Horizon League Baseball Tournament 2012: Valparaiso Downs UIC In Championship

Valparaiso will be making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1968 after defeating the UIC Flames on Sunday in Chicago. The Crusaders exploded for eight runs in the seventh inning to key a 14-5 victory. Valpo reliever Tyler Deetjen was credited with the victory after allowing one run in 3.1 innings on work.

Mark Johnson was named Tournament MVP after going 3-for-5 with four RBI on Sunday.

Related: 2012 Horizon League Baseball Tournament: UIC Flames Force Sunday Championship Game

A three-run fifth inning put UIC ahead 5-3, but the Flames would quickly relinquish the lead. By the bottom of the seventh, the Crusaders were ahead 6-5 before Valpo's offensive explosion would turn a tight game into a blowout in a hurry. Spencer Mahoney's triple was the decisive blow to the Flames' championship hopes in the inning.

For more on the 2012 Horizon League Baseball Tournament, keep it locked to SB Nation Chicago.

Horizon League Baseball Tournament 2012: UIC, Valparaiso Face Off In Winner-Takes-All Game

The University of Illinois-Chicago Flames are no stranger to the NCAA Baseball Regionals, having won the Horizon League tournament four times since 2003, including in 2007 when they hosted the tournament as they are this year. They now find themselves a game away from another postseason birth after defeating the Valparaiso Crusaders on Saturday night.

The Flames jumped out to an early lead on Saturday night, and wil surely be looking to get the same type of momentum going on Sunday. The winner of today's game will receive the Horizon League's automatic bid to this year's regionals, where they'll be sent to a double elimination mini-tournament with four total teams on the campus of the host school, which will likely be a team from the ACC, Big 12 or SEC.

Game date/time: Sunday, May 27, 12:00 p.m. CT

Location: Les Miller Field, Chicago, Ill.

Streaming: horizonleague.org

For more on the 2012 Horizon League Baseball Tournament, keep it locked to SB Nation Chicago.

2012 Horizon League Baseball Tournament: UIC Flames Force Sunday Championship Game

The Ill.-Chicago Flames (4) leapt to a three-run lead in the first inning against the Valparaiso Crusaders (1) and did no look back, winning their second game of the day and forcing a rematch for the Horizon League Championship on Sunday.

The Flames played against the Youngstown St. Penguins (6) for a matinee game and dominated the No. 6 seed team for a 5-0 win. SP Tim Suminski pitched a complete game for the Flames, despite striking out only 3 batters while walking 2 and hitting 1. The Flames offense clobbered their way through the Penguins pitching staff as RF Jon Ryan (2 for 4, 1HR) and CF Nick Addison (3 for 4, 1 triple) led the Flames in a steady attack.

Against Valparaiso, the trio of SP Mike Schoolcraft, RP Tim Tartar and RP Chris Hoffman combined to hold the Crusaders to 2 ER and 1 un-earned run -- again despite a bad strikeout-to-walk ratio (1 K, 3 BB). The heart of the Flames lineup proved deadly as 3B Joe Betcher (2 for 4, 1 HR and 1 double) and 1B Alex Grunenwald (1 for 3, 1 double and 1 sac hit) led the team to an upset victory.

UIC and Valparaiso will play for the Horizon League championship on Sunday at 12:00 p.m. CDT.

For more on the 2012 Horizon League Baseball Tournament, keep it locked to SB Nation Chicago.

Horizon League Baseball Tournament 2012 Schedule: Valparaiso Awaits Winner Of UIC Vs. Youngstown State

The 2012 Horizon League Baseball Tournament will be decided on Saturday, and there are three teams left in the running at the start of play. Top-seeded Valparaiso has earned a spot in the Championship game, and it will await the winner of the morning matchup between No. 4-seed UIC and No. 6-seed Youngstown State. The Flames fell to Valpo on Friday by a score of 4-3, while Youngstown State edged Wright State by a score of 5-4. Now UIC can earn another shot at knocking off the Crusaders if they beat Youngstown State in the early game on Saturday.

Here is the schedule for Saturday's games:

11:00 PM, CT (Streaming Link)
Horizon League Baseball Championship, Game 9: (6) Youngstown State vs. (4) UIC

4:00PM, CT (Streaming Link)
Horizon League Baseball Championship, Game 10: (1) Valparaiso vs. Winner Game 9

For more on the 2012 Horizon League Baseball Tournament, keep it locked to SB Nation Chicago.

Horizon League Baseball Tournament 2012 Schedule And Live Streams For Friday

The 2012 Horizon League Baseball Tournament continues to roll on, and the premiere matchup of Friday is a game between top-seeded Valparaiso and No. 4-seed UIC. Both teams crushed their opponents in the previous round, as the Crusaders put up 16 runs in a win over Youngstown State, while the Flames scored 19 in a victory against Wright State.

In other action on Friday, UW-Milwaukee plays Wright State on the back end of the bracket and Youngstown State awaits the winner of that contest.

