CHICAGO – The UIC softball team (7-2) will continue its tournament slate by taking a trip out west for the Santa Clara Invitational in Santa Clara, Calif. The Flames are set to face South Dakota (2-5), Weber State (1-7-1), Creighton (2-8) and host Santa Clara (2-4), Friday through Sunday, at the Santa Clara Softball Stadium.
 
UIC heads to the opposite side of the United States after competing last weekend in the Wyndham Garden Cougar Classic in Mount Pleasant, S.C. The Flames turned out a 2-2 record at the tournament with wins over Monmouth, 7-2, and Eastern Kentucky, 2-1 (8), while they were edged in one-run decisions by Lipscomb, 1-0, and Winthrop, 3-2.
 
The team turned out 26 hits in the four games as Tiana Mack-Miller (6), Savannah Soppet (4) and Kayla Wedl (4) led the squad. Soppet additionally put up a team-best four RBI, including the game-winning RBI against EKU. Pitchers Elaine Heflin and Karissa Frazier each threw 13 innings, with Heflin picking up the two wins and striking out 13 batters.
 
UIC is collectively hitting .320 so far this season with 73 total hits. Six players own a batting average above .300, as Lexi Watts (.467), Mack-Miller (.414) and Wedl (.407) are above the .400 mark and own a combined 37 hits. Four players have put up at least six RBI with Soppet leading the group with seven.
 
Heflin is a perfect 4-0 in the circle with a flawless 0.00 earned-run average, as she is just one of 13 players in the nation to own the feat. She also has tabbed 29 strikeouts in 25 innings while holding opponents to a .172 batting average. Frazier has thrown 25.1 frames for a 1.11 ERA and 2-2 record while she has struck out 10 and held foes to a .194 average.
 
South Dakota is coming off a 1-1 output at the Littlewood Classic in Tempe, Ariz., last weekend as it fell to #17 Missouri and defeated Wichita State, while the remainder of its games were rained out. The Coyotes are batting .238 on the year with 39 hits, led by Shelby Kell (.333), Jamie Holscher (.300) and Morgan Vasa (.300) with six apiece. Ally Wiegand (2.75 ERA) owns a team-best 2-3 record in the circle after throwing 28 innings and striking out 19. UIC and South Dakota have only faced each other once before back in 2012 with the Flames pulling off the win.
 
Weber State came away with its first win of the season last weekend at the DeMarini Desert Classic in Henderson, Nev., as it ousted San Jose State, 4-1. The Wildcats have produced a .256 batting average off 62 hits and have been paced by the effort of Sara Hingsberer (.440) with 11 of the tallies. Kirtlyn Bohling (4.81 ERA) and Tatiana Su'esu'e (9.37 ERA) have shared the circle and combined for 22 strikeouts in all but eight innings pitched. Friday's meeting will be the first ever between UIC and Weber State.
 
Creighton heads into competition after turning out a 1-4 result at the Plainsman Invitational in Auburn, Ala., where it picked up a 1-0 win over Evansville. The Bluejays are hitting just .110 this season with 23 hits as Anna O'Gorman owns a team-best five hits and three RBI. Pitching duties have been primarily split between Bryana Clark (2.39 ERA) and Michal Hylton (8.52 ERA), who have each thrown upwards of 23 innings and made seven appearances while combining for 32 strikeouts. The Flames own a 3-1 record in the all-time series with Creighton after last collecting a 6-3 win in 2010.
 
Santa Clara went 2-2 at last weekend's hosted Bronco Classic with a pair of wins against Seattle University. The Broncos have tabbed 36 hits for a .231 average and have three players with six hits or more from Morgan Modesto (.412), Geenamarie Bonilla (.316) and Ellie Fisher (.273). Micaela Vierra (2.37 ERA) and Aubree Kim (5.00 ERA) have thrown the most innings as they have acquired 24 strikeouts with one win each. UIC has a slight edge on Santa Clara in the all-time series with a 5-4 record as the two teams have faced one another in the past two seasons with the Flames going 2-1.