By: Doug Ingels - Sports Communication Graduate Assistant

The legend of this year's Peacock softball team continues to grow with each win. Heroics have come from every spot in the lineup throughout the year and on Thursday in Sioux Falls, S.D., it was sophomore Sammy Garrett's turn as the center fielder belted a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the eighth and gave 3-seeded UIU a 2-1 victory over the 6-seeded Winona State Warriors in the first round of the 2016 Northern Sun Conference Softball Tournament.
 
The game featured 14 hits, but the long ball reigned supreme as all of the scoring was done via solo home runs, including Garrett's walk-off shot, her fourth of the year. The win marked the sixth walk-off victory for Upper Iowa this season and the third in the Peacocks last seven games.
 
The Peacocks started the game with a pair of singles by Riley Kruel and Sami Kay Shafranski in the bottom of the first. A Jacqueline Flood ground out moved the runners to second and third with just one out, but UIU couldn't find a way bring either home.
 
Winona State took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second when left fielder McKenna Larsen launched a solo home run to lead off the inning.
 
Again in the third, the Peacocks had their first two hitters reach with singles as Garrett singled up the middle and Kruel picked up her second hit of the day on a single to left. Shafranski successfully executed a sacrifice bunt to move the runners into scoring position, but a double play ended the threat and the inning.

UIU hit into a double play for the second straight inning to end the fourth. With one out, Tara Walls reached on an error, only to be erased a batter later on a 5-4-3 double play.
 
In the top of the fifth, Peacock pitcher Brooke Redmond faced her first adversity of the game when a UIU error allowed a runner to reach third base with two outs. Redmond induced a pop out to second to end the inning and strand the runner at third.
 
Upper Iowa tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the fifth when Katie Sammons hit a laser over the left field fence for her team-leading 10th home run of the year.
 
Redmond once again was called upon to keep the Warriors at bay when she stranded a pair of runners in the top of the sixth. The first two batters of the inning reach on an error and a single, but a couple of fielder's choices sandwiched around a strike out kept the game tied at 1-1.
 
After both teams went quietly in the seventh inning, the game headed for extras. Redmond sent Winona State down in order in the top of the eighth, including a couple strike outs, and set the stage for the Garrett home run to lead off the bottom half of the inning for the walk-off win.
 
Redmond (18-5) threw her 17th complete game of the year and earned her 18th victory to pull a win ahead of her fellow senior Flood for the UIU single-season wins record. Redmond scattered seven hits over eight innings of work and allowed just the one run. The lefty struck out seven and walked one.
 
Upper Iowa will play the winner of the No. 2 Minnesota Duluth and No. 8 Bemidji State in the tournament quarterfinals on Friday, Apr. 29, with first pitch coming at noon. If the Peacocks win their quarterfinal matchup, they would play in the semifinals again on Friday at 4 p.m. If UIU were to lose in the quarters, they would have to come through the consolation-bracket with a game at 2 p.m.