CHICAGO – The UIC softball team (20-17, 9-3 HL) will turn its focus back to Horizon League play for the remainder of the season as they welcome Green Bay to Flames Field for a midweek-series. The Flames and the Phoenix will play a doubleheader on Tuesday, April 24 beginning at 2 p.m. CT and a single game on Wednesday, April 25 at 2 p.m. Originally scheduled to be played at Green Bay, the Phoenix will be the statistical home team in the series.

LAST TIME OUT
The Flames wrapped up their non-conference schedule last week with a pair of games against Big East contenders, falling to Butler 7-3 on Thursday (April 19) and coming up short against city-foe DePaul on Friday (April 20), 3-1. Redshirt-freshman Kayla Pociejewski tallied both her first career hit and run as a Flame in Friday's contest with the Blue Demons, but Pociejewski's would be the sole run to cross the plate for UIC on the afternoon. Skylee James continued her career-high hitting streak, tallying one hit in each contest, bringing the streak to 11 games.

SCOUTING THE FLAMES
The Flames remain at the top of the Horizon League standings with a 9-3 record in conference play. As a team, UIC leads the League in stolen bases by a long shot, swiping 72 bases this season compared to Detroit Mercy's 56 steals in second. The Flames are second in the conference in runs (158) and RBI (142), and are third in the Horizon League in team batting average (.276), hits (269) and home runs (18).

Lexi Watts leads the Flames in several offensive categories, and is at the top of the Horizon League in several categories. The junior is the League's top run scorer, crossing the dish 32 times this season, and has tabbed the most hits with 52. Watts also ranks second in the League in stolen bases (24), batting average (.419) and on base percentage (.482). Fellow junior Skylee James has the most RBI in the Horizon League with 37, and is tied for first in doubles, hitting 12 two-base hits this season.

UIC's pitching staff has the second-lowest ERA in the conference at 3.62, but has allowed the fewest runs this season at 140. The Flames also hold batters to the lowest average in the League, holding opponents to a .271 average. Freshman Marley Hanlon has the second-lowest individual ERA in the League at 2.68, while sophomore Allie Trudeau ranks sixth at 3.12. Karissa Frazier (3.83) and Jennah Speth (10.82) round out the rotation for UIC.

SCOUTING THE PHOENIX
Green Bay fell in a pair of one-run games against Northern Kentucky, falling 2-1 and 4-3 on Saturday (April 21) to finish the series 1-2 with the Norse. The Phoenix were able to capture a 6-3 win in the series opener before dropping the doubleheader the next day.

Chyanne Onstad bats .350 to pace the Phoenix offense, and also leads the squad in on-base percentage (.406), hits (41), RBI (19) and runs (17). Onstad's 41 hits puts her at fourth in the League, and her .350 batting average is eighth best in the conference. Morgan Bihun is also a top offensive contributor for Green Bay, batting .292 with 31 hits, 13 RBI and six runs this season.

Green Bay's pitching staff owns a collective ERA of 5.10, and is led by ace Kayla Schwebke (3.65). Schwebke is 17-10 on the season, allowing 74 runs (58 earned) on 121 hits, while holding batters to a .274 average. Elizabeth Pautz is 1-11 on the season with a 5.65 ERA through 60.2 innings of work, allowing 62 runs off 73 hits. Alexis Kinnaird and Katie Rossmann complete Green Bay's rotation, with ERAs of 7.30 and 8.40, respectively.   

ALL TIME SERIES
The Flames boast a 64-22 record all-time versus the Phoenix, with UIC sweeping last season's three-game set.

UP NEXT
UIC will host three games against Wright State this weekend, starting on Friday, April 27 at 4 p.m. CT.