UIC baseball secured its place in the 2026 Missouri Valley Conference Championship Series with a dramatic 6-5 victory over Murray State, a win that kept the team’s tournament hopes alive.
The game opened with Vidal Colon delivering a two-run single that brought Jake Busson and Thomas Curry across the plate, setting an early tone for the offense.
A Nail-Biter in the Second Half
Thomas Curry added an insurance run in the second inning, singling to right field to score Ashton Kampa and extend the lead.
Brandon Bak shouldered the bulk of the workload, logging 5.2 innings that featured seven hits and four earned runs, keeping the opposition at bay.
Gavin Acosta’s timely home run later in the game pushed UIC ahead 6-4, a momentum swing that proved crucial.
Reliever Mark Eddie entered in the later frames and threw a 57-pitch outing, finishing the game by coaxing back-to-back popups from Sean Cody to lock down the win.
Kainen Jorge’s ninth-inning homer trimmed the deficit to one, but Eddie’s composure under pressure ultimately sealed the victory.
The performance underscores UIC’s depth and resilience as they head into the championship series, a milestone celebrated by the Missouri Valley Conference.