Bears Unable to Climb Back in Game One Loss at UIC

Friday, April 18

Chicago, Ill.

3:00 p.m.

Missouri State University

19-17, 10-3

UIC

10-25, 6-7

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Missouri State	0	1	0	0	3	2	0	0	0	6	9	0
UIC	1	1	0	5	1	0	1	0	X	9	12	1

Bears Unable to Climb Back in Game One Loss at UIC

April 18, 2025 | Baseball

Box Score

By: MSU Athletics Communications

CHICAGO – UIC jumped ahead 7-1 after four innings Friday afternoon and five home runs to hand the Missouri State baseball team a 9-6 loss in the opening game of their Missouri Valley Conference series at Curtis Granderson Stadium.

Despite the loss, the Bears (19-17, 10-3) maintained their lead in the league standings at roughly the halfway mark of the 27-game conference schedule. UIC moved to 6-7 in Valley play and 10-25 overall.

The Flames scored one in the first and the teams traded solo homers in the second frame for a 2-1 UIC lead, with Tyler Epstein's solo shot for the Bears extending his hitting streak to 12 games.

UIC broke it open with a five-run fourth to make it 7-1, sending 11 to the plate after the first five reached safely.

Nick Rodriguez smacked a two-run double in the fifth followed by a Jake McCutcheon single to halve the deficit to 7-4. For Rodriguez, the two-bagger extended his streak to 15 consecutive games with an extra-base hit and overall hitting streak to 23, tied for the fifth-longest in school history.

After a UIC homer in the bottom of the fifth, Caden Bogenpohl and Rodriguez connected on back-to-back two-out singles to pull the Bears within 8-6. Bogenpohl extended his reached base streak to 49 games.

The Flames added another solo shot in the seventh for the 9-6 final, holding the Bears' offense in check the rest of the way.

The series concludes with a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday.

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