CHICAGO – UIC will visit No. 7 Vanderbilt for a three-game series this weekend beginning on Friday, February 24 at 4 p.m. CT. It is the fifth straight season that the Flames have been scheduled to visit Hawkins Field, and the ninth time since 2007.
 
The Flames (2-2) split four games at the MLB Urban Youth Invitational in New Orleans, La., to begin the season last weekend. After dropping close contests on Opening Day to Prairie View A&M, and New Orleans the following afternoon, UIC bounced back in a big way on Sunday. The team was tasked with playing two different teams at two different parks and it delivered with two convincing wins.
 
In the first game of the day against Prairie View A&M at Barrow Stadium, four different Flames drove in at least two runs each and freshman Jacob Key stepped up on the mound in his first collegiate start to help UIC to a 9-3 win. Thomas Norton drove in three runs in his 2017 debut, while Key surrendered one earned run while striking out five over 6.0 IP in his debut.
 
After moving over to UNO's Maestri Field, the Flames took care of Grambling State in the nightcap, 6-1. Ricardo Ramirez and Brandon Gibis both homered to help UIC's cause, while sophomore Reid Birlingmair sparkled on the mount. The right-hander was never behind in a count as he fanned 10 without issuing a base on balls.
 
UIC's pitching staff posted positive numbers across the board in New Orleans. As a staff, the Flames struck out 42 batters, while issuing only 12 walks (one intentional). The opposition batted only .194 and scored 13 earned runs over the four-game span.
 
The seventh-ranked Commodores are 3-1 on the regular season. Vandy went on the road and won two-of-three at San Diego last weekend before returning to Nashville, where they defeated Evansville, 7-4, on Wednesday night.
 
Vanderbilt, under the direction of head coach Tim Corbin, features two players on the 2017 Golden Spikes Award Watch List. RHP Kyle Wright got the nod for the second consecutive season, while outfielder Jeren Kendall is also on the list. Wright took a loss in the opener at San Diego as he allowed three runs over 5.0 IP. He struck out two and walked three. Kendall is batting .316 and he leads Vanderbilt in runs scored (5) and total bases (10).
 
The probable pitching matchups for the series are listed below (UIC vs. Vanderbilt):
 
Friday – LHP Jake Dahlberg (0-0, 1.29 ERA) vs. RHP Kyle Wright (0-1, 5.40 ERA)
Saturday – RHP Jack Andersen (0-0, 4.76 ERA) vs. RHP Patrick Raby (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
Sunday – RHP Reid Birlingmair (1-0, 1.35 ERA) vs, RHP Drake Fellows (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
 
To hear UIC head coach Mike Dee reflect on the first weekend of the season and preview the trip to Vanderbilt, check out the video below:


 
Friday and Sunday's games will stream on SEC Network+. An audio feed and live statistics provided by Vanderbilt will be available for all three games. Links are available on the UIC schedule page.