Kirksville, Mo. — The Truman State baseball team honored its seniors and won three of four games against Upper Iowa in a home series this weekend, including a pair of walk-off victories on Friday. Before Saturday's doubleheader, the program recognized seniors Isaac Epp, Tyler Tieman, and Alex Wittenauer for their contributions to Bulldogs Baseball. Epp was also presented with the JD DeRouse Award, given annually to the senior who has demonstrated an enthusiastic spirit for the game along with loyalty, dedication, and hard work for Truman Baseball.
Game 1 — Upper Iowa 8, Truman 2 (Thursday, April 30)
The series opener was delayed an hour by rain, and Upper Iowa made the most of a patient approach at the plate to hand Truman an 8-2 loss. Gavin Schieffer gave the Bulldogs a short-lived lead with a solo home run down the left-field line in the second, but the Peacocks answered with three runs in the third. A Hoodjer two-run single up the middle scored Bombardier and Zimmer to put Upper Iowa ahead 3-1, with a Meiners sacrifice fly having already plated Klug to tie it earlier in the inning.
Upper Iowa added three more in the fourth on a Klug bunt single that scored Hrncir, and a pair of fielder's choice grounders that brought home Jones and Klug to push the lead to 6-2. Tyler Tieman had cut it to 3-2 briefly with an RBI groundout in the third that scored Tyler Towe. Klug added two more with a single up the middle in the eighth to close out the scoring. Caden Carroll took the loss, and Hayden Holman followed with four innings of work in relief. Upper Iowa starter Olson went the distance, allowing just one earned run.
Game 2 — Truman 5, Upper Iowa 4 (Friday, May 1, Game 1)
In the first game of Friday's doubleheader, the Bulldogs rallied from a 4-3 deficit with a two-run walk-off seventh inning to take a 5-4 win. In his final career start, Isaac Epp held Upper Iowa to just one earned run over four innings, giving the Bulldogs a chance to compete. Jax Markham drew a walk to lead off the bottom of the seventh and scored the tying run, while Tyler Tieman capped the comeback with a two-run home run to left field that also scored Markham and sent the crowd into celebration.
Truman had jumped out to a 3-1 lead through three innings. Nick Steurer crushed a two-run home run to left in the third to score Ian Thornton, and Tieman followed with an RBI single through the right side to plate Oliver Degenhardt and make it 3-1. Upper Iowa tied it in the second on an RBI single, then took the lead briefly in the seventh when Hoodjer doubled to left center to score Bombardier and make it 4-3. Tieman's walk-off blast in the bottom half sealed the win. Ian Junkin earned the win in relief.
Game 3 — Truman 9, Upper Iowa 8 (Friday, May 1, Game 2)
The second game of the doubleheader was even more dramatic, with the Bulldogs completing another come-from-behind walk-off victory, 9-8 in eight innings. Truman trailed 8-7 heading into the bottom of the eighth before Nick Steurer doubled to right center to score Jax Markham, and Oliver Degenhardt followed with a sacrifice fly to bring home the winning run and complete the sweep of the day.
The Bulldogs got on the board first with two runs in the first inning. Jack Pearson singled home Degenhardt and Ian Thornton followed with an RBI single to score Gavin Schieffer, putting Truman up 2-0. Upper Iowa tied it with two runs in the second, but Steurer singled home Joey Fentress in the bottom half to make it 3-2. Charlie Berry then gave Truman a 5-2 lead in the third with a two-run home run to left center that scored Pearson.
Upper Iowa clawed back with a Kelling two-run double in the sixth and a Hoodjer three-run home run in the seventh to take an 8-6 lead. Ian Thornton's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh tied it at 7-7 before Kelling added a solo shot in the eighth to put the Peacocks back in front. Degenhardt's walk-off sacrifice fly completed the comeback. Elijah Belden earned his first collegiate win in relief.
Game 4 — Truman 7, Upper Iowa 3 (Saturday, May 2)
Jack Pearson and the Bulldogs closed the series on a high note on Senior Day, with Pearson turning in another strong start in a 7-3 victory. Pearson went six innings, allowing just one run while striking out four, and improved to 4-0 on the season.
Truman got on the board first when Shodai Nishihara singled to shortstop to score Nick Steurer in the first. Upper Iowa tied it in the second on a Luzum RBI single, but the Bulldogs responded with three runs in the bottom half. Charlie Berry homered to left field to lead off the inning, Joey Fentress scored on a balk, and Steurer doubled home Ian Thornton to make it 4-1. That double was Steurer's 20th of the season, breaking the Bulldogs' single-season record as a freshman.
Steurer added to his remarkable day in the fourth with a two-run home run to left center that scored Fentress and extended the lead to 6-1. Nishihara added a sacrifice fly in the fifth to score Tieman for the final Truman run. Upper Iowa got a Safranski home run in the seventh and a Vargas RBI triple in the eighth to make the final 7-3, but Ian Junkin closed it out to secure Truman's third win of the series.
Truman wraps up its 2026 season at 15-33 overall and 8-24 in the GLVC, a three-win improvement over last season.
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