BOX SCORE

Coach Dee's Postgame Comments

CHICAGO -- The UIC baseball team (21-18-1, 16-6 HL) remained in first place in the Horizon League standings after a 5-3 series-opening win at second-place Wright State (30-13, 14-7) on Friday night. Sophomore starter Jake Dahlberg (7-2) scattered six hits and allowed two earned runs over the course of 8.1 innings en route to his third straight win.

Senior Jeff Boehm paced UIC at the plate by going 4-for-4 and recorded his team-leading 12th double of the season. Boehm now fronts the squad with a .349 batting average. Sophomore Mickey McDonald tied a season-high with three RBI and hit 2-for-3 from the dish. Redshirt freshman David Cronin was the other Flame to post two hits as he also recorded his second career triple.

UIC struck first with a lone score in the opening frame as McDonald drove in senior Tyler Detmer off a RBI-single to right field. The Raiders answered back with a single run in the bottom of the first to knot the count at 1-1.

The Flames went ahead 2-1 in the second stanza after Cronin blasted a three-bagger to right field and was then able to trot home safely courtesy of a fielding error by the right fielder.

WSU tied the score at 2-2 with another lone run in the bottom of the second inning, but the Flames countered with a pair of runs in the top of the third. McDonald drove in both Detmer and Boehm with a two-RBI single up the middle.

UIC extended its lead to 5-3 with an insurance run in the top of the sixth frame. Freshman Rob Calabrese was able to plate redshirt junior Conor Philbin off a single to center field.

The Raiders threatened in the bottom of the ninth with back-to-back one-out doubles that scored Mark Fowler. Senior Ryan Hinchley came in for the final two outs and picked up his seventh save of the season.

Game two is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. CT on Saturday afternoon.