Skip To Main Content

UIC Athletics

thevalley
Colin Husko
Missouri Valley Conference
19
Winner UIC UIC 21-31
17
Southern Illinois SIU 37-19
Winner
UIC UIC
21-31
19
Final
17
Southern Illinois SIU
37-19
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
UIC UIC 3 1 0 3 1 7 4 0 0 19 20 2
Southern Illinois SIU 1 3 8 2 0 1 1 0 1 17 16 0

W: Hawkins, Colin (3-1) L: G. Wernsing (3-1) S: Millsap, Zack (5)

Game Recap: Baseball | | AJ Schraffenberger

Baseball Outlasts Salukis in Opening Round Slug Fest

No. 4 Flames complete largest comeback of the season to earn 19-17 victory Wednesday

NORMAL, Ill. – The no. 4 seed UIC baseball team (21-31, 16-11 MVC) opened play in the 2025 Missouri Valley Conference Baseball Championship on Wednesday, as the Flames took on no. 3 seed Southern Illinois (37-19, 16-11 MVC) on a windy, misty day in central Illinois.
 
The Flames jumped on the board early, putting up three runs in the top of the first inning, highlighted by a 2 RBI double off the bat of Colin Husko, his 20th and 21st RBI of the 2025 season. Husko entered the game hitting eight for 11 (.727) when batting with a runner on third and less than two outs this season. UIC re-gained a three-run cushion in the top of the second as a Luke Nowak ground out brought in a run to make the score 4-1 in favor of the Flames.
 
Southern Illinois answered with a three-spot of its own in the bottom of the second, tying the game at 4-4 headed to the third inning. The Salukis broke the tie an inning later with a grand slam and two two-run homers, taking a 12-4 lead and chasing Flames starting pitcher Tommy Egan from the game.
 
UIC wasted no time beginning the comeback, plating three runs the very next half inning, thanks in part to RBI singles from Lucas Smith and Thomas Curry. After two more runs from the Salukis in the bottom of the fourth, the Flames tallied the next eight runs over the next two frames, culminating with a two-RBI single to left field to put UIC ahead 15-14 after being down eight runs after three innings.
 
The Salukis re-tied the game in the bottom of the sixth on their eighth home run of the game, but the Flames surged back with four more in the top of the seventh with home runs from AJ Taylor and Curry. UIC went on to win by a final score of 19-17, its second time in three games scoring 19 or more runs.
 

 
The full box score and play-by-play recap can be found here.
 
COACH'S COMMENTS

 
 
SOCIAL MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
  • Every batter in the Flames lineup registered at least one hit in Wednesday's game, as UIC set a new season-high for hits in a single game with 20.
  • The eight-run comeback win for the Flames marked the largest comeback of the 2025 season. The previous high was in the regular season finale, when UIC trailed Belmont by six runs early and came back to win 12-7.
  • Luke Nowak set a new season-high for hits in a single game for any UIC player, going five for six and driving in three runs, and scoring five himself.
  • Colin Husko's five RBI tied a UIC single-game high this year, equaling Terrick Thompson-Allen's effort against Belmont on May 16.
 
 
UP NEXT
With the win, UIC will move on to day two of the MVC Baseball Championship Thursday with a 1-0 record and await the winner of Wednesday night's game five between no. 2 Missouri State and no. 5 Illinois State. First pitch is slated for 7:00 p.m. CT in that game, which can be seen live on ESPN+.

FOLLOW THE FLAMES
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).
 
Print Friendly Version