CHICAGO, Ill. - The Milwaukee baseball team saw its comeback bid in the bottom of the ninth inning stopped a run short in a tough 8-7 loss to UIC Sunday afternoon at Granderson Stadium.
 
The Panthers (7-17, 0-9 Horizon League) appeared set to snap their recent skid, but the Flames (17-7, 8-1 Horizon League) had other plans, rallying late to escape with the win – their 13^th in their past 14 games.
 
Down 8-4 in the ninth, UWM brought the tying run to plate with no outs. A wild pitch helped the first run across and John Boidanis came through with a clutch two-out single to center that plated a pair and made it 8-7 on the scoreboard. But that was it, as UWM could not find a way to tie it.
 
Things looked good when the Panthers led, 4-1, after seven innings of play.
 
UIC then used a hit batter, walk and a single to set the stage for Ricardo Ramirez, who sent the first pitch he saw into the bullpen in left to turn that 4-1 Milwaukee lead into a 5-4 advantage for the Flames, who tacked on three more in their half of the ninth for insurance.
 
The Panthers built on their prior lead in the bottom of the third. Scoring once on an error, Daulton Varsho's single up the middle made it 4-1 at the time. UIC did fight back the very next inning, but a nice 4-6-3 double play ended it quickly,
 
The Flames opened the scoring in the second inning. Milwaukee then had an immediate answer.
 
Ben Chally and Matt Quartel singled, with Chally coming home on a single down the left-field line off the bat of Mike Jordahl. With runners at the corners, Quartel came home on an alert play when Cole Heili lined up the middle. Once the shortstop caught the ball and tried to throw to first for a possible double play, Quartel went scurrying home and scored without a throw to make it 2-1.
 
Jay Peters started and pitched very well. He allowed just one run in 7.0 innings. He walked three and struck out two. He also benefitted from some strong defense, including diving plays in the outfield by Quartel and Heili.
 
Chris Kelly paced the offense with a three-hit day. Heili (2-for-3) and Jordahl (2-for-4) both had a pair.
 
The league bye comes next, so four non-conference games dot the schedule next week. Up first is a Tuesday affair at Northern Illinois, followed by a weekend three-game series at Bradley.