/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59202911/cropley.0.jpg)
It wasn’t necessarily a pretty game, but the Hawkeyes were able to improve to 14-8 as Tyler Cropley hit a walk-off grand slam to propel Iowa to a comeback victory over the Bradley Braves.
Elion and Cropley deliver as the Hawkeyes walk-off against Bradley Wednesday in Iowa City: pic.twitter.com/buGr4QDibU
— Iowa Baseball (@UIBaseball) March 29, 2018
The Hawkeyes decided to throw the kitchen sink at the Braves on Wednesday, going with a pitcher-by-committee gameplan - Rick Heller used 10 different pitchers, and for a while, it seemed as though pitching a slew of guys for an inning would work. But disaster struck in the sixth and seventh innings, as Iowa blew a 6-1 lead by giving up eight runs between the two innings. Kole Kampen and Grant Judkins combined to give up seven runs (five earned) over an inning of work in a rare poor outing for the two of them.
The offense would bail them out, though, as Lorenzo Elion tied the game up in the eighth inning with a single that plated Cropley. Then in the ninth, you already know what happened - Cropley, who was 3-for-5 on the day, smacked that walk-off grand slam over the left field wall to bring Iowa the victory.
On Deck
Iowa travels to Champaign to take on Illinois this weekend. The Illini, who are 16-5 on the season, are winners of six straight and eight of their last nine.