning. 

The Bulldogs got two runners on with leadoff walks. After a stolen base, Ian Thornton hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 7-7. Tyler Glowacki got out of the inning with a strikeout and a groundout to second base, sending the game to extra innings. 

Kelling retook the lead with a one-out solo homer in the eighth inning, 8-7. After a leadoff walk, a Steurer RBI double tied the game for Truman State in the bottom of the inning. After Steurer advanced to third on the throw home, Oliver Degenhardt ended the game with a walk-off sacrifice fly to center field for the 9-8 win.

TSU scored the first two runs of the game in the opening inning on Jack Pearson and Thornton back-to-back RBI singles. Sparrow hit a two-run homer in the top of the second to tie the game at 2-2. 

Steurer hit an RBI single in the bottom of the second, and Charlie Berry hit a 2RBI homer to give the Bulldogs a 5-2 advantage. The Peacocks battled back in the sixth with a Kelling 2RBI double to trail, 5-4. Degenhardt added a run for TSU in the sixth on a two-out RBI double down the left field line. 

Hoodjer and Kelling each led the team with two hits. Kelling had the Peacock's lone double with a home run and three RBIs. Hoodjer totaled three RBIs on his home run. Sparrow added 2RBIs on his homer. 

Hrncir totaled four strikeouts in his final appearance of the season. He allowed six earned runs on nine hits and two walks. Glowacki picked up the loss in relief, pitching 1.1 innings while allowing three runs, one hit, three walks and throwing a strikeout. 

Steurer, Degenhart and Pearson led Truman State with two hits each. Elijah Belden got the win after pitching two innings in relief, marking his first win of the season. Nick Phillips pitched six innings in his start, allowing four earned runs on seven hits with two walks and three strikeouts. 

Truman State outhit Upper Iowa, 10-9. The Peacocks committed the game's only error. TSU walked five times while the Peacocks walked four times, and Truman's pitchers totaled four strikeouts to UIU's five. The Peacocks left five runners stranded, and the Bulldogs left seven.