Here is the schedule for Friday's games:

10:00 AM, CT (Streaming Link)
Horizon League Baseball Championship, Game 6: (3) Milwaukee vs. (2) Wright State

3:00 PM, CT (Streaming Link)
Horizon League Baseball Championship, Game 7: (6) Youngstown State vs. Game 6 Winner

8:00 PM CT (Streaming Link)
Horizon League Baseball Championship, Game 8: (4) UIC vs. (1) Valparaiso

For more on the 2012 Horizon League Baseball Tournament, keep it locked to SB Nation Chicago.

2012 Horizon League Baseball Tournament: (4) UIC Offense Rolls In 19-9 Win Over (2) Wright State

The UIC Flames improved to 2-0 in the 2012 Horizon League baseball tournament with a big 19-9 win over second-seeded Wright State. The Flames have been outstanding at the plate in the tournament so far, scoring a combined 29 runs over their first two games.

Related: Horizon League Baseball Tournament: (4) UIC 10, (5) Butler 1

They broke the game against Wright State open with a nine-run third inning that gave them a 13-2 lead. Wright State responded with five runs in the bottom half of that frame, but they'd never get any closer.

The Flames hit five home runs on the afternoon, including two by Alex Grunenwald, who was 4-5 at the plate. Alex De LaRosa also had a four-hit game.

In the first game of the day, Milwaukee defeated Butler 19-2, eliminating the Bulldogs from the tournament.

For more on the 2012 Horizon League Baseball Tournament, keep it locked to SB Nation Chicago.

Horizon League Baseball Tournament 2012 Schedule: UIC Flames Face No. 2 Wright State

The second round of the 2012 Horizon League Baseball Tournament is all set. After victories by the fourth-seeded UIC Flames and the sixth-seeded Youngstown State Penguins on Wednesday, the tournament's semifinals are scheduled to get underway at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday.

Related: Horizon League Baseball Tournament: (5) UIC 10, (4) Butler 1

UIC earned a 10-1 victory behind starter Joey Begel, who allowed four hits and zero runs over seven innings. UIC will face the Wright State Raiders on Thursday, who earned a second seed in the conference tournament after finishing 36-19 overall and 20-10 in the Horizon League.

Youngstown State defeated the Milwaukee Panthers 8-4 in the other first round game on Wednesday. Starter Russ Harless allowed three runs in six innings to improve to 3-5 on the year for the Penguins.

Here's a look at tomorrow's schedule:

Consolation game: No. 5 Butler vs. No. 3 Milwaukee, 10:00 a.m.

Stream -- No. 4 UIC vs. No. 2 Wright State, 3:00 p.m.

Stream -- No. 6 Youngstown State vs. No. 1 Valparaiso, 8:00 p.m.

For more on the 2012 Horizon League Baseball Tournament, keep it locked to SB Nation Chicago.

Horizon League Baseball Tournament: (5) UIC 10, (4) Butler 1

The UIC Flames baseball team opened up the 2012 Horizon League Baseball Tournament with a victory on Wednesday, beating Butler 10-1 at Les Miller Field. The Flames scored five runs in the first inning and never allowed things to get close as the Flames' pitching stifled Butler.

Flames starter Joey Begel was impressive for UIC, allowing just four hits over seven shutout innings. He was able to work with a pretty substantial lead all day, as the Flames managed to extend their initial 5-0 advantage up to 9-0 by the end of the fourth inning.

Alex Grunenwald led the offense for UIC, finishing the day 3-for-4 with a homer, two runs scored and three RBI. The Flames also got multi-hit games from John Coen and Joe Betcher, who finished the game with three RBI himself.

In a press release for the team's Wednesday win, the school explained what's next for UIC baseball:

The Flames advance to play either No. 1 Valparaiso at 8 p.m. or No. 2 Wright State at 3 p.m. on Thursday, depending on the results of the No. 3 Milwaukee vs. No. 6 Youngstown State contest. If Milwaukee wins then UIC will play the Crusaders, but if Youngstown State wins then the Flames will square off against the Raiders.

For more on the 2012 Horizon League Baseball Tournament, keep it locked to SB Nation Chicago.

Horizon League Baseball Tournament 2012 Schedule: Game Times And Live Streaming Outlets

The 2012 Horizon League Baseball Tournament gets underway on Wednesday afternoon as the fourth-seeded UIC Flames face the fifth-seeded Butler Bulldogs. The matchup is one of two on the day in the Horizon League Tournament, with the other pitting No. 3 Milwaukee vs. No. 6 Youngstown State. The highest seeded team that advances will face No. 2 Wright State on Wednesday. The lowest seed remaining after the first round will face top-seeded Valparaiso at 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday.

Related: Horizon League Baseball Tournament 2012: UIC Flames Earn No. 4 Seed, Open Against Butler

All second round games begin on Thursday. Also on Thursday, they'll be a consolation match between the losers of Wednesday's games.

Wednesday, May 24

Stream: No. 4 UIC Flames vs. No. 5 Butler Bulldogs, 11:00 a.m.

Stream: No. 3 Milwaukee Panthers vs. No. 6 Youngstown State Penguins, 4:00 p.m.

For more on the 2012 Horizon League Baseball Tournament, keep it locked to SB Nation Chicago.

Horizon League Baseball Tournament 2012: UIC Flames Earn No. 4 Seed, Open Against Butler

The 2012 Horizon League Baseball Tournament opens on Wednesday with the UIC Flames as a No. 4 seed.