CHICAGO – The UIC baseball team continued its three-game series against Evansville Friday, as the Flames hosted the Purple Aces, needing wins in the final two games of the series to secure a top-four spot in the Missouri Valley Conference Championship next week.
- For the second straight game in the series, the Flames jumped out to an early lead on Friday night, as center fielder AJ Henkle sent a double into the right-center field gap to score two runs, putting UIC ahead 2-0 after just one inning.
- Rayth Petersen launched his fourth home run of the season in the bottom of the third inning, a two-run shot to left field to double the UIC advantage to 4-0.
- Not to be out-done in the third, Breck Nowik launched a no-doubt home run to left field, a three-run shot that traveled 405 feet to put the Flames ahead 7-0. The Aces answered with a solo shot early in the top of the fourth to claw back to 7-1.
- The Aces added two more solo home runs, with one in the fifth and one in the sixth inning to pull within four at 7-3.
- Zak Gould would come on and shut the door for the Flames, getting a nine-out save to earn the 7-3 win.
Friday's victory sets up a huge matchup on Saturday, as the winner of Saturday afternoon's game guarantees themselves a top-four seed in next week's Missouri Valley Conference Championship. First pitch from Curtis Granderson Stadium is set for 1 p.m., and can be seen live on ESPN3.
