CHICAGO -- UIC burst back into the win column on Friday afternoon on the strength of 8.0 shutout innings on the mound from Jacob Key and a six-run surge in the fourth inning to knock off Milwaukee, 8-1.

UIC (19-19, 12-9 Horizon League) led 1-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth inning when the Flames sent 10 batters to the plate and scored six runs on six hits to take a commanding 7-0 lead. Scott Ota added his 16^th home runs of the season in the bottom of the sixth.

Key was nearly untouchable on the hill. He allowed just two hits over his 8.0 IP and retired the final 10 Panthers (26-16, 13-8 Horizon League) he faced.

How It Happened

• UIC started the scoring in the second inning on Friday. Joshua Figueroa and Thomas Smart opened the frame with back-to-back singles and they were sacrificed up 90 feet each on a bunt from Alex Dee. Sean Dee stepped up and dropped down a bunt that allowed Figueroa to score as he slid around the tag from Milwaukee's catcher.
• The Flames exploded for six runs in the bottom of the fourth as they sent 10 batters to plate and tallied six hits to take a 7-0 lead. Smart, the Dee brothers and Ryan Lin-Peistrup unleashed four straight base hits to open the inning with Sean Dee and Lin-Peistrup driving in runs. Follow a sacrifice bunt, Chris Papapietro notched a two-run double to right field. He stole third after an intentional walk to Ota and Ryan Hampe singled him home before Figueroa grounded out to the right side to allow Ota to score the sixth run of the set.
• Key had settled into a groove and by the time his offense staked him to a seven-run lead, the right-hander retired the final 10 Panthers he faced from the top of the fifth inning on. He allowed only two singles the entire afternoon. He walked two and hit one batter with an errant pitch.
• Ota added to the home team's advantage in the bottom of the sixth. With two outs and facing an 0-2 count, the UIC right fielder uncorked a solo home run, his 16th of the year.
• After Key turned it over to the bullpen after 8.0 scoreless innings, Milwaukee got on the board with a run in the ninth. The Panthers had the bases loaded with one out, but Ryan O'Reilly spun back-to-back strikeouts to end the ballgame.

Notable

• Scott Ota hit his career-high 16^th home run of the season. The senior ranks third on UIC's single-season leaderboard behind Frank Provenzano (17, 1985) and Bart Babineaux (18, 2006).
• Ota is batting .615 with eight hits and three home runs in three games against Milwaukee in 2019. He has scored eight of UIC's 39 runs in the season series.
• Alex Dee had a season-high three hits on Friday. Thomas Smart picked up three hits for the third time, while Ota had his eighth performance of at least three knocks.
• Ota has reached base safely in 23 consecutive games.
• The Flames have outscored the Panthers, 39-11, in three games this season. UIC is batting .374 as a team in the three games with 15.3 hits per game.
• Jacob Key has allowed three earned runs in 15.1 IP against Milwaukee this season. He has four strikeouts in two starts and the Panthers, who led the Horizon League in batting average entering the weekend, are hitting .176 against the junior.
• Key has made nine quality starts in 12 chances this spring. Six have come against Horizon League opponents and two have come against Milwaukee.
• The junior struck out at least seven batters for the sixth time in 12 starts this season.

On Deck

• The series will continue Saturday afternoon at 1:05 p.m.
• The game will be broadcast on ESPN3.