2015 Championship Bracket 

WATCH LIVE on ESPN3

CHICAGO - The UIC softball team kicks off its quest in the 2015 Horizon League Championship on Thursday at the Oakland Softball Field in Rochester, Mich. The second-seeded Flames received a first-round bye and will face the winner of Wednesday's game between No. 3 Wright State and No. 5 Valparaiso at 1:30 p.m. CT.

UIC came away with a share of the conference regular season title last weekend after taking two-of-three games against Cleveland State to end its campaign with a 14-6 league record. Tiana Mack-Miller led the Flames with five hits in the series, followed by Laura Swan with four. Elaine Heflin and Bridget Boyle each took wins, with Heflin garnering a save as well.

On Tuesday, the Horizon League announced its postseason honors, with Heflin claiming the feat of Pitcher of the Year and Mack-Miller tabbing Freshman of the Year. The pair also placed on the All-League First Team with Swan, as Eleni Polites earned a spot on the Second Team. Mack-Miller took a third accolade as an All-Freshman Team honoree.

Mack-Miller owns the conference's fifth-best batting average at .379 and is hitting .452 in league games only. Polites (.331), Swan (.328), Paige Peterson (.314) and Amanda Mener (.303) have additionally played key roles in UIC's team average of .297, the second-highest mark in the Horizon League. Mack-Miller also tops the statistical categories of hits (50), doubles (15), home runs (4), RBI (30), slugging percentage (.598) and on-base percentage (.455).

Heflin has gone a total of 146.2 innings in the circle for the Flames for a 2.77 ERA, 11 wins and 116 strikeouts, with a 1.91 ERA, 10 wins and 84 Ks in conference. Boyle has pitched 95 innings to garner a 5.01 ERA with seven wins and 47 strikeouts. The pitching staff has held opponents to a .266 batting average with a total of 196 strikeouts.

In the regular season, UIC claimed both of its series against Wright State and Valparaiso by winning two-of-three games. The Raiders ended the regular season at 13-7, with the Crusaders finishing at 9-11.

Wright State placed four on the all-League Second Team with its top offensive players in Becka Peterson (.326), Hanna Floyd (.317), Jess Gorman (.304) and pitcher Montana Wear (3.76 ERA). Valparaiso received an all-League First Team nod for Kaitlyn Ranieri, who is hitting .423 for the Crusaders, with Taylor Nadler (.340) taking place on the Second Team.