HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – In a back-and-forth battle, a pair of home runs by Cole Conn and Cory Moore helped the Flames pick up an 8-6 victory over Northern Kentucky in the first game of the final regular season series for both squads.
 
Conn, whose 3-run shot in the third put the Flames back in front for the time being, finished the day 2-for-5 with three RBIs while Moore's two-run opposite field shot in the eighth broke a 6-all tie and proved to be the game-winner.
 
Fred Gosbeth recorded the final four outs for his team-leading fifth save of the season, lowering his ERA down to 1.85. The graduate student has not allowed a run in his last six appearances and has not allowed to run to score in the last 11.2 innings pitched dating back to April 9.
 
UIC (26-16, 25-11 HL) jumped out to an early lead in the top of the first, as Thomas Smart led off the game with a double. The graduate student moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Bryan Rosario and came home to score on the RBI groundout my Matt Botcher.
 
After the Norse (17-28, 14-22 HL) hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first and a solo shot in the second, the Flames regained the lead with a four-run third. With two outs and a runner on first, Bottcher was hit by a pitch, allowing Smart to advance to second. Joshua Figueroa singled up the middle to drive home Smart and put runners on the corners. The freshman Conn delivered in the clutch, sending a three-run shot out to left center to put the Flames ahead 5-3.
 
Northern Kentucky evened the score at 5-all with runs in the third and fourth, but UIC would once again take the lead back with a run in the sixth. Moore walked to lead off the inning and moved to second on the sac bunt by Sean Dee. Smart singled through the middle, allowing Moore to scamper home from third and put the Flames back in front.
 
UIC's lead was erased in the bottom of the seventh when the Norse plated a run on a wild pitch.
 
Moore delivered UIC's second home run of the day in the eighth, a blast that proved to be the game-winner. With one out, Ryan Lin-Peistrup doubled down the left field line, setting the stage for Moore's opposite filed, two-run shot.
 
Gosbeth entered the game with two outs in the eighth and worked around a pair of base runners to induce an inning-ending flyout to Dee in center. The righty retired the side in order in the ninth, with a pair of strikeouts, to earn the save and give the Flames the victory.
 
UIC and Northern Kentucky will meet up for a doubleheader Saturday, with first pitch slated for a 10 a.m. (ET) start time.