A resilient late-game rally by Upper Iowa brought the scoring level in the seventh inning, but Grand Valley State answered with a three-run frame of its own to hand the Peacocks an 8-5 setback on Thursday afternoon. Brock Zimmer led the offensive effort for Upper Iowa, going 4-for-5 at the plate with an RBI and a run scored.

UIU struck first in the opening frame when Bryce Hall sent a solo shot over the fence for an early 1-0 lead. However, the Lakers answered immediately with one run in the first, followed by a three-run second inning to build a 4-1 lead after the second inning. 

GVSU added another run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly, commanding a 5-1 advantage. 

The Peacocks brought in two runs in the fifth to cut the deficit to 5-3. Their offensive outburst was fueled by four hits, with singles from Bryce Hall, Gunnar Wicklund, Zimmer and Jared Grams. 

In the top of the seventh, Grams hit a two-run single to right center, scoring Zimmer and Wicklund to tie the game at 5-5. 

In the bottom half of the seventh, Grand Valley State responded with an RBI groundout and a two-run double to reclaim the lead, 8-5.

On the mound, William Kiburis tossed six innings while allowing four earned runs on four hits, walking three and striking out two. Gabe Olson (L, 1-4) entered in relief but was tagged with the loss after surrendering three runs in just 0.2 innings. Tyler Glowacki closed the game with 1.1 scoreless innings and two strikeouts.

Despite tallying 12 hits and drawing five walks, the Peacocks left 10 runners on base.

Upper Iowa returns to action tomorrow at 1 p.m. against the Lakers.