May 27, 2004

Box Score

NILES, Ohio - The University of Illinois-Chicago scored five runs in the first inning and withstood a rally to defeat the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee 9-6 in a second round Horizon League Tournament game here Thursday (May 27). UWM falls to 23-29 with the loss and will face Butler in a 5:30 p.m. elimination game later Thursday. With the victory the Flames improved to 35-19 while advancing to Saturday's semifinal round.

UIC jumped on Panther starter Korey Keller early on, scoring five runs on four hits and two walks. Mike Hughes provided the big blow with an opposite field home run while Brad Ryan and Shane Crower provided run-scoring singles. Keller was charged for all five runs and worked just two-thirds of an inning.

Milwaukee quickly chipped away at the lead scoring three runs in the top of the second inning. Joe Nowicki and Ross McCoy singled to start the inning and moved up a base when Zak Rivera walked. Sam Jansen hit a groundball to UIC's Justin Johnson at first, but Johnson threw the ball away, allowing both Nowicki and McCoy to score. Rivera then scored the third run with Matt Alexander singled to right field.

Robert Michalkiewicz, who relieved Keller in the first, excelled out of the pen and kept the Flame bats at bay. The freshman worked out of a bases loaded jam in the third to keep UWM in the game. The Panthers battled all the way back to tie the game in the fifth when Charlie Reschke singled and Nowicki lifted a long home run to right field. The homer was the second of the season for the sophomore and just the second given up in 94 innings by UIC starter Ryan Zink.

The Flames grabbed the lead back for good in the bottom of the fifth as they scratched across a run on three singles. Jordan Devoir singled to lead off the game and advanced to second on a throwing error by Steve Sanfilippo. Nelson Gord then drove home the game-winning run with a single to center field.

Milwaukee continued to battle and put runners on in each of the last four innings. However, the Panthers grounded into four double plays on the day, one each in the fifth, seventh, and eighth innings. UIC then put the game away in the bottom of the eighth, scoring three runs on three hits, a walk, and a hit batsman by reliever Jed Dolske.

The Panthers made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth, scoring a run and bringing the tying run to the plate on two separate occasions. Brooks Graff, Alexander and Reschke all singled with one out to load the bases. Haehnel struck out Ben Stanczyk with the bases loaded and, after a passed ball scored a run, pinch hitter Nicholas Wichser struck out looking to end the game.

Zink (9-3) earned the win for UIC despite allowing 10 hits and five runs in 6.1 innings of work. Dave Haehnel notched his fourth save of the season with 2.2 innings of scoreless relief. Michalkiewicz (3-6) was the tough luck loser as he allowed just two runs in 6.2 innings of relief. TMcCoy continued his torrid tournament play with three hits and a run while Nowicki went 2-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. UWM outhit Illinois-Chicago 14 to 13 on the game but issued five walks to just one by the UIC staff.