EVANSTON, Ill. – Despite facing a 10-run deficit, the UIC softball team (16-16) was able to put together four runs in the fifth inning to extend the game before it eventually fell in a 10-4 final to Northwestern (13-16) Wednesday night at Drysdale Field.
 
The Flames tallied six hits to the Wildcats' nine as Jennah Speth and Savannah Soppet made up four of the hits with two apiece and Tiana Mack-Miller and Skylee James also added to the total. Of the runs scored, Speth garnered two RBI with one for Soppet.
 
Allie Trudeau collected her eighth start of the season and tossed two innings with two strikeouts, four walks and three hits. Jennah Speth came in to start the bottom of the third and gave up a home run and two walks before Karissa Frazier entered and finished the game with two strikeouts, two walks and five hits while she earned just one of the runs scored.
 
Northwestern claimed the 3-0 lead after two complete innings as it brought in a pair on a bases-loaded single in the first and plated another run in the second on an RBI double.
 
The Wildcats came out in the bottom of the third to score seven runs to go ahead 10-0. Anna Peterson led off with a hard liner out to left field that hit off the top of the fence and over for the home run. With the bases loaded and no outs, a hit by pitch and a Flames error scored two before a two-RBI single, another UIC error and passed ball brought in four more runs.
 
After it put runners on in the second and third, UIC tried to turn up its offense in the fourth as it led off with a double from Mack-Miller and single from Speth, but three outs quickly followed to leave both on base.
 
The Flames were able to muster up four runs in the top of the fifth to extend the game after narrowing Northwestern's lead to 10-4. James made her first appearance of the season as she came in to pinch hit and singled into left. With one out, Lexi Watts reached on an attempted sacrifice bunt off a Wildcat error before another NU error allowed James to score and runners to be placed on second and third. Speth then doubled to left, scoring two, and came across the plate on a single up the middle by Soppet.
 
Northwestern tried to come up with the runs it needed to end the game early in the fifth and sixth as it put two runners on in each frame and left them both in scoring position, while UIC was held off base in its final two rounds at the plate.
 
The Flames will head back home as they will host Detroit Mercy in a three-game series at Flames Field this weekend. Game one is set for Friday at 3 p.m. CT with a doubleheader to follow Saturday at 1 p.m.