FAYETTE, Iowa – Quincy racked up 15 hits but a nine-run fifth inning by Upper Iowa proved to be the difference as the Hawks dropped game one of the series 13-6 on Friday afternoon. It marked just the second time this season Quincy has lost when recording at least 15 hits.
The Hawks came out swinging early, scoring twice in the first inning.
Payton Mansfield and
Harry Fandre each singled before
Joe Huffman and
Isaiah Fudge followed with back-to-back RBI singles to give Quincy a 2-0 lead. Upper Iowa answered with a two-run home run in the bottom half to even the score.
Quincy regained the lead in the second inning when
David Broughton snapped an 0-for-11 drought with a solo home run to left field, his eighth of the season. The Hawks held that 3-2 advantage until the fourth inning when Upper Iowa used a solo home run and an RBI single to take a 4-3 lead.
The turning point came in the fifth inning. After a leadoff walk and a fielding error put runners on, the Peacocks strung together a series of hits, including multiple RBI singles and a sacrifice fly, before a grand slam capped off a nine-run inning to blow the game open at 13-3.
Quincy continued to battle late, adding two runs in the seventh on Mansfield's team-leading ninth home run of the season and another in the ninth on an RBI double from Mansfield, but the deficit proved too much to overcome.
Six of the nine starters recorded multi-hit games for the Hawks, who totaled 15 hits but left nine runners on base. Mansfield led the way with his fifth game of at least three hits this season, finishing 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs. Fandre extended his hit streak with his third straight multi-hit game, while Huffman pushed his hitting streak to five games and has now driven in a run in each of those contests. Broughton added a two-hit game along with his eighth homer of the year.
Despite the tough result,
Brady Lowe was a bright spot out of the bullpen, tossing three scoreless innings for his third straight scoreless outing and lowering his season ERA to 1.29 as he has allowed just one run allowed over seven innings pitched.
The Hawks will be back in action for games two and three tomorrow with first pitch of game two scheduled for 1:00 PM.
