MURRAY, Ky. (Interstat) — Illinois-Chicago defeated Southern Illinois 7-2 on Sunday afternoon in the Missouri Valley Conference Baseball Championship.

The Flames (27-27) pounded out 10 hits and got a strong start from pitcher Kendall Lyons, who allowed three hits and one earned run over six innings with two strikeouts. Ashton Kampa led UIC’s offense by going 2-for-5 with a three-run homer in the eighth inning, putting the game out of reach. Thomas Curry opened the scoring with a solo home run in the first.

Southern Illinois (27-32) managed only three hits. Kristian Sprawling homered in the third inning for the Salukis. Andrew Evans took the loss despite allowing no hits over five innings; two walks and an error contributed to two earned runs.

The game remained tight until the sixth, when a groundout and a fielding error gave UIC a 4-2 lead. Jake Jakubowski and Jared Lessman combined for three scoreless relief innings to close out the win.