CHICAGO – Down eight runs midway through the game, the University of Chicago baseball team flipped the script and staged a huge rally to beat Illinois Institute of Technology 18-13 on Tuesday night.

The Maroons (13-7 record) set new season highs in runs (18) and hits (21). The Scarlet Hawks fell to 9-12.

The neutral-site contest was played at Chicago State University. The three-and-a-half-hour game featured a combined 14 pitchers and 368 pitches thrown.

Things started poorly for the Maroons, who found themselves trailing 12-4 after five innings of play. The quartet of runs occurred in the top of the fourth, courtesy of an error, a fielder's choice and a pair of infield singles.

But the momentum turned for good in the top of the sixth. That's when UChicago went off for eight runs to tie the game up at 12-12. Each score occurred after two outs, as nine-straight batters reached base. A two-out error brought in one. Then with the bases loaded, junior first baseman Brady Sarkon knocked a two-run single up the middle. Sophomore designated hitter Payton Jancsy added a RBI single of his own to right field, followed by two-run singles by sophomore third baseman Drew Ventrelle and first-year shortstop Brian Lyle.

The Maroons went ahead for good in the top of the seventh, scoring five times. Junior outfielder Josh Parks cracked a RBI double to right and Jancsy walloped a two-run double to left. A sacrifice bunt from Ventrelle plated Jancsy, and a passed ball increased the advantage to 17-12.

The two sides traded runs in the eighth to account for the final score. All nine UChicago starters got at least one hit, while six players finished with multiple hits.

Ventrelle (4-for-5), Jancsy (4-for-6) and Sarkon (3-for-4) tallied three RBI each. Parks and senior outfielder Maximiliano Larsen collected two doubles apiece. Junior outfielder Connor Hickey had two hits and Lyle contributed three RBI.

The Maroons utilized eight pitchers in total. Junior Joe Liberman (3-2 record) earned the win with 3.1 innings of relief. He struck out six batters.

NEXT GAMES:

• Friday, April 13 @ 1:00 PM – Finlandia University at UChicago (DH)