Skip To Main Content

UIC Athletics

thevalley
Scott Ota
11
Winner UIC UIC 20-13, 8-7 HL
2
Northern Kentucky NKU 10-27, 5-13 HL
Winner
UIC UIC
20-13, 8-7 HL
11
Final
2
Northern Kentucky NKU
10-27, 5-13 HL
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
UIC UIC 0 2 0 0 3 5 0 0 1 11 19 0
Northern Kentucky NKU 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 9 0

W: Key, Jacob (2-4) L: BASILONE, Brody (1-4)

Game Recap: Baseball |

@UICBaseball Blasts NKU, 11-2, to Complete Road Sweep

Flames scored 36 runs in three-game set

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky.  – UIC maintained an aggressive offensive attack to cruise past the Norse, 11-2, Sunday afternoon at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex. The victory finished off a three-game road sweep.
 
UIC (20-13, 8-7 Horizon League) pushed across 11 runs for the second consecutive game bringing the team's series total to 36. That is the most in a three-game road sweep since the Flames posted 38 runs in three games at Oakland on May 8-9, 2015.
 
The visitors got two big hits from right fielder Scott Ota, a two-run triple in the fifth inning and a two-run home run in the sixth to help the Flames win their fourth straight game overall. Derrick Patrick also drove in a pair of runs with a triple and Alex Dee brought two home with a single Sunday.
 
Jacob Key collected his second win of the season, and first in Horizon League play. The sophomore threw 5.2 scoreless innings and fanned five hitters Sunday.
 
How It Happened
UIC was held scoreless in the top of the first inning for the first time in the series Sunday, but the drought didn't last long. In the top of the second, Dee singled up the middle with two down to score Bowen Ogata and Thomas Norton, both of whom had base hits earlier in the frame.
 
With Key holding the Norse offense in check, the Flames added to the lead in the top of the fifth. Derrick Patrick and Aaron Ackerman each walked with one away before Ota uncorked a triple to right-center field that plated both and gave the Flames a 4-0 lead. Ogata came up next and delivered a single on the first pitch he saw to score Ota and extend the lead to five.
 
The sixth inning proved to be the most prolific of the day for the UIC offense as it produced five runs to gain a double-digit lead. This time it was triple from Patrick, his first of the season, that plated Matt Bottcher and Dee. Ackerman singled to left field to score Patrick before Ota blasted his team-high fourth home run to make it 10-0.
 
The visiting team added one more run in the top of the ninth. Trey Beckman singled and eventually scored when Dylan Gilbert was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
 
UIC carried a shutout into the bottom of the ninth, but Chad Roberts' two-run home run with one out prevented the home team from getting blanked in the series finale.
 
Beyond the Box Score
  • The Flames scored 36 runs in the three-game series. It was the most offense in a three-game road sweep since the 2015 club pushed across 38 runs at Oakland, May 8-9 of that year.
  • UIC improved to 8-0 when scoring 10-plus runs and 17-4 when scoring three times or more.
  • UIC earned its second series sweep of the season and first against an Horizon League foe. The Flames also improved to 13-3 all-time against the Norse since the latter joined the Horizon League in 2016.
  • The Flames have won three straight road games for the first time this season. It's the longest road winning streak since the club won seven in a row between March 7 and April 23, 2017. That stretch included two wins at Northwestern, two at Youngstown State, one at Chicago State, one at Northern Illinois and one at Northern Kentucky.
  • UIC's two triples marked a single-game season high. The team has eight on the season, four of which have come off the bat of Scott Ota. Ota has 11 career three-base hits, which is tied for third in UIC history alongside Larry Gempp, Jr.
  • Derrick Patrick batted .545/.706/.909 in the three-game sweep at NKU. The outfielder had six hits (including three for extra bases), six runs, six walks and four RBI. David Becker, who did not play Sunday, hit .556/.545/1.000 with five hits and six RBI in the first two games of the set.
  • Jacob Key has allowed one earned run in 11.2 innings of work in two starts against Northern Kentucky this season. That one run was a leadoff home run in the first meeting at Granderson Stadium on March 18.
  • UIC has won at least 20 games for the 19th consecutive season and the 19th time in 20 years under head coach Mike Dee.
Up Next
  • UIC will begin a six-game homestand on Tuesday, April 24 with a visit from the Northwestern Wildcats. First pitch is slated for 6:05 p.m. CT
  • The Flames have won five consecutive meetings against Chicago's Big Ten Team dating back to March 8, 2016.
  • The first two scheduled games between the two teams, one in Chicago and one in Evanston, were cancelled as a result of inclement weather.
Print Friendly Version