EVANSTON, Ill. – UIC played in front of the home crowd for the first time this season Thursday and the Flames did not disappoint those in attendance as they shutout the Chicago State Cougars, 8-0.
 
Senior Jake Dahlberg was nearly untouchable on the mound for the Flames (6-6). The Vancouver, Wash., native allowed only one hit and three total baserunners in six scoreless innings. He also struck six and was efficient by throwing 67 pitches on the afternoon.
 
UIC's lineup did its part as well. The Flames scored a quick run in the first and added a four-spot in the bottom of the third inning to break it open. The first five hitters in head coach Mike Dee's lineup combined for nine of the team's 12 hits and six of the eight runs. The first three batters -  David Cronin, Cody Bohanek and Ricardo Ramirez – each scored twice.
 
How It Happened
After Dahlberg made quick work of the Cougars (3-8) in the top of the first, Cronin got the bottom half off to a big start when he lined a double to left field. The second baseman stole third and easily scored when his fellow middle infielder, Bohanek, muscled a sacrifice fly to right.
 
The Flames padded the lead in the bottom of the third with four runs against CSU's Jake Perkins. Rob Calabrese led off the frame with a mammoth home run to left-center field. Two batters later, Cronin placed a perfect bunt down for an infield single and he took second on wild pitch with Bohanek at the dish. The shortstop came through once again as he lined a double down the line in left that scored Cronin and made it 3-0 in favor of the Flames. The last two runs of the inning came when Ramirez uncorked his team-best fourth home run of the season, and second in as many games.
 
UIC plated a run with two outs in the bottom of the fourth, thanks to great hustle from Mickey McDonald. The center fielder was on second base after being hit by a pitch and stealing second. With two away, Thomas Norton hit a slow roller toward CSU third baseman Baier. Norton busted down the line and beat out the throw to first, meanwhile McDonald charged home and scored the fifth run of the game.
 
Bohanek played the role of catalyst in the fifth inning when he led off with a walk. He proceeded to steal second base and he soon scored on Scott Ota's RBI single to right field. Ota was able to get all the way to third with the help of a two-base fielding error charged to CSU's Zach Thomas, but UIC could not bring him home.
 
The eighth and final run of the game came courtesy of the third hit for junior Bowen Ogata. Ramirez doubled down the left-field line with one out and he moved to third when Ota grounded out to the right side. Ogata stepped in and poked a base hit right through the box that allowed Ramirez to score with ease.
 
Once Dahlberg's outing was finished after six strong innings, Ryan Campbell, Charlie Cerny and Mitchell Schulewitz combined to throw the final three frames. Both Campbell and Cerny induced double-play balls, while Schulewitz worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning to finish the game.
 
Beyond the Box Score

• Dahlberg notched his first win of the season, and the 15^th as a UIC Flame. He is tied for ninth all-time with Bob Villasenor. Don Kinnunen in next on the list with 17.
• The lefty lowered his earned-run average by nearly a half point Thursday, going from 2.08 at the start of the day, to 1.54 at the end of his outing. The opponent's batting average dipped from .203 to .171 and his K/BB ratio rose from 2.4 to 2.6.
• Schulewitz has made three consecutive scoreless appearances for the Flames. He made his 2017 debut out of the bullpen at Missouri on March 3 with two scoreless innings and he's worked 1.1 innings in crosstown wins over Northwestern and Chicago State this week.
• Ramirez leads the team with four home runs after pacing the squad with six a year ago. The senior has reached base safely in a team-high 11 consecutive games and he's hit safely in the last five outings.  
• With his second home run of the season Thursday, Calabrese has doubled his career total since the start of 2017. The Staten Island, N.Y., native also homered in the 11^th inning of a 5-3 win at No. 7 Vanderbilt on Feb. 26.
• Bohanek is batting .500 (8-for-16) over UIC's last five games. Four of his eight hits since March 3 have gone for extra bases and he has driven in a team-high seven runs during that span. He has also scored eight runs since March 3, the most on the team.
• Danny Riley made his 2017 debut as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the eighth inning.
• The Flames improved to 6-1 when hitting a home run this season. UIC has combined to go deep five times in the last three games.
• UIC won its home opener for the third consecutive season. The Flames have outscored Chicago State (+8), Northwestern (+9) and Valparaiso (+6) by a combined 27 runs in those three wins.

Quotable



Up Next

• UIC and Chicago State will attempt to resume the weekend series on Sunday afternoon at CSU's Cougar Stadium. Both teams will monitor the forecast before determining if and when the game will be played.
• The Flames are scheduled to return to Granderson Stadium on Tuesday, March 14, when they will host Roosevelt.
• Horizon League play begins on St. Patrick's Day, Friday, March 17, with a visit from Youngstown State.