NORMAL, Ill. – The UIC baseball team finished out its final Missouri Valley Conference road series on Sunday afternoon, as the Flames battled Illinois State. Looking for a three-game sweep of the Redbirds, UIC jumped out to an early advantage for the third straight game, and were able to make a slim margin stand, earning the series sweep with a 3-2 victory.

• For the third straight game in the series, the Flames scratched the board first, as Ryan Nagelbach launched his fourth home run of the series in the top of the second to give UIC an early 2-0 lead.
• Following a Redbirds sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth, Rayth Petersen would help the Flames re-gain the two-run lead in the top of the fifth, driving home Bobby Grimes to put UIC ahead 3-1.
• Jeff Zack gave the Flames another solid pitching performance Sunday afternoon, going six complete and surrendering just two earned runs on four hits, without walking an Illinois State hitter. Zack exited after six with the Flames ahead 3-2.
• The Flames bullpen was outstanding yet again, spanning the final three innings of the game without surrendering a run. Ryan Karst pitched a scoreless seventh with a walk and a strikeout, and Reece Lawler earned his fifth save of the season, a two-inning effort allowing just one hit to secure the 3-2 win.

The Flames were originally scheduled to take on Iowa in their final non-conference game of the season Tuesday night, but the two programs have mutually agreed to postpone that contest to the 2024 season. UIC will now close out the regular season next weekend, as it hosts Evansville for a three-game series beginning Thursday night at Curtis Granderson Stadium. First pitch Thursday night is set for 6 p.m. CT.