CHICAGO – The UIC softball team (9-9) will head to Marita Hynes Field, home of the 2016 NCAA Women's College World Series champion Oklahoma Sooners, this weekend to compete in the OU Tournament. The Flames will go up against Omaha (7-11) and No. 9/10 Oklahoma (16-4) in a pair of games on both Saturday and Sunday in Norman, Okla.

Due to forecasted weather, Saturday's schedule will feature a 4 p.m. CT start against the Sooners, with a single game against the Mavericks to follow at 6:30 p.m. On Sunday, action will get underway against Omaha at 11 a.m. and will conclude with Oklahoma at 1:30 p.m.

UIC is back in action after competing last weekend (March 4-5) at Southern Illinois' Coach B Classic. The Flames were unable to come away with a win in the tournament as they lost to Northern Illinois, 6-1, No. 19/21 Kentucky, 6-2, Western Illinois, 1-0, and Murray State, 1-0.
 
While scoring just three runs, the UIC offense was held to a .115 batting average across the four games with 11 combined hits, as Savannah Soppet, Kaleigh Nagle, Taylor Cairns and Jasmine Willis each had two. Allie Trudeau had the top outing for the pitching staff as she acquired four strikeouts, allowed a mere two hits and held WIU to a .105 batting average in 6.1 innings of work for a 1.11 earned-run average.
 
The Flames have put together a .262 batting average this season with 116 hits. Lexi Watts (.390), Kayla Wedl (.308), Savannah Soppet (.298) and Tiana Mack-Miller (.296) have had the most production with a combined 69 hits, as Wedl, Soppet and Jasmine Willis (.271) own a team-best eight RBI and Mack-Miller has the best on-base percentage at .406.
 
The UIC pitchers own the Horizon League's best ERA of 1.85 as they have also held opponents to a .208 batting average. Karissa Frazier (1.17 ERA) and Elaine Heflin (1.57 ERA) have thrown the most innings while posting 56 strikeouts, with a team-best 44 from Heflin.
 
Omaha competed at the Red Desert Classic in St. George, Utah, last weekend and turned out a 3-2 record with wins over Montana, Southern Utah and No. 16/17 Utah. The Flames have met with the Mavericks just twice before as Omaha won both games, with the last meeting not coming since 1988.
 
Lia Mancuso (.352), Kelly Pattison (.327), Nicole Warren (.319) and Lizzie Noble (.311) pace the offense that is hitting .260 this season as they own more than half of the team's hits with 71 and have put up six home runs, with Vicky Kinney (.250) and Pattison leading the charge in RBI with a combined 25.
 
Pitching duties have been split between Laura Roecker (3.34 ERA) and Abbie Clanton (3.78 ERA) as they together have acquired 41 strikeouts, with opposing batters hitting .289.
 
Oklahoma rides a seven-game win streak into the weekend having defeated Wichita State, Northwestern State, Evansville (2), Western Kentucky (2) and Tulsa, with six of those wins coming at home. UIC is 2-6 in the all-time series with the Sooners after Oklahoma last picked up a pair of wins over the Flames in 2011.
 
Five players are hitting above the .300 mark led by Caleigh Clifton (.441), Nicole Pendley (.364) and Sydney Romero (.328) as the have contributed to the team's .310 batting average on the year off their 72 hits, with a team-best six home runs for Pendley. The trio has additionally put up a combined 73 RBI along with Shay Knighten (.232) and Fale Aviu (.350).
 
Pitching has been done primarily at the hands of Paige Parker (1.73 ERA) with 64.2 innings and a team-high 73 strikeouts, while Mariah Lopez (2.25 ERA) and Paige Lowary (2.53 ERA) have also spent a significant amount of time in the circle to help limit opposing teams to a .194 batting average.