April 22, 2006
Box Score
Indianapolis, Ind.- The UIC baseball team scored seven unanswered runs in the final four innings to take an 8-1 victory over Butler in the nightcap of Saturday's doubleheader at Bulldog Park.
The Flames (21-14, 13-4 Horizon League) overcame a 13-9 disadvantage in the hit column by making the most of Butler's miscues, which included four walks and four errors.
Starter Joe Skinner picked up his fifth win of the year by hurling 6.2 innings of one-run baseball.
UIC struck first with a run in the top of the fourth. Larry Gempp Jr. drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third when Butler catcher Joe Dempsey sent an errant throw over the outstretched glove of first baseman Alex Rinearson in an attempt to pickoff Gempp. Bart Babineaux then plated Gempp on a groundout to second base.
Butler (15-22, 8-12 Horizon League) tied the game in the bottom of the fifth on a two-out RBI single from Joe Pauley.
But UIC broke the deadlock in the next inning, as back-to-back walks to Hallberg and Gempp and a wild pitch that advanced both runners into scoring position gave Babineaux another RBI chance. The senior rightfielder took advantage of the opportunity by sending a sharp double down the left field line to score two and put UIC up 3-1.
Babineaux extended his hitting streak to a team-best 19 games while keeping his RBI streak alive at 18 straight contests.
UIC escaped numerous Butler scoring threats, including a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the seventh that was ended when reliever Jason Foster induced Kyle Cox into a groundout.
The Flames tacked on four more in the eighth. Justin Johnson blasted the first pitch he saw from Butler reliever Matt Sokolowski over the right field wall for a three-run shot and his second homer of the doubleheader, and Chad Schroeder singled home another score.
Jake Carr added on to the Flames' advantage when he led off the top of the ninth with his first career home run, a no-doubter over the left field fence.
UIC and Butler conclude their three-game series at Bulldog Park on Sunday at 11:00 a.m. CST/12:00 p.m. Eastern.
