CHICAGO – The UIC softball team (27-18, 16-4 HL) will put a cap in the regular season by hosting Youngstown State (24-21, 14-7 HL) this weekend at Flames Field. The Flames and the Penguins will face off in a single game on Friday, May 4 at 4 p.m. CT and will end the three-game set with a doubleheader on Saturday, May 5 starting at 1 p.m. CT.

Seniors Taylor Cairns and Tiana Mack-Miller will be honored and thanked for their successful careers prior to the start of Saturday's doubleheader.

LAST TIME OUT
The Flames blew into Cleveland for the day on Tuesday (May 1) and headed back to Chicago with a doubleheader sweep. UIC took game one by a final tally of 9-4 and scored at least one run in every inning to win game two in six innings, 12-3.  The Flames outscored the Vikings 21-7 in the two games combined, tallying 29 hits to Cleveland State's 15.

SCOUTING THE FLAMES
UIC is just one victory away from its fourth-straight regular season title and the right to host the Horizon League Championship May 9-12. The Flames are batting .295 as a team to lead the Horizon League and rank No. 41 in the nation. UIC is also the number one team in the League in runs (220), hits (360) and RBI (193). The Flames hold a large advantage in stolen bases, with 93 swipes this season. Detroit Mercy is the next closest contender with 66 steals. UIC averages 2.07 steals per contest, which ranks them 16th in the nation in the category.

Conference play has seen the Flames hit .361 as a squad, well ahead of Oakland's .298 conference average in second. UIC has racked up 143 runs scored in Horizon League play, 46 more than Youngstown State's 97 runs in second. The Flames have 207 hits in conference games, leading all other squads by a margin of 54 or greater.

Lexi Watts leads the League with a .445 batting average, and her 43 runs are number one in the conference as well. Watts has 31 steals on the season to lead the Horizon League, and her 0.69 average steals per game puts her at 17th in the nation. The junior also has 69 hits this season, with a 10-hit advantage over second place. Kayla Wedl comes in third in the League with a .364 average, and Skylee James is batting .329 to round out the conference's top five. James controls the RBI category, batting in 45 runs this season, followed by Wedl in second with 34.

UIC's pitching staff made up of Allie Trudeau (2.83 ERA), Marley Hanlon (3.17 ERA), Karissa Frazier (3.50 ERA) and Jennah Speth (8.50 ERA) combines for the lowest team ERA in the Horizon League at 3.42. Flames pitchers also hold batters to the lowest average in the conference at .265 and have allowed the fewest runs this season (165). Trudeau's 2.84 earned run average is third-lowest among Horizon League pitchers, while Hanlon's 3.17 ERA is fifth-lowest. Frazier holds batters to the lowest average at .239, and Trudeau keeps batters at .249, fifth-lowest in the Horizon League.

SCOUTING THE PENGUINS
Second-place Youngstown State took two of three from Green Bay last weekend, winning the opener on Friday (April 27), 2-1, before splitting the doubleheader on Saturday (April 28). The Penguins won the first game of the twin bill 9-2 and came up short in the finale, 3-2, snapping a nine-game win streak.

Youngstown State is runner-up in the Horizon League, batting .284 as a squad. The Penguins are one spot behind the Flames in runs (210), hits (341) and RBI (182), and they lead the lead the League with 28 home runs. Lexi Zappitelli is second in the conference with a .435 average, while teammate Yazmine Romero is number two in the Horizon League in hits with 59. YSU's Maddi Lusk ties with Wedl as runner-up in RBIs, driving in 34 runs this season.

The Penguins have the third-lowest team ERA in the conference at 3.54, led by Paige Geanangel's team-low 3.20 earned run average. Youngstown State pitchers have given up 185 runs (148 earned) off 148 hits this season, and allow batters a .283 average. Elle Buffenbarger is 9-5 this season with a 3.35 ERA for the Penguins, and Lusk rounds out the staff for YSU with a 4.70 ERA and a 3-6 record.

UP NEXT
The Flames will look ahead to the Horizon League Championship next week, set for May 9-12, hosted by the regular season champion.