April 25, 2009

Box Score

CHICAGO- What started out as a warm, windy day ended as a cold, dreary evening, and all that was in between was a hitter's dream and a pitcher's nightmare as the UIC baseball team hung on for a wild 14-12 victory over Valparaiso at Les Miller Field.

In a game delayed by heavy rains on three separate occasions to stall game action for well over two hours, the Flames (17-19, 11-4 Horizon League) and Crusaders (18-18, 6-7 Horizon League) were pouring on the offense. The two teams combined for 26 runs and 37 hits on the day, doing most of the damage during the contest's first four innings while 30 mile-per-hour winds were blowing out to center.

Valpo scored twice in the first, but UIC responded with six runs in its half of the opening inning.

Brandon Harwell pulled the first pitch from Jon Gulbransen over the right field fence for a leadoff homer, and after back-to-back doubles by Nathan Orf and Andy Leonard produced a run and an error on Jason Ganek's grounder to the right side gave the Flames another, Brett Schaefer cracked a devastating three-run blast to right center.

Kyle Gaedele hit a solo shot in the top of the second for the Crusaders, but UIC answered with two more in the next half-inning on RBI singles hit by Leonard and Jake Carr.

The top of the third featured the day's first rain delay, which lasted just 14 minutes, but the Crusaders came back from the break to score five times and even the slugfest at 8-8.

UIC reclaimed the lead in its half of the third when Steve McGuiggan hit a two-out solo blast over the wall in center. Valpo tied the game once again with Matt Lenski's homer to lead off the fourth, but the Flames struck three times in the bottom half of the fourth after two straight fielding errors set up RBI doubles smoked by Chris Rutta and McGuiggan, the latter a two-out, two-run two-bagger that put the Flames ahead 12-9.

After four innings the two teams combined for 21 runs, 25 hits and five home runs. Each squad scored at least once an inning during that span.

Valpo cut UIC's lead to 12-10 in the fifth, but the offense cooled down for the next few innings until McGuiggan scored on a grounder hit by Orf that was scooped up by shortstop Damon McCormick, who misfired his throw toward second in an attempt to get Harwell at that bag. Moments later lightning struck and precipitation descended in heavy doses, forcing home plate umpire Eric Thornton to halt the game for a period that turned out to be a one-hour, 56-minute weather delay.

The temperature dropped nearly 40 degrees, going from 74 degrees at first pitch to around 38 degrees upon the players' return to the diamond, and the winds reversed course to blow in when play resumed. That did not hinder UIC from adding a critical run when Ganek hit a run-scoring single up the middle on the first pitch he saw from new hurler Steve Godawa.

Derrick Miramontes had recorded the final out of the seventh inning and returned from the lengthy delay to pitch a scoreless eighth. But the senior closer encountered trouble in the ninth, as Valparaiso eventually loaded the bases with one away. The Crusaders would score twice, but Miramontes induced a game-ending flyout off the bat of Lenski to record his seventh save.

Saturday was originally scheduled to be a doubleheader. UIC head coach Mike Dee and Valparaiso head coach Tracy Woodson held an on-field conference with the umpires and UIC associate athletic director Eric Phillips moments prior to the scheduled start of the second contest, and as the discussion was taking place a bolt of lightning made its presence visible over the Flames Athletic Center beyond the outfield wall. With the potential for more storms combined with the Crusaders' looming road twinbill at Wright State this Sunday, the nightcap was nixed.

Starter Mike Kool earned his fourth victory of the year despite allowing eight earned runs. The senior right-hander overcame the hitter-friendly conditions to fan six batters in just over five innings.

The win halted UIC's four-game losing streak and extended the Flames' string of consecutive home victories to nine.

The Flames have scored 26 runs in their last two games.

UIC heads to South Bend, Ind. to face the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame this Tuesday, Apr. 28 at 5:05 p.m.