INDIANAPOLIS – For the second time in three weeks a pair of UIC Flames have been recognized for outstanding performances on the diamond as Charlie Cerny and Scott Ota have been named the Horizon League's Players of the Week, the conference announced Monday.
 
In addition to sweeping the honors in both the first and third weeks of the season, UIC (7-4) also received Pitcher of the Week plaudits on Feb. 26. Ota (Batter) and Ryan Campbell (Pitcher) were recognized on Feb. 19 before Reid Birlingmair claimed the third Pitcher of the Week accolade of his career last Monday.
 

Cerny has been brilliant out of the bullpen all season long. Last week he logged two scoreless appearances covering 4.0 innings of work. In his first outing on Feb. 27 vs. Roosevelt, the junior got a hold and struck out the side while helping to preserve a one-run lead in the eighth inning. On Sunday at Georgia Tech, Cerny was called upon in the bottom of the sixth inning with the Flames in front 5-4. He would go on to face nine batters and allow only one hit, which was promptly erased on a double play. The Bloomington, Ill., native struck out two Yellow Jackets in a game the Flames would go on to win 12-5. His 3.0 innings of relief Sunday marked a season high.
 
On the season, Cerny owns a team-best 0.73 ERA in seven appearances, which leads UIC and ranks ninth in the NCAA. He has 19 strikeouts in 12.1 innings of relief and his strikeouts per nine innings ratio of 13.86 ranks 35^th in the country. More impressively, Cerny has not issued a walk this season, making him one of only 18 qualifying players from around the country that can make that claim.
 
 
As noted, Ota has been named the Batter of the Week for the second time in three weeks. He remained red-hot and batted .471/.444/.706 in helping UIC to a 2-2 record with a win on the road at ACC foe Georgia Tech on Sunday. Ota entered the final game of the week hitting .550 on the season and he had eight hits in the first three games of the week. In the one game he was held hitless, Sunday, Ota notched a sacrifice fly in UIC's 12-5 victory over the Yellow Jackets.
 
The Foster City, Calif., native led the team in hits (8), extra-base hits (2), RBI (5) and total bases (12) for the third consecutive week. On the season, Ota ranks in the top-10 nationally in several offensive categories. He is fifth in hits per game (2.00), eighth in hits (22), ninth in batting average (.489). Additionally, the junior is 27^th in the NCAA with 35 total bases, 49^th in slugging percentage (.778) and 56^th in RBI (14). Ota is one of the toughest players in the country to strike out, fanning once every 15.0 plate appearances.
 
Cerny, Ota and the rest of the Flames will begin a season-long 13-game homestand at Granderson Stadium on Friday, March 9 against Chicago State. First pitch of the four-game series is slated for 4:05 p.m. CT.