CHICAGO -- UIC begins its quest for a 13^th Horizon League championship and the 21^st season under head coach Mike Dee as the Flames venture to the state of Georgia for the Atlanta Challenge, Feb. 15-17.

UIC, coming off its 11^th season of at least 30 wins under Dee, opens the campaign on Friday, Feb. 15 at Georgia Tech. It is the third consecutive season that the Flames will meet the Yellow Jackets. The two teams split a doubleheader at Granderson Stadium in 2017 before GT took two-of-three at home in 2018. Jacob Key, a 2018 All-Horizon League Second Team selection, is expected to take the ball on opening day. He led UIC and ranked sixth in the Horizon League with 72 strikeouts as a sophomore last year. He collected his first victory of last season on March 4 at Georgia Tech. He struck out six and scattered eight hits in 5.0 IP to qualify for the win as UIC triumphed, 12-5.

Junior Xzavion Curry is listed as the probable starter for Georgia Tech. He has pitched against UIC in each of the last two seasons.

Friday's game will be available to watch via ACC Network Extra.

The Flames will head to nearby Kennesaw, Ga., where it will take on Kennesaw State Saturday. It will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs. Southpaw Braeden Toikka is slated to get the start on the bump for UIC. As a junior in 2018, Toikka appeared in 13 games and made four starts. He posted a 3.70 ERA in 24.1 IP and struck out 26 batters for the Flames.

Georgia State leads the all-time series against UIC, 3-0. The Flames have not announced a probable starter for that contest.

The UIC offense returns many notable contributors, including three outfielders in Scott Ota (47), Dominic Smith (40) and Derrick Patrick (31) that combined to start 118 games last season. Ota batted .283 with team-high 53 hits a year ago, including 20 that went for extra bases. The Californian led Horizon League and ranked fifth in the NCAA seven triples and became fourth player in program history to notch at least seven triples in a season. Ota finished season ranked third on UIC's all-time list with 14 triples.

Smith led UIC with six home runs and 37 RBI in his first season in a Flames uniform. He tied for ninth in the Horizon League in home runs and ranked 10^th in RBI. Patrick battled injuries early on in the campaign, but finished with a flourish. The Chicagoan batted .261 with eight doubles, a triple and two home runs in 33 games. He ranked second on team with 30 runs scored.

The infield also brings back a great deal of production. Horizon League Championship All-Tournament Team member Matt Bottcher is back in the mix. He batted ,293 in 38 games last season. Alex Dee, who spent time at first base and as the designated hitter, returns after collecting seven extra-base hits a year ago, as does sophomore shortstop Ryan Lin-Peistrup. Lin-Peistrup started 45 games and ranked fourth in the Horizon League with 119 assists in his first season.