May 6, 2001

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FAIRBORN, Ohio - John VandenBerg hit a three-run home run as part of a four-run third inning to help UWM to an 11-4 victory over Wright State Sunday afternoon, leaving the Panthers with a three-game Midwestern Collegiate Conference lead over Illinois-Chicago with just four regular season conference games to play.

UWM (29-15, 13-3 MCC) closes out the regular season by hosting Butler in a four-game series next weekend, while UIC (26-25, 10-6 MCC) visits Detroit in a four-game series. Wright State (27-24, 9-7 MCC), which entered the weekend in second place but dropped three of four to the Panthers, is now four games back.

The Panthers opened the scoring with two runs in the second inning before plating four more in the third. VandenBerg's home run, his team-leading ninth of the season, came after two walks and a run-scoring double by Eric Goerdt. UWM added two more in the fourth on a Goerdt single, and scored three more times in the seventh on a run-scoring double from Steve Guden and a two-run single by Paul Archambault.

Mike Oiler (7-5) tossed his fourth complete game of the season to claim his fourth win in four MCC starts.

Goerdt had four hits, while VandenBerg had two hits, including the home run. Scott Gillitzer also had two hits, extending his school-record hitting streak to 21 games.

UWM returns to action Tuesday, hosting Eastern Illinois in a doubleheader. Game one at Henry Aaron Field begins at 2 p.m.