CHICAGO - Due to unplayable conditions at Flames Field, the UIC softball team's (8-10) home-opening Horizon League series against Oakland (9-13) has been relocated to DePaul's Cacciatore Stadium. The Flames and Golden Grizzlies will now play a doubleheader on Friday at 1 p.m. CT and a single game on Saturday at 10 a.m. to open the conference season.

UIC is back in action after concluding its tournament season at the UCF Spring Fling Tournament (March 13-15), where the Flames went 2-3 with wins against Fairfield and Monmouth. Senior Eleni Polites produced a .538 batting average to earn Horizon League Player of the Week honors, while junior Bridget Boyle maintained a 2.33 ERA for Pitcher of the Week distinction.

With her stellar performance, Polites moved into position to lead UIC with a .400 average on the season, with freshmen Taylor Cairns (.313) and Tiana Mack-Miller (.309) and senior Paige Peterson (.308) all hitting above the .300 mark. Mack-Miller boasts a team-high 17 hits, five doubles and 27 total bases, as junior Laura Swan owns the RBI category with nine.

Boyle and sophomore Elaine Heflin have shared the circle as of late. Boyle owns a 3-2 record with a 2.95 ERA after pitching 42.2 innings, striking out 21 and holding the opposition to a .232 average. Heflin picked up her first win of the season last weekend against Monmouth and holds a 4.69 ERA after 34.1 innings with 17 strikeouts.

Oakland heads into the conference season after going 9-13 during tournament play, including its most recent 1-4 outcome at the Miami (Oh) Invitational (March 12-15) with a win against Dayton.

Sarah Hartley (.438) possesses the top batting average for the Golden Grizzlies, followed by Sara Cupp (.403), TJ Bindus (.385), Courtnee Johnson (.357) and Jackie Kisman (.313). Hartley leads nearly every statistical category with 32 hits, three triples, five home runs, 58 total bases, 22 RBI, 19 runs and eight stolen bases.

Kaley Waalkes (2.80 ERA), Laura Pond (3.33 ERA) and Erin Kownacki (3.66 ERA) head the pitching staff for Oakland. Kownacki has been the Golden Grizzlies' top performer with a 5-6 record after going 51.2 innings with 32 strikeouts and seven complete games.

Last season, UIC came out on top of Oakland in two-of-three games to take the series and improve its all-time record to 4-1 against the Golden Grizzlies.