CHICAGO, Ill. -- North Park University Baseball faced Division I opponent University of Illinois-Chicago on Tuesday afternoon. The Flames successfully defended Granderson Stadium with a 12-2, eight-inning win.

UIC tossed a 1-2-3 inning to begin the game before scoring in their first trip to the plate via Jack Snyder's RBI double. The Flames added three more runs in the second inning on three hits and a pair of Viking errors to extend their lead to 4-0.

The Vikings got on the board in the fourth inning when senior center fielder Alex DiVito singled up the middle, stole second base, and scored on a groundout.

In their unofficial debuts on the mound, freshman lefties Tommy Eck and Peter Pipikios both worked scoreless relief stints. Eck tossed a scoreless, hitless inning with a strikeout while Pipikios navigated two scoreless innings, allowing just one hit.

North Park got one more run back in the sixth inning to close in on the flames when junior second baseman Rylan Kawakami plated DiVito on an RBI fielder's choice, but it would be all UIC after that. The Flames went on to score a pair in the sixth, five in the seventh, and one in the eighth to put the game out of reach, 12-2.

What's Next?

North Park (0-2) has two games against Webster University and the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh this Saturday and Sunday, March 1 & 2, out in Sauget, Illinois. First pitch against host Webster is 10:00 AM on Saturday at GCS Ballpark.