April 11, 2002
Chicago, Ill. - Both the UIC baseball and softball teams earned national recognition as the NCAA released its first set of statistics on Tuesday afternoon.
The UIC baseball team has gotten off to a blazing 20-6 start, which is the 12th-best record in the country, thanks in part to the outstanding hitting of junior right fielder Curtis Granderson (Lynwood, Ill./T.F. South) and a stingy pitching staff.
Granderson currently leads the nation with a robust batting average of .515, which has keyed the Flames to the 20th-best team batting average of .330. He is also tied for 16th in the nation with 0.50 doubles per contest.
UIC is also averaging 8.7 runs per contest, which is good for 19th in the country.
The Flames' pitching staff has been outstanding, as they have held opponents to a nation-best 2.58 ERA. Senior right-hander Larry Banks (Cicero, Ill./Nazareth) heads up the staff with a record of 6-2 and the nation's 13th-best ERA of 1.38.
Senior Wes Gilliam (South Holland, Ill./Thornwood) follows closely behind Banks' with an ERA of 1.46, which ties him for 16th in the country. Freshman southpaw Ryan Gehring (Burlington, Wis./Catholic Central) rounds out the trio with the 32nd-best ERA of 1.94.
The UIC softball team has also made life miserable for opposing pitchers as the Flames have the 24th-best batting average in the country at .296 and the eighth most runs scored per game with 5.69. Senior shortstop Jennifer Tiffany (Covina, Calif./Charter Oak) leads the way for the Flames with an average of .444, which is good for 15th in the country.
Senior Edel Leyden (Irvine, Calif./Irvine) provides the power for UIC as she is fourth in the country with 1.14 RBI a game and is 11th in the nation with .31 home runs per contest.
Senior Amber Stachura (Morton, Ill./Morton) and sophomore Amanda Rivera (Redondo Beach, Calif./Redondo Union) are tied for 13th nationally with one RBI per game.
The baseball team will be back in action on Friday evening, as they will open a four-game home series against Butler at 6:05 P.M., while the softball team will take on cross-town rival DePaul, today for a twinbill beginning at 4:00 PM at Flames Field.
