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UIC Athletics

thevalley
Josh Figueroa
Steve Woltmann
2
Northern Kentucky NKU 8-25, 6-7 HL
16
Winner UIC UIC 14-13, 8-4 HL
Northern Kentucky NKU
8-25, 6-7 HL
2
Final
16
UIC UIC
14-13, 8-4 HL
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Northern Kentucky NKU 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 9 6
UIC UIC 1 1 0 1 9 0 3 1 X 16 15 3

W: Key, Jacob (5-4) L: WILLIAMS, Sam (2-7)

Game Recap: Baseball |

UIC Explodes Again & Tops NKU, 16-2

Scott Ota hit two home runs and collected seven RBI for Flames

CHICAGO – UIC's offense continued to produce at a high level and the pitching and defense held Northern Kentucky to a pair of runs on a windy and sun-splashed day at Granderson Stadium to cruise to a 16-2 victory in the series opener.

Senior Scott Ota continued his tear through conference play with three hits, two home runs and seven RBI to lead UIC (14-13, 8-4 Horizon League). He hit a grand slam during the nine-run fifth inning that the Flames put together and added a three-run blast in the seventh.

Jacob Key produced another quality start in which he surrendered two earned runs over 6.0 IP. He struck out seven NKU batters. Relievers Sam Menegat and Jordan Krueger combined to throw 3.0 scoreless frames to finish the ballgame.

How It Happened
  • On an afternoon with wind howling at Granderson Stadium, UIC brought in the first run of the game without hitting the ball out of the infield. Matt Bottcher began the inning with an infield single and he was awarded second base when an errant throw carried into NKU's first-base dugout. After a pair of strikeouts by NKU's Sam Williams, Ryan Hampe also singled just past the pitcher and a misplay at shortstop allowed Bottcher to score from second base and give the Flames a 1-0 lead.
  • UIC added to the advantage with another tally in the bottom of the second. Alex Dee reached on an error to open the frame and he moved to second on a base hit off the bat of Joshua Figueroa. Ryan Lin-Peistrup then punch a long base hit to the gap in right-center field that allowed Dee to score from second base.
  • The Norse cut into the deficit with one out in the top of the third. Jake Murray walked with one out and he scored from first base when Will Haueter hit a double to center field.
  • Figueroa helped the Flames regain a two-run lead with one swing in the bottom of the fourth. The backstop blasted his first home run of the season off the batter's eye in center field to give UIC a 3-1 lead.
  • Murray scored the second run of the game for the Norse when he hit a solo home run out to center field to open the top of the fifth. The Norse also got a double with one out in the inning, but Key stranded the runner, the seventh of the day to that point.
  • The Flames broke the game wide open by scoring nine runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to take a commanding 12-2 lead. UIC sent 13 batters to dish and collected seven hits, four of which went for extra bases. Derrick Patrick, Hampe and Dee all doubled in the fifth, while Ota hit the first of his two home runs to right field. Patrick and Ota both scored twice during the frame.
  • Ota helped the Flames tack on three more runs with one out in the seventh. Bottcher singled before Patrick walked and Ota cranked a mammoth blast that exited the stadium in right field and gave UIC a 15-2 advantage. The Flames tacked on one more in the eighth as pinch hitter Lane Cobb came around to score following his first career hit at UIC.
Notable
  • UIC scored at least 15 runs in back-to-back games for the first time since the opening weekend of the 2016 season. UIC beat Texas Southern by scores of 22-5, 22-8 and 17-3 on Feb. 20-21, 2016.
  • The Flames are 5-0 when hitting at least two home runs this season. Friday marked the third time this season that UIC went deep three times and the second time in three games. In two of the three instances, Scott Ota has homered twice in the same game, including Friday.
  • UIC is 10-0 when scoring at least six runs this season. Friday's victory marked the fourth time of scoring at least 10 and the third time of tallying at least 15.
  • UIC scored nine runs in the fifth inning Friday. In the previous 26 games combined, the Flames scored eight runs in the fifth inning.
  • The Flames have won at least three consecutive games for the third time this season.
  • Ota has a career-high 11 home runs on the year after his second multi-home run performance of the season. He is the first UIC player to reach double digits in that category since All-American Jeff Boehm hit 14 in 2015.
  • Ota's first hit of the game, a single in the fifth inning, extended his hitting streak to a team-high 12 games. In that span he is batting .455 with seven home runs, four doubles, a triple and 23 RBI. Ota needs three hits to reach 200 for his career.
  • Ota and Matt Bottcher lead the Flames with 12 multi-hit games. Bottcher had two hits and scored three times Friday. Ota has a team-best eight games with multiple RBI. The seven he collected on Friday are a career high and he has 13 in his last two games.
  • Lane Cobb rifled a single into right field as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the eighth. It was his first hit in his first at-bat in a UIC uniform.
  • Ryan Hampe had two hits Friday as he increased his batting average to a conference-leading .413. He is batting an eye-popping .475 in 11 Horizon League starts.
  • Jacob Key made his seventh quality start of the season, and the fourth against an Horizon League opponent. The junior tallied seven strikeouts on Friday, marking the third time in four games he has hit that number.
  • Jordan Krueger made his first appearance since opening weekend at Kennesaw State. He gave up a hit, but recorded a strikeout and a game-ending double play.
  • UIC improved to 13-3 all-time against Northern Kentucky.
Postgame Reaction


On Deck
  • UIC and Northern Kentucky will conclude the three-game series by playing a doubleheader on Saturday.
  • First pitch of game one is slated for 12:05 p.m. CT.
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