EVANSVILLE, Ind. – A late offensive surge by the UIC baseball team lifted the Flames to a 7-5 victory over Evansville Saturday afternoon.
 
Tied at two headed to the seventh, UIC and Evansville each scored three runs to make it a 5-all game going into the eighth inning. In the eighth, a two-out solo shot by Sean Dee and a run-scoring double by Bryan Rosario gave the Flames the 7-5 advantage.
 
Tanner Shears came in and shut down Evansville, throwing the final 2.1 innings of the game. The senior was dominant on the mound, allowing no hits and no walks while striking out four to earn the victory.
 
Rosario led the way with three of UIC's 10 hits, driving in a pair. Rayth Petersen added two RBIs on a single through the right side in the seventh inning.
 
The first of UIC's three home runs in the game came in the first inning when Ryan Nagelbach launched a two-out blast to right to give UIC the early 1-0 lead. After Evansville took a 2-1 lead through five innings, Rosario connected on a solo blast to right to pull the Flames even at 2-all.
 
The Flames briefly took a 5-2 lead in the seventh behind a run-scoring bunt by Cole Conn and Petersen's two-run single. UIC's lead wouldn't last long, as the Purple Aces countered with three in the home half of the inning, setting the stage for UIC to take the lead for good in the eighth inning.
 
UIC continues its roadtrip next weekend, taking on nationally ranked Arkansas in a four-game series beginning Thursday afternoon.