April 13, 2012
CHICAGO - The UIC softball team faces Detroit Saturday in a doubleheader that begins at 11:00 a.m. (CT), followed by a single game Sunday at 11:00 a.m. Sunday at Buysse Ballpark in Detroit, Mich.
LEAD-OFF HITS
SCOUTING THE FLAMES
UIC holds a 17-21 record … Jacki Fletcher now leads the Flames with a .373 batting average with 37 games played and games started … in those 37 contests, she has 41 hits, six doubles, two homeruns and 19 RBI … Coryn Schmit continues to lead the team in RBI and homeruns with 24 and six, respectively … Melissa Preish has drawn 21 walks … Ashley Hewett and Devin Miller share time in the circle for UIC … Hewett, 6-9 with a 3.49 ERA has pitched 92.1 innings and has struck out 74 batters … Miller, 10-12 with a 4.20 ERA has blanked 125 batters in 146.2 innings of work.
UIC IN THE HORIZON LEAGUE
The Flames are 4-5 in the Horizon League through two conference series … UIC won the Cleveland State series, 2-1 … the Vikings claimed the first game 3-1, before UIC picked up the final two games, 8-1 and 6-5 … the Bulldogs won the series with UIC, 2-1 … UIC dropped the first two games, 4-3 and 9-0, in that order, before winning the final game 8-4 … most recently, UIC traveled to the north side of Chicago to face Loyola, where the Flames went 1-2 in the series … Loyola won 1-0, then the Flames defeated the Ramblers, 6-3, before the north siders picked up the final game 7-6 in the bottom of the eighth inning.
SCOUTING THE TITANS
Detroit has a 9-27 record, including 1-8 in the Horizon League … Sara Cupp leads the Titans with a .350 batting average on 103 at-bats, and has notched 28 RBI … the Titans have three primary pitchers, Julia Maksym (5-13/5.16 ERA), Karyn McCarty (3-8/5.18 ERA), Kat Hoffman (1-6/5.44 ERA)
100 … AND COUNTING.
Miller earned her 100th-season strikeout in the first game of a double header against IUPUI on March 31, it was the final out of the contest as UIC won, 2-0 … since, the junior has blanked an addition 25 batters to place her strikeout count at 125.
HORIZON LEAGUE PRESEASON PICK
A 2012 Horizon League Tournament championship gave the Flames their first NCAA berth since 2004. UIC concluded the 2011 season with the top fielding percentage in the league, .968 percent. Schmit tied for third place in homeruns with 10, while Miller blanked 227 batters to finish third in strikeouts.
LAST TIME OUT
Sophomore Jenna Marsalli hit a grand slam in the top of the sixth inning of the first contest against Loyola Thursday at the Loyola Softball Park in Chicago, Ill., to lead the Flames to a 6-3 victory. The Ramblers then won the second game, 7-6, in the bottom of the eighth frame.
2011 HORIZON LEAGUE HONORS - SCHMIT & HERNANDEZ
Schmit was a postseason first-team all-Horizon League honoree as she had a league-best slugging percentage of .800, while also leading the Flames in homeruns with six. The first baseman logged 16 RBI in 20 League contests, and concluded the season with a .315 batting average. Hernandez garnered 2011 postseason all-second and all-newcomer Horizon League honors after the shortstop posted a .349 batting average, while committing only four errors on the season. She added nine RBI, three homeruns and a triple during her rookie season.
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--UIC—
