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UIC Athletics

thevalley
Snyder GS
Missouri Valley Conference
8
Missouri State MOST 23-33
9
Winner UIC UIC 34-18
Missouri State MOST
23-33
8
Final
9
UIC UIC
34-18
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Missouri State MOST 0 0 6 0 0 0 1 0 1 8 8 0
UIC UIC 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 5 X 9 8 0

W: Wachowiak, Presley (2-3) L: Loomis,Eric (1-3) S: Smith, Ryan (3)

Game Recap: Baseball | | AJ Schraffenberger

Baseball Takes Down #8 Missouri State in Exciting Fashion

Flames Use Pinch-Hit Grand Slam to Beat Bears in Opening Round Tuesday

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (May 21, 2024) – Fifth-seeded UIC baseball (34-18, 16-11 MVC) opened the 2024 Missouri Valley Conference Baseball Championship on Tuesday, as UIC battled with eighth-seeded Missouri State (23-33, 11-16 MVC) in the opening round of the tournament. The Flames battled back in the late innings, completing the comeback victory in exciting fashion by a 9-8 final score.
 
GAME SUMMARY
  • Kendal Ewell (Calumet City, Ill./Kentucky) wasted no time getting the Flames on the board, as his two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning gave UIC the 2-0 lead. The home run was Ewell's 21st of the season, a new single-season record for UIC baseball.
 

 
  • The Bears answered in the top of the third inning, as a wind-aided home run down the right field line tied the game at 2-2. Missouri State would go on to score six runs in the third inning, taking a 6-2 lead and chasing starter Colin Hawkins (St. Louis, Mo./Rend Lake College) from the game.
  • The Flames answered back in the bottom of the third inning, as Zane Zielinski (Chicago, Ill./Northeast CC) drove home a run with a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 6-3.
  • Zack Millsap (Crete, Ill./Kankakee CC) was outstanding in long relief for UIC, going three and two-thirds innings pitched giving up no hits and striking out five.
 

 
  • Ryan Nagelbach (Deerfield, Ill./Deerfield) brought the Flames within two runs in the bottom of the sixth, as his sixth home run of the season pulled the score to 6-4.
 

 
  • After scoring a run on a hit-batsman in the bottom of the eighth, Jack Snyder (Manteno, Ill./Kankakee CC) came on as a pinch-hitter with the bases loaded and the Flames down 7-5, and sent a no-doubt grand-slam over the left field wall to put UIC ahead for good at 9-7.
 
  • The Bears tacked on a solo home run in the top of the ninth, but the Flames went on to take the opening round game by a 9-8 final score.
 
The Flames move into the winner's bracket and will take on second-seeded Murray State Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. CT from German American Bank Field. The game can be seen live on ESPN+, and live stats are also available.
 
Visit the 2024 MVC Baseball Tournament Central for all relevant information pertaining to this week's Championship.
 
Fans are strongly encouraged to support NIL opportunities for UIC scholar-athletes through contributions to The Chicago Collective.
 
For more information on UIC Athletics and UIC baseball, visit UICFlames.com. Fans can also follow the Flames on social media through X (@UIC_Baseball and @UICFlames) and Instagram (@uic_baseball and @uicflames).
 
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