April 27, 2012
CHICAGO - The UIC softball team (23-24/10-7 Horizon) sets its sights on a three-game series with Youngstown State. Competition begins with a doubleheader Saturday at Noon (CT), followed by a single game Sunday at 11:00 a.m.
LEAD-OFF HITS
SCOUTING THE FLAMES
UIC holds a 24-23 record, and is on a five-game winning streak ... the team is 10-7 in the Horizon League ... Melissa Preish leads the Flames with a .383 batting average, with a .534 slugging percentage and .478 on-base percentage ... Kara Komp is a perfect seven for seven on stolen bases, and leads the Flames in the category ... pitchers, Ashley Hewett (10-12/3.28 ERA) and Devin Miller (13-11) have pitched 138.2 and 169.1 innings, respectively.
SCOUTING THE PENGUINS
Youngstown State holds a 25-15-1 record, including a 10-8 Horizon League record ... the Penguins are in the fourth-place spot in the League standings ... Haley Thomas leads the team with a .438 batting average, with 60 hits, including 14 doubles and seven home runs, the most homers on the Youngstown State team ... Thomas is 13 for 14 on steals, leading in the category ... Vicky Rumph leads the team in RBI with 34 ... the Penguins have featured four pitchers ... among them, Casey Crozier (12-6/2.51 ERA), Hana Somogyi (7-3/3.30 ERA), Kayla Haslett (6-6/3.45) and Paige Miller (1-0/6.43).
SERIES HISTORY WITH YOUNGSTOWN STATE
UIC holds a 25-10 advantage over Youngstown State in the all-time series ... the teams last met at Flames Field on April 10, 2011, and the Penguins downed UIC, 7-3 ... Youngstown State claimed the series, 2-1, winning the first and final game of the series meeting.
STREAKING FLAMES
UIC is on its longest winning streak of the season with five consecutive wins ... the Flames began the streak with back-to-back wins (5-3 and 1-0) over first-place Horizon League team, Valparaiso ... UIC then swept Green Bay, 5-4 and 9-1 during the twinbill, followed by a 2-1 win during the final single game.
THE "PREISH" IS RIGHT
Junior centerfielder, Preish, continues to lead the Flames with a .383 batting average, .534 slugging percentage and .478 on-base percentage ... she owns 51 hits on 133 at-bats ... among her 51 hits, she has six doubles, one triple and four home runs ... in the field, she has committed a mere two errors at her post in center field.
LAST TIME OUT
UIC is coming off of its fifth-straight win, most recently defeating Green Bay in a three-game series, where Miller went 2-0, and Hewett earned a win. With the three wins, and taking the Valparaiso series, 2-1, the Flames are now in third place. Junior Coryn Schmit posted two home runs during the first game of the Green Bay series, and is currently on a three-game hitting streak.
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.
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 home runs 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 home runs and a triple during her rookie season.
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--UIC--
