Issue link: http://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/856195
12 BASEBALL FLAMES PUSH BACK INTO POSTSEASON UIC won the Horizon League regular season title, for the 12th time, and tournament crown, for the fifth time under head coach Mike Dee. The Flames, who participated in the NCAA Championship for the first time since 2008, also matched the school record with 39 wins after becoming the fastest squad in program history to win 30 games following a 1-0 walk-off thriller at Granderson Stadium against Georgia Tech on April 28. DELIGHTED ON DRAFT DAYS On June 13-14, a school-record six Flames heard their names called during the 2017 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Connor Ryan (Cincinnati Reds) was the first UIC player selected, followed by Rob Calabrese (San Francisco Giants), Mickey McDonald (Oakland Athletics), David Cronin (Chicago White Sox), Jake Dahlberg (St. Louis Cardinals) and Cody Bohanek (Houston Astros). Six draftees is not only a single- season record for the program, but it is also the most in one year for any Horizon League club. Three different Flames received All-America recognitions from various outlets following the team's tremendous run. Junior catcher Rob Calabrese was selected a Collegiate Baseball Second Team honoree, while also picking up Third Team nods from both Perfect Game/Rawlings and the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA). Redshirt sophomore reliever Alex Padilla was chosen as a Third Team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). Senior starter Jake Dahlberg received Honorable Mention from Perfect Game/Rawlings. All three standouts – Calabrese, Dahlberg and Padilla – were ABCA All-Mideast Region First Team members. UIC boasted one of the most successful pitching staffs in the NCAA in 2017, and arguably the best in program history. The Flames ranked second nationally with an earned-run average of 2.65, the lowest ever for a UIC staff. The previous best, held by the 2003 Flames, was 3.19. The team allowed fewer than 200 runs for the first time ever (174) and also ranked second in the NCAA in 2017 in both hits allowed per nine innings at 7.0, and WHIP (walks + hits per innings pitched) at 1.11. Finally, UIC pitched a school-record 11 shutouts, which ranked in the top three in the NCAA. Though the offense certainly delivered, the Flames proved that pitching and defense wins championships by posting the nation's best fielding percentage of .984 in 2017. The defense was charged with 35 errors in 56 games, the lowest per-game average in the NCAA. Four UIC players ranked in the top seven in the Horizon League in field percentage, led by right fielder Scott Ota, who had the conference's only spotless mark. First baseman Ricardo Ramirez ranked third (.996) and was one of four national finalists for the 2017 ABCA Rawlings Gold Glove award at his position.