CHICAGO – The UIC baseball team opened a three-game series against Missouri State on Friday, as it welcomed the Bears to Curtis Granderson Stadium for UIC baseball Alumni Night.
 

• After a pair of singles to open the game for the Bears, a fielder's choice allowed leadoff hitter Nick Rodriguez to come around to score to give Missouri State a 1-0 lead.
• The Flames tallied their first hit of the night in the second inning on a Cole Conn infield single but were unable to bring him around to score.
• The Bears added on to their lead in the top half of the fourth inning, as a pair of home runs extended their advantage to 4-0.
• Flames starting pitcher Brandon Bak was chased after four complete innings, surrendering four earned runs on seven hits.
• Peter Newton was first in relief for UIC, and gave the Flames four solid innings, allowing just two hits and no runs, striking out three.
• The Flames finally broke through on the scoreboard in the home half of the seventh inning, as Sean Dee reached base with the bases loaded thanks to a Bears error in the infield, and Carson Roberts ripped an RBI single to left field to score Ryan Nagelbach, cutting the Flames deficit to 4-2 heading to the eighth inning.
• The Bears bullpen was able to shut the door emphatically after the seventh, allowing just one hit between the eighth and ninth.
• Missouri State added a two-run home run in the visiting half of the ninth, bringing the final score to 6-2 in favor of the Bears.

 
Game two of the three-game series is set for Saturday afternoon at Curtis Granderson Stadium, with first pitch scheduled for 2:00 p.m. CT. Kade Lancour is the scheduled starter for the Flames, as he makes his eighth start of the year. The game can be seen live on ESPN3, and heard live for no charge on the Flames Network. Saturday's game is also Bark in the Park day at Granderson Stadium, where dogs can receive a free UIC bandana and get their picture taken with Sparky.