CHICAGO -- UIC will take a brief break from Horizon League play on Tuesday night when it hosts the Viterbo V-Hawks under the lights at Granderson Stadium at 6:05 p.m.

The Flames (24-8, 13-2 Horizon League) have won 20 of their last 22 games and seven nonconference games in row dating back to March 7. UIC has won five in a row overall after sweeping a three-game series against Northern Kentucky over the weekend. The Flames are batting .348 during the last five games while scoring an average of 9.4 runs per game. The opposition - Oakland, Northern Illinois and Northern Kentucky - batted .189 with one extra-base hit while scoring only 2.8 runs per contest.

UIC's offense has been clicking all season as it leads the Horizon League in batting average (.295), slugging percentage (.436) and on-base percentage (.380), but it's been the pitching and defense that has been exemplary. The Flames rank second in the entire NCAA in both fielding percentage (.984) and double plays per game (1.19). The pitching staff owns an earned-run average of 2.74, the seventh-best mark in the nation. UIC also ranks seventh nationally in both hits allowed per nine innings (7.1) and shutouts (6).

One of the members of that pitching staff, sophomore Reid Birlingmair, was named Horizon League Pitcher of the Week for the second time in three weeks on Monday. The sophomore fired 8.0 scoreless innings against the Norse on Friday, while allowing only two hits with six strikeouts in a 4-0 victory. Following a single that led off the second inning, the right-hander cruised and retired 21 hitters in a row between the second and eighth frames. NKU, which entered the series leading the conference in numerous offensive categories, batted .080 against him with only three baserunners in the contest.

UIC leads the conference with six weekly honors this spring. Birlingmair joins Dahlberg (April 10 and March 13) as a winner of multiple Horizon League Pitcher of the Week accolades this season. Connor Ryan also claimed the honor on Feb. 27. Outfielder Scott Ota was named the League's Batter of the Week on March 27.

Tuesday's game will be televised on ESPN3. A link to the broadcast can be found above.