CHICAGO -- UIC will put a bow on the 2018 regular this season when it hosts Youngstown State for a three-game Horizon League series at Granderson Stadium. The set begins under the lights at 6:35 p.m. CT on Thursday, May 17.

The Flames (25-16, 12-9 Horizon League) have been idle since defeating regular-season champion Wright State on May 6, 7-4. UIC was due to play a series at Oakland last weekend, but wet weather and unplayable field conditions prompted the cancellation of all three games.

Youngstown State (17-33, 10-16 Horizon League) comes to the Windy City with the reigning Horizon League Pitcher and Co-Batter of the Week. After a week in which he batted .500, slugged 1.042 and hit four home runs, senior outfielder Trey Bridis was recognized on Monday at the national and conference level. Bridis was named a National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball, and he was also named the Co-Horizon League Batter of the Week. Alex Bellardini was named the Horizon League Pitcher of the Week after allowing just one run on six hits over six innings to lead the Penguins to a 14-7 win at Northern Kentucky on Saturday. He earned the honor for the second consecutive week to become the first player to garner back-to-back weekly league honors this season.

The Penguins won all three meetings between the two teams in Ohio. That series took place March 30-31.

SEEDING SCENARIOS

• The Flames can finish either second or third in the regular season race depending on this week's outcomes.
• UIC has finished first or second 15 times in 19 seasons under head coach Mike Dee, and in the top four in 18 of 19 seasons (1999, first season).
• With at least two victories over he weekend, UIC is guaranteed the second seed in the upcoming Horizon League Championship at Wright State.
• Other potential scenarios for UIC are...
• UIC 1-2 (13-11)/MKE 2-1 (13-12) or worse ? No. 2 seed
• UIC 1-2 (13-11)/MKE 3-0 (14-11) ? No. 3 seed
• UIC 0-3 (12-12)/MKE 1-2 (12-13) or worse/OAK 2-1 (13-13) or worse ? No. 2 seed [UIC went 2-1 vs. OAK]
• UIC 0-3 (12-12)/MKE 2-1 (13-12) ? No. 3 seed
• UIC 0-3 (12-12)/OAK 3-0 (14-12) ? No. 3 seed
• The Penguins can finish anywhere between fourth and sixth depending on the weekend outcomes.

PITCHING PROWESS

• The Flames lead the Horizon League and rank fifth nationally with a 2.91 ERA in 2018.
• The Flames boast two of the nation's top 25 individual ERA's with Charlie Cerny and Ryan Campbell. Cerny is 12^th at 1.44 and Campbell is 25^th at 1.82.
• Stetson is the only other team with two in the top 25 (22^nd and 24^th). The Hatters lead the nation as a staff at 2.62.
• UIC ranks tied for 10th in the NCAA with six shutouts. UCF leads the way with nine.
• The Flames ranked second in the NCAA with an earned-run average of 2.65 in 2017, behind Oregon State (1.93). It was the best ERA in the program's history by 0.54 points (3.19 in 2003).

SOUP'S ON

• Senior Ryan Campbell threw back-to-back complete games for the first time in program history at Georgia Tech (8.0 IP) and against Chicago State (9.0 IP), and then he did it again.
• Campbell has gone the distance in each of his last two outings. The senior tossed 9.0 IP in a win over Milwaukee on April 28 and 8.0 IP in his last start at Wright State on May 4.
• He leads the Horizon League and is tied for sixth in the NCAA with four complete games. Two of his complete games are shutouts and no other conference foe has more than one shutout as a a team in 2018.
• He has twice been named Horizon League Pitcher of the Week this season (Feb. 19 and March 12).
• Campbell began the season by throwing 17.0 consecutive scoreless innings. He allowed three runs in the fourth inning of his third start at Georgia Tech and followed that with 16.1 consecutive scoreless innings.
• Campbell ranks third in the Horizon League in innings pitched (79.0) despite making two fewer starts (11) than the League leader Ryan Weiss of WSU (82.2).
• Last season, Campbell made 14 of his 16 appearances out of the bullpen for UIC.
• He is one of three seniors who will be honored in a postgame ceremony on Saturday along with classmates Bowen Ogata and Wyatt Trautwein.

LONG LAYOFF

• UIC has not played since topping Wright State, 7-4, on May 6. Last weekend's entire series at Oakland was canceled due to inclement weather.
• It was the second time this season the Flames lost an entire weekend. The set scheduled at Miwaukee (April 13-15) was also canceled.
• The last time UIC was idle for at least a week, the offense exploded when the slate resumed. The Flames scored 17 runs on April 17 against Viterbo, one shy of a season high.
• Over the next four games after the break (vs. Viterbo; three at NKU), UIC scored  53 runs in four victories.

GOOSE EGGS

• UIC ranks tied for 10^th in the NCAA with six shutouts this season. The rest of the Horizon League has four combined. Milwaukee has done it twice, while Wright State and Oakland have one each.
• The Flames blanked Southern in the season opener (Feb. 16), Chicago State (March 10) and Northern Kentucky (March 18-1).
• In its last home series, UIC blanked Milwaukee three times, while holding the Panthers to nine hits and not issuing a walk on the weekend. The Flames are the only team in the NCAA to post shutouts in each game of a three-game series this season.
• UCF leads the NCAA with nine clean sheets in 52 games.
• The Flames finished third in the country in 2017 behind Oregon State (14) and Long Beach State (12) with 11 shutouts.

PROBABLE STARTERS (UIC vs. YSU):
Thursday, May 17: RHP Ryan Campbell (6-3, 1.82 ERA) vs. RHP Alex Bellardini (4-2, 6.05 ERA)
Friday, May 18: RHP Charlie Cerny (4-2, 1.44 ERA) vs. RHP Kip DeShields (1-3, 7.45 ERA)
Saturday, May 19: RHP Jacob Key (3-4, 2.96 ERA) vs.TBA