April 11, 2014
Box Score
ROCHESTER, Mich. - The UIC baseball team (13-14, 8-5) picked up its fifth-straight Horizon League victory in an 11-1 thumping against new conference member Oakland (5-18, 0-7) on Friday afternoon at the OU Baseball Field. The Flames' victory was the first ever meeting between the two Midwest programs and also UIC's ninth win in the last 11 outings. The three-game series will resume on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. CT.
Junior pitcher Tomas Michelson improved his season record to 4-2 as he tossed eight innings and allowed a mere one run with five hits. The 6-foot-4 righty also struck out seven OU batters, while giving up zero walks.
Junior Tyler Detmer was unstoppable from the plate, going 4-of-4 and fell a triple shy of hitting for the cycle. Detmer also notched career-highs with five RBI and four hits. The Breese, Ill., native went yard in the fifth inning with a solo shot, his fifth home run of the season.
UIC has now scored 10-plus runs in 10 games this season and improves to 13-5 when they score first.
The Flames led wire-to-wire as they plated three runs in the opening frame. Senior Alex Jurich posted the day's first RBI with a single to left field that scored senior Jacob McNamara and then Detmer sent a pair of runners home with a two-RBI double to left center.
UIC made it 4-0 in the second inning as freshman Brett Krause was walked and then advanced to second after junior Jake Nath legged out an infield single. Krause and Nath moved over a bag once McNamara reached base on his first of two hit-by-pitch calls. On the next at-bat, junior Carl Sugihara drove in Krause during a double play groundout.
After a scoreless third inning, the Flames plated a lone run in the fourth as Sugihara notched his first RBI on the day with an infield single that scored Nath.
The Flames registered three runs in the fifth frame as Detmer blasted his solo homer over the wall in left field. Later in the inning, Sugihara tallied a two-RBI double that drove in McNamara and Krause to give UIC a commanding 8-0 lead.
In the seventh inning, UIC put up another three-spot on the Grizzlies as Kolakowski crossed the dish first on a balk by the OU pitcher. A few seconds later, Detmer continued his career day with a two-RBI single to left center that scored McNamara and Lee, yielding an 11-0 advantage for the Flames.
The Grizzlies scored their first and final run of the day in the bottom of seventh inning, but the damage was done as UIC walks away with the series-opening win.
