NASHVILLE – UIC and No. 7 Vanderbilt engaged in another instant classic at Hawkins Field on Sunday after, needing extra innings to decide the outcome for the second time in three games, and for the second time the Flames came out on top, winning 5-2 (11).
 
UIC's Mickey McDonald led off the top of the 11^th with a double and he scored on a base hit through the right side by Scott Ota. Two batters later, catcher Rob Calabrese added two enormous insurance runs as he launched his first home run of the season to push the lead.
 
As he did Friday night, UIC head coach Mike Dee called upon Connor Ryan to get the final three outs and the senior delivered once again. He struck out the side in the bottom of the 10^th Friday and he fanned the first two hitters he faced, the third and fourth hitters in the VU lineup Sunday. He got the last batter to fly out to Matt Bottcher in left field to end the game and take the series victory back to Chicago.
 
How It Happened
The Flames notched a pair of two-out singles in the top of the first inning, but it was Vanderbilt that struck first on the scoreboard for a pair of runs in the first inning against UIC and starting pitcher Reid Birlingmair. The Commodores pushed two across with the help of a single off the bat of Julian Infante, with one unearned run coming in as the result of a throwing error. Birlingmair buckled down and struck out the next two hitters with Infante standing in scoring position at second base.
 
UIC tallied its first run off VU's Drake Fellows in the top of the fifth inning. Bowen Ogata led off the frame with a base hit to center field before Brandon Gibis pushed him to second with a sacrifice bunt. Ogata made third when Cody Bohanek grounded out to the right side and he scored when freshman Bottcher laced a two-out RBI single to left field to slice the deficit in half.
 
It was Ogata who got the Flames on the scoreboard once again and tied the game with one swing in the top of the seventh. The designated hitter took a 2-1 offering from Fellows and deposited it over the left-field wall to even the ledger at two runs apiece.
 
The Flames attempted to mount a ninth-inning rally when Ota singled down the right-field line against Vanderbilt's Matt Ruppenthal to open the inning. Ricardo Ramirez put down a sacrifice bunt, but a throwing error meant he was safe as well. With two on and nobody out, Ruppenthal got back-to-back ground balls that got him out of the jam.
 
Infante hit a one-out single for the Commodores in the bottom of the ninth, but UIC's Charlie Cerny got VU to hit into an inning-ending double play, forcing extra innings for the second time in the three-game series.
 
Ruppenthal set the Flames down in order in the top of the 10^th and his offense tried to deliver in the bottom half. The Commodores loaded the bases with one out before UIC reliever Alex Padilla fanned VU's Jeren Kendall, a Baseball America preseason All-American, on three pitches for the second out. Then Padilla got JJ Bleday to fly out to Ota in right field to leave the sacks packed and continue the ballgame.
 
UIC's McDonald continued to work his way back into a groove and he belted a lead-off double to right field begin the top of the 11^th against Ruppenthal. Ota then plated the go-ahead run when he placed a single through the right side that allowed the speedy McDonald to come around and score. Two batters later, Calabrese, allowed Ota to take his time rounding the bases because he unloaded on Ruppenthal and homered to left field, giving the Flames a 5-2 lead.
 
For the second time in the series Dee wanted to use Ryan to finish off the Commodores. The long right-hander worked through the heart of Vanderbilt's lineup with ease as he nailed down his first save of the season, and the first of his career.
 
Beyond the Box Score

• The Flames won a three-game series on the road against a nationally-ranked SEC team for the first time since 2007 when the team won two-of-three at No. 19 Tennessee, March 2-4, 2007. That 2007 team won 35 games overall, a Horizon League championship, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
• UIC improved to 2-0 in extra-inning games this season, with both wins coming at No. 7 Vanderbilt.
• The Flames have homered in four of the last five games, and they have gone deep twice in three of those contests. UIC is 3-0 when it hits two home runs on the young season.
• After stealing six bases in four games at the MLB Urban Youth Invitational last weekend, UIC swiped only bag against No. 7 Vanderbilt.
• In two starts this season, Birlingmair has surrendered only two earned runs in 12.1 innings of work. The Normal, Ill., native has a team-high 16 strikeouts, while walking only two and scattering eight hits.
• McDonald and Ogata enjoyed their first multi-hit game of the season Sunday, breaking out for three hits apiece. The pair went 6-for-10 with two extra-base hits in the win.
• Sunday's extra-inning home run was only the second hit of the season in seven games for Calabrese. However, he's drawn a team-high seven walks and is tied for the team lead with eight runs (also Ramirez).
• Padilla picked up his first win on the mound in a UIC uniform.
• Cerny has yet to allow a run in 4.1 IP out of the bullpen for the Flames. The sophomore fired off 3.1 scoreless frames against Vandy on Sunday.

Quotable

 Up Next

• UIC will take on another SEC foe in its next series as it travels to Columbia, Mo., where it will face the Missouri Tigers in a three-game set next weekend.
• The Tigers claimed three wins in a four-game series at Taylor Stadium last season. Jake Dahlberg picked up the win for the Flames in the first game of a doubleheader on March 5, 2016, while Noah Masa earned his first career save. Scott Ota drove in two runs for UIC in a 4-2 victory.