CHICAGO -- UIC received another strong effort on the mound Tuesday night and just enough offense to get past the visiting Chicago Maroons at Granderson Stadium, 6-3.

Wyatt Trautwein made his fourth start of the season and earned his second win with a quality outing. He allowed only two runs on four hits over 7.0 innings. Offensively, Aaron Ackerman hit a two-run home run in the victory and drove in three of the teams' six runs Tuesday. Both he and Matt Bottcher had two hits apiece.

How It Happened
UIC started the scoring in the bottom of the fourth inning against Chicago's Paul Chang. Scott Ota walked on four pitches to begin the frame. Two batters later, Aaron Ackerman tomahawked his third home run of the season down the line in right field to give the Flames a 2-0 lead.
 
The home team tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the fifth. Matt Bottcher singled for the second time in the game with one down before he and Dominic Smith executed a hit-and-run to perfection. With Bottcher on the move, Smith hit a line drive at where the second baseman had been and it rolled into deep right-center field. UIC's second baseman came all the way around to score and Smith, the reigning Horizon League Batter of the Week, trotted into second with an RBI double.
 
The line kept moving when Ota was hit by a pitch. When Ackerman came up a short time with two outs he delivered a base hit to right field that scored Smith from second and increased the lead for the Flames to four runs.
 
Chicago cut its deficit in half in the top of the seventh. Josh Parks walked, the first of the evening for the Maroons, and the next batter, Brady Sarkon, delivered a two-run home run out to left field that made it 4-2 in favor of the Flames.
 
UIC came back and put another crooked number on the board in the bottom of the eighth. Alex Dee walked and pinch runner Trey Beckman took second on a wild pitch. Beckman made third when Thomas Norton reached on a fielding error and he scored on a squeeze bunt off the bat of Ryan Lin-Peistrup. Norton would come home two batters later when Bottcher reached on a fielder's choice.
 
The Maroons got one back with a solo home run to open the top of the ninth, but reliever Joey Fredrickson worked past the blemish and closed the door on a 6-3 victory.

Postgame Reaction

 

Beyond the Box Score

• The Flames went 43.0 innings pitched without allowing an earned run before Chicago's two-run home run with one out in the top of the seventh. They had allowed only one unearned tally in that span.
• Wyatt Trautwein pitched a career-high 7.0 innings Tuesday to notch his second career victory. He allowed only four hits and struck out four.
• The Maroons used nine pitchers in the game, all for one inning apiece. None threw more than 24 pitches.
• The Flames improved to 21-0 when leading after seven innings and 18-3 when scoring first.
• UIC is 15-6 at Granderson Stadium this season and 2-2 in night games.

Up Next

• UIC will finish its six-game homestand this week when it hosts the Benedictine Eagles on Wednesday evening at Granderson.
• The game will begin at 6:35 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
• It is the final non-conference game of the regular season for the Flames.