CHICAGO -- As a result of unforeseen circumstances UIC has played all 12 Horizon League games at home this season and the trend continues this weekend when the Northern Kentucky Norse invade Granderson Stadium for a three-game series beginning on Thursday, April 13 at 6:05 p.m. CT.

The Flames were scheduled to open with six conference games at home before heading to Milwaukee and Oakland for the next six. Unplayable field conditions prompted a change of venue to Chicago and UIC won five of those six games. This weekend's visit from NKU has been on the schedule from the beginning, however the weather forecast may slightly alter the plans. Thursday's game is on as scheduled at 6:05 p.m., but the game time for Friday is yet to be determined. Saturday's ballgame will also be moved up one hour for a 12:05 p.m. first pitch.

Speaking of Saturday, the Flames will be hosting a spring beer garden between Granderson Stadium and Flames Field as the baseball, softball, men's and women's tennis programs will all be in action on campus. The garden will be open from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. and beer tickets will be available for purchase by those 21-and-older.

The Flames have been on an offensive tear over the last two games as they are averaging 15.5 runs per game in wins over Oakland (April 9) and Northern Illinois (April 11). As a team, UIC is batting .402 in the last two games with eight doubles and five home runs. No individual has been swinging a hotter bat than junior Rob Calabrese. He is 7-of-10 (.700) at the plate since Sunday with four extra-base hits and 11 RBI. The catcher had a career day at NIU Tuesday when he became only the third player in program history to drive in eight runs in a game, joining Joe Betcher (4/13/12) and Weber Bowen (3/8/02). He also became the first player since Matt Serna on May 1, 2010 to register five hits in one game for the Flames.

UIC has been strong on the mound throughout the 2017 campaign as evidenced by a staff ERA of 3.00 through April 11. That ranks 14^th in the NCAA and if that number were to carry through to the end of the season, it would be the lowest in program history. Jake Dahlberg is the reigning Horizon League Pitcher of the Week after throwing 6.1 scoreless innings and striking out eight against Oakland on April 7. It was the second week in a row that a UIC pitcher claimed that award after Reid Birlingmair was recognized on April 3. It was also the second time this season (March 13) and fourth time in his career that Dahlberg won. Connor Ryan, who recently returned to the bullpen after missing 19 games with an injury, was also named Horizon League Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 27 after earning a win and a save at seventh-ranked Vanderbilt.

The great pitching has been aided significantly by one of the best defensive units in the nation. The Flames lead the NCAA with a fielding percentage of .986 through April 11, while turning an average of 1.21 double plays per games, the second most in the country. UIC went a step further at NIU on Tuesday afternoon as it turned a triple play in the bottom of the sixth inning. With runners on the corners and nobody out, pitcher Jacob Key struck out Brad Wood for the first out. The runner on first, Jason Gasser, attempted to steal second, but he was thrown out by Calabrese. After making the tag for the second out, Cody Bohanek fired home to cut down Mike Roberson at the plate to complete the unconventional triple play.

The probable pitching matchups for the series against Northern Kentucky are listed below:

Thursday, 6:05 p.m.:  LHP Jake Dahlberg (5-1, 2.44 ERA) vs. RHP Brody Basilone (0-1, 5.21 ERA)
Friday, TBA: RHP Reid Birlingmair (3-2, 3.59 ERA) vs. RHP Jean-Francois Dionne (2-2, 8.44 ERA)
Saturday, 12:05 p.m.: RHP Jack Andersen (2-1, 4.30 ERA) vs. RHP Pat Kelley (3-1, 5.27 ERA)

More notes, statistics and information are available in the series notes PDF linked above.