CHICAGO – Throughout the season UIC has been one of the stingiest defenses and toughest pitching staffs in the country and those talents were on display at Granderson Stadium Saturday as the Flames won both games of a doubleheader against Wright State, 5-0 and 6-3.
 
UIC (34-12, 20-5 Horizon League) standouts Jake Dahlberg, Connor Ryan and Alex Padilla combined to fire a one-hit shutout against the Raiders (34-17, 19-8 Horizon League) in the opener. David Cronin belted a solo home run, while Rob Calabrese clubbed a two-run single to assist the offense in the team's ninth shutout of the season.
 
In the nightcap, the Flames were aided by another strong pitching performance from starter Reid Birlingmaid, Ryan and Padilla as they came from behind to win, 6-3. Calabrese, Brandon Gibis and Mickey McDonald each tallied three hits in UIC's 12-hit attack with Calabrese belting his seventh home run of the season in the seventh inning. Cody Bohanek also went deep in the victory.
 
UIC is three games ahead of Wright State in the loss column after Saturday's sweep. The Flames have five Horizon League games remaining on the docket, while the Raiders only have three against UIC beginning on Thursday, May 18 in Ohio.
 
How It Happened (Game One)
UIC opened the scoring in the bottom of the second inning. Scott Ota clubbed a double on the first pitch he saw before Matt Bottcher stepped to the dish with two outs. The designated hitter laced a base hit right back up the middle that allowed Ota to score the first run of the afternoon. With Bottcher on first base, Gibis hammered a two-bagger to the corner in right field. Bottcher motored all the way around from first and scored to double the lead to two runs.
 
Wright State's Ryan Weiss settled in and struck out six of the next seven Flames following Gibis' double before UIC added to its lead in the bottom of the sixth. Cronin turned on a Weiss offering and blasted it deep to right field for a solo home run, his sixth of the season.
 
On the other side, Wright State couldn't catch up to anything that Dahlberg offered. The Raiders got a two-out double from Matt Morrow with two outs in the top of the third,  but only two other baserunners for the remainder of his seven-inning outing. He issued a lead-off walk to open the top of the sixth, but he got Morrow to hit into a 6-4-3 double play to erase the runner. Seth Gray later walked with two down in the seventh, but Dahlberg got Cory Heffron to line out to Gibis in left field to end the inning.
 
After Cronin started a spectacular 4-6-3 double play to end the top of the eighth, the Flames pushed across two more runs with two outs in the bottom half. UIC played small ball and started the inning with three consecutive bunt singles to open the frame. The Raiders turned a double play to initially stave off a run, but Calabrese delivered a clutch two-run single that scored both Thomas Norton and Cronin to expand the lead to 5-0.
 
Padilla relieved Ryan, and like the hurler before him, he did not allow a hit in an inning of relief. The redshirt sophomore got a pair of ground balls sandwiched around a foul out to first baseman Ricardo Ramirez to end the ballgame.
 
How It Happened (Game Two)
UIC squandered a good scoring chance in the bottom of the first inning against Zane Collins. Norton singled to begin the inning and he took second on a balk. Cronin walked and Cody Bohanek was hit by a pitch to load the bases and present a problem for the Raiders. Collins got a pair of strikeouts and a groundout, however, to keep the Flames at bay.
 
It was Wright State that struck first on the scoreboard in the top of the sixth inning of the nightcap. Morrow just beat a great throw from Gibis in left field for a one-out double and he scored when the next hitter, Zach Weatherford singled to center field off Reid Birlingmair. The sophomore held the Raiders to one run in the inning and his offense picked him up in the bottom half.
 
Calabrese doubled off the wall in left field to open the stanza, but he was erased on a fielder's choice trying to get to third. After Ramirez walked and Bowen Ogata singled, Gibis delivered a sharp line drive to left field to even the score at a run apiece. With the bases still loaded, UIC head coach Mike Dee called for a squeeze and Mickey McDonald got it down to drive in Ramirez from third base. Not only that, but Morrow had trouble fielding the throw at first base, which allowed Ogata to score and make it 3-1 Flames after six complete.
 
