Baseball back on top with wins over Milwaukee

Tyler Detmer had two hits for the Flames versus Milwaukee Sunday. — Photo: Steve Woltmann

The baseball team (20-17-1, 15-6 HL) is back on top of the Horizon League standings after a doubleheader split against Milwaukee (24-15, 10-10 HL) Sunday afternoon.

The Flames won two-of-three versus the Panthers over the weekend. UIC has won all seven conference series this season.

UIC heads to Wright State for a three-game series beginning Friday and returns home Tuesday to host Michigan at 6 p.m. at Granderson Stadium.

The Flames pounded out 11 hits in game one but could push across only two runs in a 7-2 defeat. Joe Pavlovich (4-1) tossed a complete game for the Panthers and threw 136 pitches. The Flames left two runners on base in each of the final three innings.

UIC starter Ian Lewandowski (4-4) allowed seven runs on 11 hits over 6.3 innings. Noah Masa relieved Lewandowski in the seventh and tossed 2.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen.

Tyler Detmer, Jeff Boehm and Rob Calabrese had two hits for the Flames. Boehm and Alex Lee both drove in runs on sacrifice flies. Boehm and Zenon Kolakowski scored UIC’s runs in the second and eighth innings.

Milwaukee scored three runs on three hits in the first inning before UIC got one back in the bottom of the second. Boehm led off with a double to left center and scored on Lee’s sacrifice fly to center.

The Panthers extended their lead to 7-1 with two runs in the fifth and seventh innings. The Flames scored their final run in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Kolakowski walked with one out and advanced to third on Detmer’s single through the left side. Boehm brought Kolakowski home on a fly ball to left field for his team-leading 46th RBI of the season.

Kolakowski was the hero in the series finale as he slapped a game-winning infield single in the 10th inning that plated Conor Philbin, giving UIC the 3-2 triumph. Kolakowski came in to pinch hit for Gabe Dwyer and recorded the walk-off hit on a 0-2 pitch.

Trevor Lane got the starting nod for the Flames and allowed two runs over seven innings. He scattered eight hits, walked six batters and struck out three.

Cody Bohanek went 3-of-4 from the dish and improved his team-leading batting average to .353. Mickey McDonald scored an RBI, going 2-for-5 from the plate.

The Flames got on the scoreboard first with one run on three hits in the bottom of the first inning. Bohanek singled with one out and advanced to second on Detmer’s single up the middle. McDonald drove in Bohanek with a two-out single to left field.

Milwaukee tied the score at 1-1 with two hits in the top of the fourth inning. The Panthers two hits and one run in the seventh inning but Lane left the bases loaded to limit the damage.

UIC pushed across the tying run in the eighth. McDonald and Philbin singled with one out before Lee walked to load the bases. With two outs, Dwyer reached on an error by Milwaukee’s Tell Taylor and Philbin came around to score.

Senior Ryan Hinchley tossed the final three innings and picked up the win as his season record improves
to 2-1.