DAYTON — The Wright State baseball program fell to UIC 6-5 in 10 innings on Saturday afternoon at Nischwitz Stadium.
The Raiders dropped to 15-18 on the season and 8-4 in Horizon League play, while UIC improved to 11-17 overall and 5-4 against conference opponents.
Jay Luikart led WSU offensively by going 2-for-6 at the plate with a double, a homer, and two runs batted in.
Gehrig Anglin tallied a team-leading three hits, while
Sammy Sass and
Avery Fisher each had RBI singles.
Starting pitcher
Alex Theis allowed three runs on five hits and two walks while striking out eight batters in four innings. The left-hander opened the game with three scoreless innings before being tagged for three runs in the subsequent two frames.
Tristan Haught came in relief for Theis, allowing a pair of runs in two-thirds of an inning.
The Raider bullpen shined from the sixth inning on, limiting UIC to just one run on one hit and three walks.
Josh Laisure held UIC scoreless in 1.1 innings, while
Aaron Ernst blanked the Flames with two strikeouts in the seventh.
Donnie Nicodemus (1-1) had consecutive scoreless innings on the mound, striking out five batters in the process. However, he was charged with the loss after giving up the game-winning run in the 10th inning.
The Raiders reached the scoreboard first with three runs on four hits in the second inning.
Andrew Patrick doubled and came around to score on a single by Fisher. Luikart followed with an RBI double, and Anglin closed the scoring burst with an RBI single.
Luikart's power streak continued in the bottom of the fourth, as he blasted a solo home run to extend WSU's edge to 4-1. However, UIC captured a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the frame with four runs, highlighted by a three-run roundtrip off the bat of Cole Conn.
The score remained 5-4 in favor of UIC until the bottom of the seventh, as Sass tied the game with an RBI single plating
Alec Sayre from third.
Nicodemus and UIC relief pitcher Christian Lopez (4-3) tossed back-to-back scoreless frames for their respective teams, which led to the series finale going to extras.
In the top of the 10th, the Flames first two batters reached base on a walk and an infield single. Ryan Nagelbach drove in the game-winning run with a sacrifice fly to deep center later in the inning.
WSU had two runners on with one out in the bottom of the 10th, but UIC's Tanner Shears induced a fly-out and groundout to end the ballgame.
The Raiders will return to action on Tuesday, April 19, at Dayton. The midweek matchup is set for a 3 p.m. start.
