CHICAGO – The UIC softball team (2-8) will get back on the road this weekend for a trip out west to the San Diego Classic. The Flames will be facing Long Beach State and co-host San Diego State at the SDSU Softball Stadium on Friday before heading over to the USD Softball Complex to face Brigham Young and Boise State on Saturday, as well as co-host San Diego on Sunday.

WEEKLY WARRIORS
Junior Kayla Wedl was awarded Horizon League Player of the Week on Feb. 18, winning the weekly accolade for the fifth time in her career and second-straight week for the Flames. Wedl led UIC's offensive efforts at the Hillenbrand Invitational, batting .500 with eight hits, four runs and six RBI in UIC's five games. The junior racked up a 1.000% slugging percentage and a .529 on base percentage, while also stealing one base. Wedl was also perfect on defense, assisting on 13 and collecting eight putouts.

OFFENSIVE FRONT
The Flames are batting .329 as a team, good for No. 24 in the nation. The squad also owns a .500 slugging percentage, putting them at No. 37 in the nation. Lexi Watts leads the way with a .467 average, followed by Skylee James (.429) and Alyssa Griman (.400). The Flames have collected 81 hits across their first 10 games, with Watts (14), James (12) and Griman (10) once again leading the pack with double-digit efforts.

LAST TIME OUT
The Flames will be returning to the field this weekend after a brief break, last seeing action Feb. 15-17 at the Hillenbrand Invitational. UIC finished the tournament 0-5, taking losses to Cal State Fullerton, then-No. 9 Arizona, USF, New Mexico and then-No. 7 Alabama.

SIZING UP THE COMPETITION
Long Beach State owns a 6-8 record after a 1-3 showing this past weekend at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. Sydney McCollum leads the team with a .350 batting average, followed closely by Justine Briones's .342 average. Jamie Wren paces the squad with 15 hits, while Alyssa Gonzalez and McCollum have 14 apiece. Kellie White has seen the most time in the circle for the Beach, putting together a 4.45 ERA across 33.0 innings. Ashley Coleman has also seen her fair share of action, owning a 4.90 ERA through 30.0 innings of work.

San Diego State is one game over .500 with an 8-7 record, most recently coming up short against Loyola Marymount on Tuesday (Feb. 26), 2-1. The Aztecs also participated in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic this past weekend, finishing with a 2-2 record in the tournament. Kiera Wright leads the offense with a .333 batting average and 16 hits, while Kelsey Munoz also provides an offensive punch with a .326 average and 15 tabs. Marissa Moreno has pitched 53.1 of the Aztecs' 93.0 innings and owns an ERA of 3.81 to lead the SDSU staff.

Brigham Young is 6-7 through its first three weeks, most recently taking a 2-3 outing at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. Rylee Jensen provides the offensive power for the Cougars with 15 hits, four home runs, 12 RBI and a .429 batting average. Arissa Paulson (5.74 ERA), Kerisa Viramontes (5.24 ERA) and Autumn Moffat (2.73 ERA) have split all but one inning for the Cougars in the circle, allowing a combined 90 of the 92 opponent hits this season.

Boise State received 12 votes in this week's USA Today/NFCA Division I Coaches Poll after an undefeated showing this past weekend at the GCU Purple Classic. The Broncos are 10-2 on the season, losing to Northwestern State and then-No. 16 Texas in its opening weekend before going on to win its next nine games consecutively. Kora Wade is up to 16 hits so far to lead the Broncos, while teammates Jessica McKay and Alison Seng follow with 12 tabs each. Kelsey Broadus leads the Boise State staff with a 1.37 ERA through 35.2 innings of work, while Gianna Mancha owns a 2.66 ERA across 26.1 innings.

San Diego is 5-9 on the season after sweeping Southern Utah in a three-game series this past weekend. Taylor Spence and Lindsay Clare boast identical .405 batting averages with 17 hits apiece to lead the way for the Toreros offense. Madison Earnshaw handles the majority of the work in the circle for the Toreros and has an ERA of 6.36 in her 33.0 innings of action, while Delaney Heller owns an ERA of 7.48 through 29.0 innings of work.

UP NEXT
The Flames will head to down to Southern Illinois for the Coach B Classic March 8-9.