May 11, 2013

Box Score

CHICAGO - The UIC baseball team (23-25, 10-10) moved into a two-way tie for second place with Valparaiso in the Horizon League standings on Saturday afternoon with a 12-5 win against the Crusaders (24-25, 10-10 HL) at Les Miller Field. The Flames totaled 16 hits, their second-highest mark of the season, as five separate Flames tallied multiple hits. Ryan Boss paced UIC at the plate by going 3-for-5 with three RBI and two runs, while Alex De LaRosa hit 3-for-4. Alex Grunenwald and Joe Betcher each picked up home runs for their lone hits on the day.

"I thought we did some really good things at the plate today," said head coach Mike Dee. "We made some outstanding plays on defensive and for us to keep winning, we need that type of play every game."

The Flames led wire-to-wire as they tallied three runs in the first inning. UIC recorded five hits in the opening frame as John Coen, Boss, De LaRosa and Alex Jurich all posted doubles. The Flames followed that up with a run in the second and a pair of scores in the third to hold an early 6-0 edge.

After picking up their first run in the fourth, Valpo tacked on four scores in the top of the sixth to cut UIC's lead down to 6-5.

Betcher gave the Flames a two-run cushion with a solo blast to right field in the seventh, but UIC extended that lead out even further over the next two innings by scoring five more runners before the game went final.

Freshman pitcher Ian Lewandowski was credited with the win and improved his season record to 5-3, allowing five runs and six hits.

Sunday's series finale is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. CT.