CHICAGO, Ill. - UIC scored three runs in the first inning and never let the Milwaukee baseball team back in it in recording a 10-3 victory Saturday afternoon at Curtis Granderson Stadium.
 
The Panthers (14-15, 6-3 Horizon League) had a chance to quickly turn the tide against the Flames (14-19, 6-4 Horizon League), only to come up short in dropping game two of the weekend series.
 
Daulton Varsho stayed red-hot, going 3-for-4, scoring a run and driving in a pair. Luke Meeteer added a two-hit day, recording a double and a run scored.
 
David Cronin paced the Flames with a 3-for-4 day, while Alex Dee and Rob Calabrese each knocked in three runs.
 
"UIC played good baseball and simply kicked our tails today," Milwaukee head coach Scott Doffek said. "We did not come out ready to play and that falls on me. It is a quick turnaround for tomorrow, but we will be ready to go."
 
The Flames plated three runs on three hits in the first inning, setting a tough tone for the day. However, the Panthers came right back in the top of the second, with Varsho singling and a walk giving UWM first and second with nobody out. After a sac bunt, the Panthers looked to be in business, but Jake Dahlberg quickly put out the rally, beating Varsho to the plate on a wild pitch and inducing a grounder to keep it at 3-0.
 
UIC scored two in the fourth for some breathing room and opened it up with three more runs in the fifth inning.
 
The Panthers got on the board in the sixth when Varsho knocked in a pair on a two-out single and scored again in the ninth when Varsho led off with a double and came home on an RBI-ground out by Chris Kelly.
 
Starter Jay Peters (2-4) took the loss, allowing five earned runs in 4.0 innings. He gave up seven hits, walked three and struck out a pair. Jared Reklaitis struck out four in his 2.2 innings of work and Mason Pingel pitched a scoreless inning to close it out.
 
The final game of the series is set for Sunday afternoon, with a first pitch scheduled for 1:05 p.m. at Granderson Stadium.