April 16, 2015

Donate to the FLAMEingo Drive

CHICAGO - The UIC softball team (17-15, 8-3 HL) looks to continue its winning ways as it hosts Youngstown State (15-21, 5-6 HL) at Flames Field for a single game on Friday at 3 p.m. CT and a doubleheader on Saturday at noon. The Flames will hold their FLAMEingo Drive along with Lori Macias Day on Saturday to collect donations and raise awareness for breast cancer.

UIC is back at its home field after taking a 2-1 set at Valparaiso last weekend (April 11-12). The Flames came out to sweep the doubleheader, 11-9 and 11-5, before falling in the finale, 9-4. UIC combined for a .408 batting average in the series, led by Paige Peterson (.636) and Laura Swan (.625), as Peterson, Amanda Mener and Tiana Mack-Miller all homered. Elaine Heflin and Bridget Boyle each picked up wins, with Heflin adding a save to her season total.

Eleni Polites (.388) continues to boast the Flames top batting average on the season, followed by Mack-Miller (.364), Mener (.349) and Peterson (.341), while Mack-Miller tops nearly every statistical category with 36 hits, 11 doubles, three home runs (tied with Peterson) and 26 RBI. In Horizon League play alone, Mack-Miller is hitting .471 with Peterson closely behind at .412 to contribute to the team's .327 average against conference opponents.

Pitching for UIC, Heflin (3.56 ERA) and Boyle (4.03 ERA) are each sitting with six wins and two saves this season while combining to pitch 12 complete games. Heflin has tallied 63 strikeouts in 94.1 innings, followed by Boyle with 42 in 76.1. The pitching staff has held opponents to a .270 batting average, with a .283 mark in the Horizon League, where Heflin owns five of her wins, 36 strikeouts and a 2.52 ERA.

Youngstown State is coming off a busy week that featured a doubleheader split with Akron on Tuesday and two wins against Robert Morris on Wednesday. The Penguins 5-6 conference record comes after facing Detroit, Oakland, Wright State and Cleveland State, with a sweep against the Titans and single wins versus the Golden Grizzlies and Vikings.

Of those who have played more than 25 games, Miranda Castiglione (.343), Stevie Taylor (.325), Brittney Moffatt (.317) and Maria Lacatena (.314) have had the best offensive output for Youngstown State. Castiglione tops the hit total with 37 along with 21 stolen bases, as Sarah Dowd (.298) holds a team-high eight home runs and 24 RBI.

Ashley Koziol (4.78 ERA), Caitlyn Minney (4.79 ERA) and Kayla Haslett (5.20 ERA) have shared the circle this season, combining for 158 strikeouts and a .298 opponent batting average. Minney has pitched the most innings at 92 and holds a 4-8 record, as Koziol is 7-5 and Haslett is 3-8.

UIC has maintained a 32-16 record in the all-time series with Youngstown State. Last season, the Flames were swept by the Penguins in the regular season before coming back in the Horizon League Tournament to eliminate YSU in eight innings.