CHICAGO – UIC, bolstered by a sensational start on the mound from
Jacob Key, stifled the Wright State Raiders at Granderson Stadium on Friday afternoon, 6-1.
The junior right-handed pitcher for UIC (7-9, 4-0 Horizon League) allowed a single unearned run on three hits and the offense supported him with a season-high 13 hits to remain unbeaten through four Horizon League tests.
The first batter of the game reached on an error and came around to score with two outs to pin the Raiders (13-6, 2-2 Horizon League) to a 1-0 lead. UIC answered with a tally in the third and a five-run outburst in the fourth inning to pull away.
Scott Ota led UIC with three hits, while four different Flames drove in a run. Eight of the nine starters in the lineup for UIC had at least one hit, including
Ryan Lin-Peistrup, who was able to play for the first time since Feb. 16 at Georgia State.
Wright State was held to one run, or less, for only the third time this season. The first two occurrences came at No. 10 Ole Miss (1) and at No. 19 Oklahoma State (0). It was the fourth time this season the Flames limited the opposition to one run or less and the second in Horizon League play.
How It Happened
- Wright State pushed across an unearned run in the top of the first inning. JD Orr reached on an error to start the game. He hit the first pitch of the game into center field and it looked like UIC's Derrick Patrick caught the ball and it fell out of his glove on the transfer. It was ruled an error and Orr was standing on second base. With two outs, Zane Harris legged out an infield single that allowed Orr to score and give the Raiders a 1-0 lead.
- The Flames evened the score with a tally in the bottom of the third inning. Matt Bottcher got aboard with a bunt single, but was able to take second base with the help of an errant throw from WSU's Seth Gray. The UIC second baseman would later come in to score on Thomas Smart's two-out single to right field.
- The home team erupted for five runs in the bottom of the fourth to take the lead and then some. The Flames sent 10 batters to the dish and they scored five times with the help of five hits and the aid of two Wright State errors. Joshua Figueroa, Derrick Patrick and David Becker drove in runs with Becker plating Bottcher and Patrick with two outs. That gave UIC a 6-1 lead it would not relinquish.
Notable
- Jacob Key narrowly missed out on his third complete game of the season. The Murfreesboro, Tenn., native was lifted with two outs in the ninth as he had thrown over 110 pitches in the contest. Freshman Mark McCabe came on and struck out Seth Gray to end the ballgame.
- Key has turned in five consecutive quality starts (at least 6.0 IP allowing three earned runs or less). He has not allowed an earned run since March 1 at SIUE, covering an impressive span of 33.1 consecutive innings.
- The UIC starter did not issue a walk for the fourth time in six starts this season. He struck out seven and has punched out at least five hitters in five of his six starts.
- After Wright State took the lead in the top of the first, Key retired 12 consecutive Raiders. He also sat down the final 10 he faced in succession.
- The top three hitters in UIC's lineup – Matt Bottcher, Derrick Patrick and Scott Ota – hit .467 (7-of-15) and scored three of the team's six runs. Bottcher was the only Flame to score twice on Friday.
- The squad's 13 hits were the most this season. The previous high, 12, came in the second game of a doubleheader against Oakland on March 16.
- Ota had three hits, as many as WSU's entire lineup. It was the second time this season that the senior hit safely three times (Feb. 24 at Texas A&M).
- Thomas Smart has reached base safely in all 16 games this season. He hit an RBI single in the bottom of the third inning to extend the streak. Smart owns the team's longest active hitting streak at six games.
- Ryan Hampe hit a ground-rule double and scored the go-ahead run Friday. He has hit safely in five consecutive games and is batting .636 (7-of-11) and is getting on base at a .750 clip in that span.
- David Becker drove in two runs with two out in the bottom of the fourth inning. It was his first multi-RBI effort of the campaign.
- Ryan Lin-Peistrup returned to the field after missing time. He was 1-for-4 with a run scored on Friday.
- Wright State was held to one run or less for only the third time this season. The other two instances came at No. 10 Ole Miss (1) and at No. 19 Oklahoma State (0).
- UIC is the lone unbeaten team remaining in conference play.
On Deck
- UIC and Wright State will finish off the series on Saturday with a doubleheader at Granderson Stadium. The first game is scheduled to begin at 12:05 p.m.
- It is the fourth consecutive weekend that the Flames will play a doubleheader. UIC is 3-5 in twinbills in 2019. The team most recently swept Oakland in a pair of games on March 16.
