CHICAGO – UIC picked up its sixth win of the season at Granderson Stadium and its fifth in Horizon League play on Sunday as the Flames toppled the Valparaiso Crusaders, 8-1.
 
Fifth-year senior Jack Andersen was strong on the mound in his fifth start of the season for UIC (13-7, 5-1 Horizon League). The Palatine, Ill., native was staked to an early two-run lead and he was in control for much of the afternoon. Andersen scattered six hits over 6.0 innings, but he allowed his defense to work wonders behind him as he secured his first win of the season.
 
Andersen allowed two of the six hits in the top of the first, but a double play turned by David Cronin at second meant that no Crusader would score. In the bottom of the inning UIC loaded the bases with one out and Rob Calabrese plated the first two runs of the day with a  two-run double to the gap in left-center field. As it turned out that would be all the offense the Flames would need, however home runs from Ricardo Ramirez and Cronin later on didn't hurt the cause.
 
How It Happened
UIC put Valpo's Michael Mommersteeg on the ropes early. Thomas Norton drew a four-pitch walk and he went from first-to-third on a well-executed hit-and-run by Cronin. Scott Ota walked to load the bases before Calabrese unclogged them with his fifth two-bagger of the season. The VU pitched settled and got a strikeout and a groundout to strand two more runners in scoring position when the inning ended.
 
The Flames tried to add on in the third inning when they packed the bags with one out once again. Ota hit an infield single before Calabrese and Ramirez both walked. Reliever Alex Dirienzo put out the fire by getting an inning-ending 3-2-3 double play.
 
UIC continued to tack runs on the board with single tallies in the fourth and fifth innings. Garrett Myers, making his first start for the Flames as the designated hitter, hit a single to center field and moved up to second on a sacrifice bunt by Brandon Gibis. Myers then scored easily from second on Cody Bohanek's base hit to the opposite field in right.
 
Ota's leadoff walk came back to bite the Crusaders in the fifth. The UIC right fielder moved to second when Calabrese was hit by a pitch and the pair moved up on a wild pitch from Ellis Foreman. Ramirez hit an RBI fielder's choice to make it 4-0 after five.
 
Valparaiso broke through for its first, and only run, in the top of the seventh. Andersen hit Scott Kapers with a pitch before throwing two pitches out of the zone to Patrick Donohue. Alex Padilla came in out of the bullpen and worked a full-count strikeout of Donohue. Kapers made second on a walk and he scored from there on Chad Jacob's RBI single to right field. Padilla punched out three Crusaders in the inning, but Valpo did cut the deficit to three runs at 4-1.
 
The cushion grew in a big way in the bottom of the seventh. Calabrese, who reached base in all five of his plate appearances, singled ahead of Ramirez. The UIC first baseman carried the first pitch he saw from Luke VanLanen into the Valpo bullpen in left-center field for a two-run home run that gave the Flames a 6-1 lead.
 
Later, Norton singled through the left side with two outs to keep UIC going in the bottom of the eighth. Cronin then turned on a 2-0 pitch from Garrett Hill and launched it well over the wall in right field for another two-run blast, the second in as many innings. That swing gave the Flames an 8-1 lead. Valpo loaded the bases in the ninth with the help of two walks and a throwing error, but the Crusaders could not score as Christian Barczi grounded out to Cronin at second to end the ballgame.
 
Beyond the Box Score

• The Flames improved to 5-1 in Horizon League play, winning both series at Granderson Stadium. UIC's next six conference games are on the road at Milwaukee (March 31-April 2) and at Oakland (April 7-9).
• Andersen, who missed the 2016 season as he rehabilitated an injury, collected his first win since May 8, 2015 at Oakland. He pitched in relief that day during a 13-11 victory. Sunday marked his first victory as a starter since March 29, 2015 at Youngstown State.
• Andersen moved to 1-0 with a 0.73 earned-run average in two Horizon League starts. He's allowed only one run over 12.1 innings against Youngstown State and Valparaiso.
• Padilla extended his Horizon League scoreless streak to 8.1 innings with two scoreless frames Sunday. Overall, he not allowed a run since March 5 at Mizzou. The redshirt sophomore is tied with starting pitcher Reid Birlingmair with six strikeouts in conference play.
• Ramirez hit his team-high fifth home run of the season against Valparaiso. He led the Flames with six in 52 games in 2016. Cronin hit his third home run of the season Sunday, matching his 54-game total from a year ago.
• Cronin and Calabrese have each reached base safely for the 15^th consecutive game Sunday, both doing so in the bottom of the first inning with a single and an RBI double, respectively.
• Cronin recorded his team-high ninth multi-hit game of the season with his single and home run against the Crusaders.
• In four games this week (one at Northwestern & three against Valparaiso), Ota batted .533 with eight hits and 10 RBI, both team highs. He homered in back-to-back games on March 21 and March 24 with his first career grand slam coming against Valpo in game one of Friday's doubleheader. The Foster City, Calif., native drove in a career-high six runs in that game, all coming in his first three plate appearances.
• The first six hitters in UIC's lineup recorded at least one hit Sunday, and three of them (Cronin, Ota, Calabrese) tallied two apiece.
• Myers went 2-for-4 with a run in his first start at UIC.
• The Flames turned two double plays Sunday, Nos. 26 and 27 on the season. The Flames entered the series leading the entire NCAA with 1.41 double plays turned per game and they ranked ninth overall as of Friday morning.

Postgame Reaction





Up Next

• UIC will host its first midweek game of the season on Tuesday, March 28, when the Northern Illinois Huskies come to Granderson Stadium at 4:05 p.m.
• The game will be televised on ESPN3.
• The Flames and Huskies will conclude the two-game series on April 11 in DeKalb, Ill.