LAS CRUCES, N.M. – UIC received its second-straight strong outing by its starting pitcher and nearly made a ninth-inning rally Saturday afternoon, falling to New Mexico State by a 6-3 margin.
 
Tyler Ingram, making his UIC debut, allowed just one run on three hits while striking out four. The righty kept UIC in the game as the offense was limited to just two hits over the first eight innings.
 
The Flames had a trio of scoring chances over the first eight innings of action. Cory Moore notched a one-out double (UIC's lone hit in the first eight innings) to right center in the top of the third, but the left was stranded at second base.
 
Breck Nowik reached on a one-out single in the fifth and stole second with two outs but was unable to advance any further. The Aggies capitalized in the home half of the fifth with a leadoff home run to left center to break the 0-0 tied.
 
Bryan Rosario looked to manufacture a run in the sixth inning to even things up. Rosario was hit by a pitch with one away putting a runner on base for the Flames. Rosario stole second and moved to third on an error by the Aggies catcher, but a strikeout ended the UIC threat.
 
UIC's defense stepped up in the seventh, preventing a second Aggie to score. With runners on the corners and two away, New Mexico State looked to execute a delayed double steal. Joey Morris, on in relief of Ingram, caught the runner breaking from third in the rundown to record the final out.
 
New Mexico State pulled away thanks to a five-run eighth, but the Flames looked to make a late rally. With two outs in the top of the ninth and the bases loaded, James Harris hit a pinch-hit, bases-clearing double down the right field line in his first collegiate at-bat to pull UIC within three at 6-3. Ryan Lin-Peistrup reached on an error to bring the tying run to the plate, but a strikeout would end the game.
 
The rubber game of the series is slated to begin at 12 p.m. (CT) on Sunday afternoon.