Tournament Central

CHICAGO - The UIC softball team (6-7) returns to Florida this weekend for its final tournament before the conference season. The Flames will face Butler (7-8), rv James Madison (12-6), Fairfield (1-6), No. 20 UCF (22-4) and Monmouth (2-1) at the UCF Knights Spring Flight Tournament, Friday through Sunday, at the UCF Softball Complex in Orlando, Fla.

UIC returns to competition after last competing at the USF Under Armour Invitational, Feb. 27-March 1. The Flames came away with a 2-2 result after picking up wins against Rhode Island, 4-0, and Sacred Heart, 4-1, and falling to Villanova, 3-1, and Maine, 8-0 (6).

Heading into its final tournament, UIC is led on offense by senior Paige Peterson (.375), freshman Tiana Mack-Miller (.333), sophomore Savannah Soppet (.320), senior Eleni Polites (.318) and junior LaRi Mitchell (.308). Peterson additionally tops the Flames with 15 hits, two doubles, one home run, eight runs and the team's second-best RBI mark of seven. Mitchell has stolen a team-high 12 bases in 11 games for a 1.09 average, which ranks fifth in the nation.

Freshman Karissa Frazier (1.71 ERA), junior Bridget Boyle (3.29 ERA) and sophomore Elaine Heflin (6.11 ERA) have controlled the mound for UIC. Frazier boasts four wins with 31 strikeouts, followed by Boyle with two victories and 15 Ks. Combined, the Flames pitching staff has held opponents to a .247 batting average and owns an ERA of 3.14.

Butler is coming off a midweek doubleheader against Bethune-Cookman, who it went 1-1 against. Alex Kotter is heading the Bulldogs with a .523 batting average, followed up by Brandyce Sallee (.348), Krosley Ogden (.333) and Sarah Dixon (.300). Kotter additionally boasts 23 hits, three home runs and 14 RBI. Among Butler's starters, Kristin Gutierrez holds a 3.35 ERA with a 4-4 record and has struck out 20 in 39.2 innings, with Mikeila Boroff owning a 4.78 ERA and a 2-3 mark in 26.1 innings with 10 strikeouts.

James Madison enters into competition after picking up a pair of wins against Winthrop in a doubleheader on Tuesday. Of those with more than 40 at-bats for the Dukes, Erica Field and Megan Good own the top batting averages with .429 and .393, respectively. Field possesses a team-best 27 hits, nine doubles and 13 RBI, while Good additionally controls the mound with a 1.50 ERA, a 6-0 record and 56 strikeouts in 46.2 innings. Heather Kiefer (2.42 ERA) and Jailyn Ford (3.45 ERA) round out JMU's lineup in the circle, with Ford adding 55 Ks in 44.2 innings.

Fairfield competed in all seven of its games this season over the past week for its 1-6 record at the Campbell Tournament and Rebel Games. Through the first four games, Sammy Ruffolo had the best production at the plate with a .385 average on five hits. Destinee Pallotto and Lauren Falkanger have shared the starts for the Stags on the mound, striking out 15 in four games.

UCF has made its way into the national polls the past four weeks as it has maintained an impressive 22-4 record, with its most recent wins coming on Tuesday and Wednesday against Mercer, South Dakota and Northern Illinois. Linnea Goodman leads the lineup with a .387 average and 36 hits, while the Knights have gained contributions from all players. Kalyn Cenal and Jessica Ujvari have produced 10 of UCF's 19, with Cenal adding 18 RBI, as Kahley Novak has stolen 20 bases on 23 attempts. Mackenzie Audas (0.86 ERA) and Shelby Turnier (0.99 ERA) have owned the mound for the Knights, both throwing more than 80 innings and striking out 128 and 114, respectively. The pair has also brought in 10 shutouts and all 22 wins, while holding their opponents to respective batting averages of .124 and .140.

Monmouth has competed in just three games this season, coming away with wins against Fairfield and Campbell. Emma Hill and Rachel Shotbarger are hitting .333 for the Hawks, with Hill putting up four hits and three RBI. Sydney Underhill (2.00 ERA), Breanna Sniffen (2.80 ERA) and Amanda Riley (4.38 ERA) have split time in the circle, striking out seven and Sniffen and Riley picking up the wins.