IOWA CITY, Iowa - Steve Kedroski's grand slam put Western Illinois (10-18-1) up in the sixth inning but Iowa (14-16) used a three-run ninth to collect an 8-7 victory Tuesday night (April 10) at Duane Banks Field.

Leatherneck starter Tyler Willman allowed four runs on four hits over 3 1/3 innings. Alexander Zarate pitched five innings out of the bullpen and allowed three runs on seven hits. Seth Fuller (1-1) allowed the winning run to score in the ninth inning.

Dan Dispensa (3-for-5) and Matt Igara both scored two runs while Tom Lilja drove in a pair. Austin Cowen had two hits to extend his hitting streak to six games while Manny Reyes' single in the third inning pushed his reached base streak to 14 consecutive contests.

Willman collected the first two outs of the third but a two-out, two-run double from Bryan Niedbalski and a RBI single from Chett Zeise gave Iowa a 3-0 advantage.

The fourth inning began with a walk to Igara and Dispensa's single to left field. Cowen dropped down a perfect sacrifice bunt advancing both runners into scoring position. Lilja collected an RBI groundout to second base to bring the score to 3-1.

Iowa threatened again in the bottom of the fourth after Zarate replaced Willman. Iowa collected a walk and back-to-back singles to load the bases with one out. Zarate's wild pitch plated the Hawkeyes' fourth run of the night. Iowa added another run on a groundout to stretch its lead to 5-1.

Brent Turner doubled down the right field line to lead off the sixth inning for the Purple & Gold. After Nick Hibbing drilled Igara, Turner advanced to third on a failed pickoff attempt. Dispensa drove in Turner with a single into right field, making it 5-2.

Following a wild pitch, Lilja drew a walk to load the bases for Kedroski. The Crystal Lake, Ill. native crushed the ball over the right field wall for a go-ahead grand slam, giving Western a 6-5 advantage. Kedroski's home run is the first of his career.

Dispensa and Cowen combined for back-to-back singles with one out and Lilja drove a sacrifice fly into center field to give Western a 7-5 lead in the seventh inning. Zarate hung up another zero on the scoreboard in the seventh to keep the Leathernecks' lead intact.

Zarate pitched into the ninth inning and retired the first batter before allowing the next two Hawkeyes to reach base. Fuller took over on the mound and induced an infield fly but walked the next batter to load the bases with two outs.

Eric Toole's infield single tied the game at 7-7 and Fuller hit Andrew Host to load the bases again. Mike McQuillan drew a bases-loaded walk and Nick Day scored the winning run for Iowa.

Iowa starter Andrew Hedrick allowed one run on two hits over four innings of work. Taylor Kaufman (1-0) collected the victory for the Hawkeyes with two scoreless innings out of the bullpen.

The Fighting Leathernecks return to Summit League action as North Dakota State visits Alfred D. Boyer Stadium for four games beginning on Friday at 3:30 p.m. Rich Mascheri (1-5, 3.04) will go against John Straka (4-2, 2.53).