CHICAGO – The UIC softball team (2-3) will head south to the desert of Arizona for the Hillenbrand Invitational this weekend. The Flames will be contending with two 2018 NCAA Super Regional qualifiers in No. 7 Alabama and No. 9 Arizona, as well as two NCAA Regional qualifiers in University of South Florida and Cal State Fullerton.

The Flames will kick off the tournament with Cal State Fullerton and Arizona on Friday before facing University of South Florida and University of New Mexico on Saturday. UIC will conclude the invitational with Alabama on Sunday.

LAST TIME OUT
UIC kicked off the 2019 season last weekend at the Kickin' Chicken Classic, finishing with a 2-3 record in the three-day tournament. The Flames posted wins against Boston University and Rider, but fell to No. 8 Tennessee and host Coastal Carolina.

HANLON SAYS NO
Sophomore Marley Hanlon took home the first no-hitter of her career on Saturday (Feb. 9) in UIC's 17-0 run-rule victory over Rider. Despite a large cushion provided by her offense, Hanlon was near flawless in her first career no-no, facing just 16 batters in five innings of work. The southpaw's no-hitter was the 28th all-time for the Flames and first for UIC since Elaine Heflin's no-hit performance against Youngstown State on April 8, 2017.

JAMES STEPS UP AT THE PLATE
Senior Skylee James was awarded the Horizon League's first Player of the Week honor in the 2019 season on Monday (Feb. 11) after leading UIC's offense out in Conway, S.C. James ended the tournament hitting .538 with seven hits, four runs and seven RBI in UIC's five games. The senior posted a .923 slugging percentage and a .563 on-base percentage, while also drawing one walk and stealing one base. Three of her seven hits were multi-base - two doubles and one home run - a solo shot that came on Sunday against host Coastal Carolina. 

SIZING UP THE COMPETITION
Cal State Fullerton went 4-1 last weekend in its own Titan Classic, posting wins over Idaho State, Buffalo, Utah State and Pacific, but falling to Louisville. Fullerton competed at the Los Angeles Regional last season, taking big wins over Texas State and UCLA, but eventually met up with the Bruins again in the championship and dropped two straight to bow out of the tournament.

Arizona competed in the USF Opening Weekend Invitational, finishing with a 3-2 record. The Wildcats defeated No. 17 Michigan, host USF, and Illinois State, but came up short against No. 4 Florida and NC State. Arizona won its own Regional last year, but fell to UCLA in Super Regionals to miss out on a bid to the Women's College World Series.

University of South Florida hosted its own tournament last week to kick off the season and ended with a 1-4 turnout. The Bulls were victorious over Illinois State but were unable to get the job done against Arizona, Michigan, NC State and Florida. USF competed at the Gainesville Regional last year, earning a victory over Bethune-Cookman while also dropping a pair to Ohio State.

University of New Mexico made the short trip to New Mexico State for the NM State Invitational, where it posted wins over UTEP and Creighton before falling to host New Mexico State. Pitchers Kiana Spencer and Bailey Klitzke earned wins for the Lobos, and Spencer leads the staff after week one with a 1.17 ERA. Junior Cameryn O'Grady had a 7-for-9 showing at the plate to lead the offense, driving in seven runs off a double, a triple and two home runs.

Alabama is off to a 5-0 start after taking down its competitors at the Trojan Classic last weekend. The Crimson Tide took a pair of wins over Murray State and Troy, as well as one win against Maryland. Alabama took its own Tuscaloosa Regional last year, but was eliminated from the tournament in Super Regionals by eventual finalist Washington.

Up Next
The Flames will take a brief break in action, returning to the diamond March 1-3 for the San Diego Classic.