Chicago, Ill. – Played at Les Miller Field at Curtis Granderson Stadium, the Golden Grizzlies split a pair of Horizon League games with the University of Illinois Chicago Flames on Saturday, April 9.

The rescheduling of Friday's postponed contest, Oakland won the first game, 6-5, while UIC took the second, 5-2.

With this split, the Golden Grizzlies are now 15-14 (7-4 Horizon League) and the Flames are 8-16 (2-3).

In the first game, UIC jumped out to a 3-0 first-inning lead, but Oakland gradually clawed their way back, tying the tilt on a solo home run by senior first baseman Jared Miller in the sixth.

Tied at five after eight innings of play, senior left fielder Michael Stygles provided the decisive run, a sacrifice fly to right that scored graduate student center fielder Seth Tucker.

His third multi-hit game in his last five, graduate student second baseman Brad Goulet extended his hit streak to seven games with a third-inning single.

Receiving a no-decision, redshirt junior right-hander Brett Hagen worked the first 5.1 innings, allowing three runs on four hits with two walks and a career-high seven strikeouts. Recording the final six outs, sophomore Ben Paugh, another righty, picked up the win, moving his season record to 3-1.

The Golden Grizzlies struck first in the second game, putting a run on the scoreboard in the top of the first when senior first baseman Gabe Lux came around on a throwing error by graduate student shortstop Ryan Lin-Peistrup.

UIC would score the next five runs, however, holding a 5-1 cushion after four frames. Oakland would cut the margin to three, 5-2, on a double by sophomore catcher Brandon Heidal in the seventh, but that would be the last run of the evening.

Saddled with his first loss of the year, junior left-hander Travis Densmore lasted 3.1 innings, giving up five runs (four earned) on five hits with three walks and four strikeouts. Freshman righty Aleksei Goldhill, redshirt senior lefty Christian Stelling, and Hunter Pidek, another freshman right-hander, combined to handle the final 4.2 innings.

Throwing 117 pitches, Flames junior righty Tyler Ingram had a sparkling start in his first victory of the season, surrendering just two unearned runs on five hits over eight innings with three walks and six strikeouts.

On a positive note, Goulet finished 1-3, running his hit streak to eight games.

For the fourth time in as many chances in 2022, Oakland will have the opportunity to take two of three in a league series when the two programs square off in Sunday's rubber match at 2:05 p.m.

Redshirt senior right-hander Jacob Wosinski (2-2, 3.24 ERA) will go for the Golden Grizzlies and will be opposed by junior Chris Torres (0-2, 7.66 ERA), a fellow righty.