Raiders win Horizon League Title

LORAIN, Ohio - Wright State University plated four runs in the top of the 12th and hung on for a 6-2 win over the University of Illinois at Chicago in the finale of the 2009 Horizon League Baseball Championship Sunday afternoon at the Pipe Yard Stadium.

The third-seeded Raiders, who improve to 33-28 on the season, capture their third Horizon League Tournament championship (1995, 2006 and 2009) and will move to their third NCAA Tournament appearance in school history (1994, 2006 and 2009).

The top-seeded Flames, who finish the campaign 29-23, came through the loser's bracket to force the "if necessary" game. UIC rolled to a 17-6 conference record in 2009 en route to its eighth consecutive regular-season crown.

Wright State will find out its next opponent and locaation during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show, which is set for Monday at 12:30 p.m. ET and will be televised live by ESPN.

Sunday's tournament title game was nip-and-tuck until the Raiders manufactured four scores in their final at-bat. Freshman Tristan Moore broke the tie with an RBI double and the fourth WSU run came home on a UIC throwing error before freshman Ryan Ashe capped the scoring with a two-run single.

Senior Kory Twede brought home Wright State's first two runs with an RBI single in the seventh and another run-scoring base knock in the ninth. UIC took a brief lead with a two spot in the eighth when senior Brett Schaefer and junior Ty Rubio both recorded RBI singles.

Twede, who finished 4-for-5, was named U.S. Army Player of the Game. He also earned Tournament Most Valuable Player accolades after going 12-for-22 (.545) with two doubles, two homers, four runs and nine RBI in five games.

Schaefer led the Flames by going 3-for-6, while sophomore Steve McGuiggan (2-for-5) and sophomore Andy Leonard (2-for-6, 1 R) also registered multi-hit games for UIC.

Neither starting pitcher -- Wright State junior Alex Kaminsky (5.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO) or UIC junior Chris Kovacevich (6.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO) -- figured in the decision.

Horizon League Newcomer of the Year Michael Schum (6.1 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO), a redshirt freshman, picked up the win for Wright State. Derrick Miramontes (4.2 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 5 BB, 5 SO) was pinned with the loss in his final collegiate outing.