FAYETTE, Iowa. - Reaching the midway point of their conference schedule, the University of Mary Softball team took on Upper Iowa University today in a doubleheader that was moved up due to weather concerns.
 
The long ball ultimately became the deciding factor as the Marauders (18-23, 7-8 NSIC) couldn't stop the Peacocks (14-21, 9-5 NSIC) from sending a few over the fence and U-Mary fell in both games of the day, 5-2 and 11-5.
 
The Marauders got on the board first in the first game in the top of the third when Demaree Rodriguez led the inning off with a single back up the middle and got to second when Alana Norman reached on an error. Taylor Mendez brought them both home with a single through the left side and U-Mary was in a position they are all too familiar with as they earned a 2-0 lead going into the bottom of the third.
 
The lead wouldn't last, however, as Erica Kirgan tied the game up with one swing of the bat on a two-run home run to straightaway center field to knot the score at 2-2. U-Mary couldn't get the lead back in the top of the fourth and the Peacocks climbed on top with a leadoff solo shot from Lauren Marlinghaus to put the score at 3-2 in favor of Upper Iowa.
 
The Peacocks got one more in the inning when Katie Mnichowicz got a two out single that scored Riley Kruel and made the score 4-2 going into the top of the fifth.
 
U-Mary struggled to get runners on base from that point and the Peacocks got another insurance run to their lead in the bottom of the fifth when Kruel took off for second base in a delayed steal that allowed Kirgan to score and pad Upper Iowa's lead to 5-2.
 
The Marauders couldn't get a runner aboard in the last two innings and eventually fell in the first game, 5-2.
 
Mendez got one of the three Marauder hits as her single scored the only runs of the game. The other two hits came from Kristin Ormsby, who got a two-out double down the left field line in the second inning, and Rodriguez, whose single kicked off U-Mary's rally in the third inning.
 
U-Mary has been resilient going into the second game of any doubleheader and they demonstrated that resiliency when Ormsby got the Marauders on the board first with a solo shot to left center field that put U-Mary ahead at 1-0. Mendez followed that up with a single to left field and, after stealing second base, scored on Colleen Crutchfield's double to left center to put the score at 2-0.
 
Upper Iowa wasted little time with a response as Jacqueline Flood sent a three-run shot over the left field fence to flip the tables on U-Mary by putting the score at 3-2, and Marlinghaus followed that up with a two-run shot to right center field to put the Marauders at a 5-2 disadvantage.
 
U-Mary couldn't get the runs back in the top of the second, and the Peacocks got three more in their half of the inning when Flood singled back up the middle to score one and Katie Sammons doubled to deep right center to score two more.
 
The Marauders started to crawl back into the game in the top of the third when Norman led the inning off with a single in the infield and Julissa Perales brought her home with a two-out single to left center that cut Upper Iowa's lead down to 8-3. After Crutchfield drew a walk, Demaree sent a double to left center field that scored Perales and put the score at 8-4 going into the bottom of the third.
 
U-Mary kept chipping away in the top of the fourth when Erin Keen laced a triple to right field to lead off the inning, and Ormsby brought her home with a single to center field that cut the lead down to 8-5 going into the bottom of the fourth.
 
The Marauders couldn't reduce the lead any more in the fifth inning and the Peacocks got some insurance runs starting in the bottom of the fifth when Shelby Crist reached second on another delayed steal attempt that scored Kruel and put the lead at 9-5.
 
Upper Iowa got two more in the bottom of the sixth when Marlinghaus laced a double to right center that scored Sammons and Alexandra Roby and put the score at 11-5.
 
Unfortunately, U-Mary's offense ran out of gas and the scored ended up being final at 11-5 as the Marauders dropped the second game of the doubleheader.
 
Norman had a good second game as she got two hits, both singles, along with a run scored and a stolen base.
 
Ormsby, continuing her production, got two hits as well with one single and one home run along with two RBI and one run scored.
 
Keen also had a multi-hit day with one triple and one single to go with one run scored.
 
The Marauders wrap up their weekend road trip tomorrow afternoon when they take on Winona State University in a doubleheader starting at 12 PM.
 
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