CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - After a week off, the Kohawks returned to the diamond Wednesday afternoon, hosting cross town rival Mount Mercy. On the eve of the opening round of the Iowa Conference Tournament, Coe battled back from three runs down in the bottom of the ninth for a thrilling 10-9 victory.

The Mustangs took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but Coe followed scoring four runs on five hits and three errors in the bottom of the inning. Sophomore Jeff Wagner (Geneseo, Ill./Geneseo) led off with a double to center and advanced to third on a single by freshman Adam Nisenson (Crystal Lake, Ill./Central). Junior Pat Richmond (Algonquin, Ill./Dundee Crown) knocked in Coe's first run on a ground out to the shortstop. Junior Ryan Schisler (Morrison, Ill./Morrison) doubled to score Nisenson, followed by an RBI single from senior Tyler McAllister (Ursa, Ill./Mendon-Unity). Freshman John Logan (Marshalltown, Iowa/Marshalltown) then singled in the fourth run of the inning on a single to left field. 

After one run from the Mustangs in the top of the second, Richmond and Schisler led off the bottom of the third with back to back singles. Two batters later, McAllister scored Richmond on a two-out bunt single down the third baseline, extending Coe's lead to 5-2.  

The schools traded runs in the fourth with a two-out RBI single from Richmond, scoring freshman Max Tunning (Iowa City, Iowa/Regina). Mount Mercy took a 7-6 lead in the top of the fifth, scoring four runs on three hits and two walks. The Mustangs extended the lead to 9-6 scoring runs in both the seventh and ninth innings. 

Sophomore Nick Robertson (Highlands Ranch, Colorado/Mountain Vista) started the Kohawk rally in the bottom of the ninth with a first pitch home run to left field. After a walk to Scott DeAngelis (Clinton, Iowa/Clinton), Jake Schwind (Burlington, Iowa/Notre Dame) hit a pinch hit double down the left field line. An intentional walk to Schisler loaded the bases. Sophomore Ryan Velvick (Swisher, Iowa/Prairie) then hit an RBI single to right and McAllister tied the game at nine with an RBI groundout to the shortstop. With only one out, Logan hit a fly ball to right field, and Schisler tagged from third beating the throw to give the Kohawks the 10-9 win.   

Coe will begin Iowa Conference Tournament play on Thursday against the Simpson Storm at Veterans Memorial Stadium at 1 p.m. in Cedar Rapids.