CHICAGO, Ill. – The University of Chicago got back into the win column thanks to a breakout sixth inning in an 8-6 victory over Aurora University on Friday.

The Maroons snapped its three-game losing skid to improve to 6-18 while the Spartans fell to 9-19 on the year.

Senior pitcher Alex Terry took the mound for the Maroons and Aurora tallied four runs in the opening frame. Three of the runs ended up being unearned, however. In the bottom of the inning, UChicago halved the deficit when senior outfielder Ricky Troncelliti smacked a two-run double to the right field fence.

The Maroons set themselves up to score again in the third inning by loading the bases with no outs. Troncelliti produced a RBI sacrifice fly to center field, but that was all the home team would get and the score stood at 4-3 in favor of Aurora.

After the rough first inning, Terry locked in and kept the Spartans off the scoreboard for the rest of his outing. The lefty changed speeds and location effectively to produce pop outs and weak grounders. He only allowed six hits over the final seven innings of work.

UChicago broke the game open with a big sixth inning. With the bases loaded once again, junior outfielder Edward Akers delivered a two-run single to center field. Sophomore catcher Tim Sonnefeldt stepped up to the plate next and came through with a two-run double down the line that hopped right over the top of first base. A run-scoring fielder's choice from junior third baseman Andrew VanWazer made the score 8-4 in favor of the home team.

Senior relief pitcher Ray Kim took the ball in the ninth inning to close out the game. But the Spartans kept it interesting with a RBI single through the left side and a hot shot to second base that plated another run. UChicago preserved the win by turning a 3-6-1 double play to end the game.

Terry threw eight innings and ran his record to 2-3. His pitching line included nine hits, four runs (one earned), two walks and three strikeouts. Kim worked one inning with three hits and two runs.

UChicago collected 10 hits and committed four errors on defense. Troncelliti hit 2-for-2 with three RBI and junior third baseman Kyle Engel went 2-for-3 at the dish.

NEXT GAME:

• Saturday, Apr. 19 – UChicago at Concordia (Wis.) University (DH), 1 PM