The Raiders went three up and three down in their half of the seventh before UIC got it done with the long ball in the home half. Bohanek led off the inning with a towering home run to the opposite field in right before Calabrese blasted a pitch over the wall in right-center field that gave the Flames a 5-1 lead.
 
Wright State got two runs back in the top of the eighth on a two-run home run from Morrow, but Ryan regrouped and fanned the next two Raiders swinging to preserve a two-run lead.
 
UIC got one of the runs right back in the bottom of the eighth. Gibis lined a single to right field, his third hit of the game and he got to second base on a bunt single from McDonald, his third hit of the game. Norton sacrificed the pair up 90 feet and Cronin hit a sacrifice fly, his second of the season, to make it 6-3.
 
Ryan retired Gabe Snyder for the first out in the ninth inning before giving way to Padilla. Padilla got a pop-fly to shortstop before getting Cory Heffron to wave at strike three and end the game, picking up his sixth save in the process.
 
Beyond the Box Score

• UIC posted its ninth shutout of the season in game one. Pending other results from around the country this weekend, that ties the Flames for the national lead alongside Oregon State, Louisville, Long Beach State and Louisiana.
• UIC's 34 wins are the most since the 2008 club posted 35 wins. That is the last group of Flames to have reached an NCAA Regional.
• The team's 20 wins in Horizon League play are the most since winning 22 in 2015. That team captured the program's last conference championship.
• When Jake Dahlberg struck out Gabe Snyder looking in the top of the second inning, he became the fifth pitcher in program history to record 200 career strikeouts in a UIC uniform. The senior joined Steve Carlson (258), Ryan Zink (208), Zach Peterson (206) and Wes Gillam (202) in the exclusive club.
• Dahlberg finished his outing with four punch-outs to pass Gillam and grab sole possession of fourth place on the all-time list.
• The senior lefty won for the ninth time this season, a career high. He owns 23 career victories, and is ranked fifth on the program's all-time list.
• With a seventh-inning single in game one and three hits in game two, Rob Calabrese has hit safely in a career-high 15 consecutive games. That is the longest streak for any UIC player this season. He owns a slash line of .478/.530/.727 during the streak with 11 doubles, a home run (Saturday) and 17 RBI. UIC is 11-4 during that span.
• Calabrese has also been on base in the team's last 41 games, breaking Justin Johnson's mark of 39 set in 2006.
• Calabrese hit his career-high seventh home run of the season, and third in Horizon League play. Cody Bohanek hit his career-best sixth home run, as did David Cronin. Five of Cronin's six home runs have come in conference games.
• UIC's 38 home runs on the season are the most since the 2010 club registered 49.
• Calabrese leads the Horizon League with a batting average of .417 in conference play and an on-base percentage of .468. His 14 doubles are also three more than the next-closest player.
• UIC entered the game with a staff ERA of 2.62, third-best in the NCAA. The number dropped to 2.57 after Saturday's two wins.
• Dahlberg lowered his ERA to 1.80 for the season, while Padilla dropped his to 0.55 (2 ER/32.2 IP). He has a team-high six saves and he has not allowed an earned run in over two months, since March 5 at Missouri. Padilla has not allowed a run in League games.
• The Flames led the NCAA in fielding percentage (.985) entering the weekend. The team did not commit an error, while making several spectacular plays in the infield and outfield. The fielding percentage moved to .986 overall and .989 in conference games.
• Wright State entered the series with 117 stolen bases on the year, second-most in the NCAA. The Raiders did not even attempt to swipe a bag in two games Saturday.

Postgame Reaction






Up Next

• UIC will travel to Valparaiso for a doubleheader on Sunday, May 14 beginning at 12 p.m. CT.
• Jack Andersen (3-2, 3.62 ERA) will take the ball for the Flames in game one. He will be opposed by Valpo's Grant Inman. Freshman Jacob Key (6-0, 1.98 ERA) will make his third Horizon League start in the nightcap for UIC opposite Ellis Foreman.
• UIC took two-of-three from the Crusaders during a series at Granderson Stadium in March.