DEKALB, Ill. – Rob Calabrese hit a pair of three-run home runs and drove in eight to lead UIC's 17-run output in a convincing victory at NIU's Ralph McKinzie Field on Tuesday afternoon.
 
The team's 17 runs mark a season high and its 14-run margin of victory is also the best of the spring. The Flames (21-8) have scored 31 runs over their last two games, in wins over Oakland and Northern Illinois (9-23).
 
Calabrese went deep in the second and eighth innings for UIC, while he also added two singles and a double as he posted a career-high five hits against the Huskies. Cody Bohanek also homered to lead off the game. Bohanek, Scott Ota and Ricardo Ramirez each drove in two. David Cronin, Ota and Calabrese scored three times apiece.
 
Jacob Key turned in another quality start on the mound as he allowed three runs (two earned) over 6.0 innings of work. The Murfreesboro, Tenn., native improved to 5-0 in his inaugural collegiate season.
 
How It Happened
Cody Bohanek wasted little time in getting UIC on the scoreboard Tuesday. The shortstop crushed the fourth pitch of the game from George Faue and sent it high and deep over the wall in left field to give the Flames a 1-0 lead. The offense wasn't done there, however. Rob Calabrese singled with Scott Ota aboard and two outs and both scored when Ricardo Ramirez muscled a double to right-center field.
 
Key worked a clean inning in the bottom of the first and the offense went right back to work against a new pitcher, Jacob Delabio. David Cronin and Scott Ota singled through the right side to drive in runs before Calabrese launched his fifth home run of the season, a line drive to left field to drive in three more.
 
The Huskies got two runs back in their half of the second. Mike Roberson and Jason Gasser plated runs, one of which was unearned, with RBI singles. NIU had two on with one out before Key struck out Brad Wood for the second out and got Tommy Hook to ground out to Ramirez at first to end the inning.
 
UIC pushed across another couple of runs in the top of the third against the third different pitcher of the game for NIU. Bowen Ogata singled to open the frame before Matt Bottcher walked for the second time in as many plate appearances. Mickey McDonald attempted to sacrifice the pair into scoring position with a bunt, but Roberson's throw toward third base sailed into left field, allowing Ogata to score. Bottcher came home on a sacrifice fly off Bohanek's bat.
 
Neither team scored in the fourth, while the Flames also came up empty in the top of the fifth. The Huskies scored a run with two outs when Joe Jumonville hit a single to center field that scored Hook from second base.
 
Northern Illinois looked to have something brewing in the top of the sixth with runners on the corners and nobody out, but a UIC triple play squashed any hope of cutting further into the deficit. Key struck out Wood for the third time as Jason Gasser took off from first base. Calabrese threw out the would-be base stealer at second for the second out and Bohanek fired back to the plate as Roberson tried to score for the third out of the sequence.
 
The Flames added another five runs in the in the top of the eighth. UIC, which led the Horizon League in sacrifice flies entering Tuesday, received one from Ota to score McDonald to make it 11-3. Calabrese stepped up next and clobbered a pitch to left-center field for his second three-run home run of the ballgame to make it 14-3. After Ramirez walked and Riley Hebert notched his first career single, Brandon Gibis got in on the action with a single to right field that brought Ramirez home.
 
Calabrese wasn't finished yet. He came up with two runners in scoring position in the top of the ninth and drilled a line drive back up the middle that ricocheted off the NIU pitcher and found its way to the outfield and allowed Cronin and Ota to score.
 
Beyond the Box Score

• The Flames have won 17 of their last 19 games dating back to March 7.
• UIC moved to 7-0 against an in-state foes this season. The Flames have knocked off Northwestern three times and Chicago State and Northern Illinois twice each.
• All nine players in the UIC starting lineup reached base safely by the third inning.
• The Flames have registered four separate five-run innings over the last two games. The team has tallied a total of 29 runs in the two victories over Oakland and Northern Illinois.
• Rob Calabrese's five hits, two home runs and six RBI all mark career highs. He is the second UIC player to drive in at least six runs in a single game this season, joining Scott Ota (March 24 vs. Valparaiso). He is the first player since Joe Betcher on April 13, 2012 to knock in eight runs in a single game.
• Cody Bohanek hit his career-high third home run to lead off the game. He hit two as a junior in 2016.
• David Cronin extended his hitting streak to a team-high 13 games with an RBI single in the top of the second inning. The redshirt junior has hit safely in 26 of UIC's 29 games this season and he has reached base safely in 24 straight contests.
• Key's streak of 13.1 scoreless innings on the mound was snapped in the bottom of the second inning.
• Key improved to 5-0 to tie Jake Dahlberg for the team lead in wins.
• Redshirt freshman Riley Hebert singled in his second at-bat of the day for his first collegiate hit.
• Danny Riley made his second collegiate appearance on the mound. He struck out the only batter he faced to end the ballgame. He has three strikeouts in 1.0 inning this spring.
• The Flames improved to 6-5 in true road games this season.

Postgame Reaction





Up Next

• The Flames will return to Granderson Stadium to host Northern Kentucky in a three-game series beginning on Thursday, April 13 at 6:05 p.m.
• The teams will also play under the lights on Friday at 6:05 p.m. before wrapping up the series on Saturday, April 15 at 1:05 p.m.
• On Saturday, UIC will be hosting a beer garden between Granderson Stadium and Flames Field from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. Both tennis teams and the UIC softball team will be in action Saturday.