CHICAGO – UIC went on the road Sunday and split a pair of games at Valparaiso's Emory G. Bauer Field by shutting out the Crusaders in the opener, 2-0, before dropping a back-and-forth affair in the finale, 7-6.
 
The Flames received another marvelous outing on the bump in the first game of the twinbill. Redshirt senior Jack Andersen fired 6.0 scoreless innings to open the game, while allowing only two hits with five strikeouts and no walks. Andersen was supported out of the bullpen by one scoreless frame each from Charlie Cerny, Connor Ryan and Alex Padilla. Padilla pitched the ninth inning and nailed down his seventh save of the season.
 
UIC scored two first-inning runs before Andersen even took the mound and that was all the offense that was needed. Rob Calabrese hit a sacrifice fly to score David Cronin and Scott Ota doubled down the line in left field for an early insurance run.
 
Valparaiso led 4-1 after three innings in game two before the Flames responded with a big crooked number in the top of the fourth. UIC scored five times to take a 6-4 lead. Bowen Ogata had the biggest blow of the inning on a two-run triple.
 
The Crusaders answered with two in the bottom of the fourth before scoring the game-winning run, an unearned tally, in the bottom of the eighth inning.
 
How It Happened (Game One)
The Flames cranked up the offense early on in the first game of the day. Cronin walked with one away and he made second when Cody Bohanek notched a base hit through the left side. The pair moved up on a passed ball and Cronin scored when Calabrese hit a ball deep to centerfield for a sacrifice fly. Ota then added to the lead when he laced a double the opposite way down the left-field line, scoring Bohanek from second base.
 
Andersen was in complete control early on. The tall right-handed hurler retired the first seven Crusaders he faced with a couple of strikeouts before the early no-hit bid was broken up in the bottom of the third inning when Scott Kapers doubled. He eventually made it to third base on a wild pitch, but Andersen fanned James Stea to end the inning and strand the runner 90 feet from home.
 
UIC picked up doubles in the third and fourth innings from Calabrese and Thomas Norton, respectively, but the Flames could not add to the lead on either occasion. The visitors got a runner of their own to third base in the top of the seventh. Bohanek singled with one out, stole second and advanced to third on an errant throw. Ota tried to plate the senior shortstop, but he flied out to right field to end the threat.
 
Cerny sent the Crusaders down in order in the bottom of the seventh, UIC got back-to-back singles to open the eighth from Ricardo Ramirez and Matt Bottcher. The pair was sacrificed ahead, but a pop-up to shortstop and fly ball to center field ended that inning without any further damage.
 
Ryan, appearing in his third game in 24 hours, worked a scoreless eighth and turned it over to Padilla for the ninth. The redshirt sophomore worked around a one-out walk and struck out pinch hitter Jayden Eggiman to end the ballgame.
 
How It Happened (Game Two)
Valparaiso tallied a run in the bottom of the first inning in the nightcap, but UIC answered right back in the top of the second. Bowen Ogata doubled with two outs and he scored when Brandon Gibis singled through the right side.
 
The Crusaders responded with two more runs in the second inning against Jacob Key and one in the third against Ryan Campbell to take a 4-1 lead before the Flames put together a big multi-run inning in the top of the fourth inning.
 
The fourth-inning scoring began in earnest with one out. Ota and Ramirez singled in back-to-back fashion before Ogata punched his first triple in a UIC uniform down the right-field line. The next batter, Gibis, continued his big weekend at the dish with an RBI double and he scored when Mickey McDonald reached safely on a Valpo error. After stealing both second and third base, McDonald scored on an RBI groundout off the bat of Norton. When the line stopped moving the Flames had plated five runs on four hits and an error to take a 6-4 lead.
 
The Crusaders tacked on two runs in the bottom of the fourth on a wild pitch and an RBI groundout to even the ledger at six runs apiece. Thanks to strong efforts from a pair of relievers on both sides, that's where it remained in the bottom of the eighth inning.
 
Chase Dawson singled and stole second with two outs, and he advanced when McDonald misplayed the throw while backing up the play in center field. The next hitter, Nate Palace, reached on a throwing error and Dawson scored the go-ahead run, an unearned tally to decide the outcome.
 
Beyond the Box Score

• UIC posted its 10^th shutout of the season in game one. That ties the Flames for the national lead alongside No. 1 Oregon State.
• UIC's 35 wins are the most since the 2008 club posted as many. That is the last group of Flames to have reached an NCAA Regional.
• The team's 21 wins in Horizon League play are the most since winning 22 in 2015. That team captured the program's last conference championship.
• Jack Andersen's earned-run average of 1.94 in eight Horizon League starts not only leads UIC, but the entire conference. The Palatine, Ill., native has four wins against League opponents, which is tied for third in the Horizon League behind teammate Jake Dahlberg (8) and Milwaukee's Jay Peters (5).
• Alex Padilla collected his seventh save of the season, and sixth in Horizon League play, in game one. That is tied for fifth on UIC's single-season list. Padilla has not allowed a run in 21.0 innings against conference foes this year over 14 appearances. He has not allowed an earned run overall since March 5 at Missouri.
• With two hits in the first game, including his team-high 22^nd double of the season, Rob Calabrese extended his hitting streak to a career-high 16 consecutive games. That is the longest streak for any UIC player this season. The streak ended in the second game and he posted a slash line of .475/.521/.729 during the streak with 12 doubles, a home run and 18 RBI.
• Calabrese also extended his on-base streak to 42 games, but that also ended in the second game of the twinbill, one that he served as the designated hitter.
• Calabrese leads the Horizon League with a batting average of .404 in conference play and ranks third with an on-base percentage of .450. His 15 doubles are also three more than the next-closest player.
• Brandon Gibis batted .462 (6-of-13) with two doubled and four RBI in four games over Saturday and Sunday. The senior also made several highlight-reel plays in leftfield for the Flames.
• The Flames won the regular-season series against Valpo, 3-2. Andersen won two of the three games for UIC by allowing one earned run in 12.0 innings of work over two starts. Padilla picked up two saves in the series. Scott Ota batted .475 against the Crusaders with eight RBI.

 Up Next

• UIC will travel to Wright State for a three-game series to conclude the regular season beginning on Thursday, May 18.
• The Flames (21-6) enter the final weekend with a two-game lead over the Raiders (19-8) in the Horizon League standings. The regular season champion will host the Horizon League Tournament the following week.
• UIC swept a doubleheader from Wright State at Granderson Stadium on Saturday. For a full recap of those games, please click here.