CHICAGO -- UIC will take a quick break form Horizon League action to travel south on Tuesday, March 19, when it will take on the Illinois State Redbirds at Duffy Bass Field in Normal, Ill.

The Flames (6-8, 3-0 Horizon League) have won four consecutive games, including a three-game sweep of Oakland to open Horizon League play over the weekend. In the wins against Chicago State and Oakland, UIC is batting .299 as a team and scoring 5.3 runs per game. Freshman Ryan Hampe has been one of the team's hottest hitters of late as he batted .833 with five hits, three RBI and four runs scored over the week. Three other players, including Scott Ota, also had five hits over the four games and two of his left the ballpark. He is tied for the league lead with four home runs and ranks second with a slugging percentage of of .571 this spring.

On the mound, UIC has a staff ERA of 0.75 over the last four games and the Flames limited CSU and Oakland to a combined batting average of .176. On the year, UIC's 3.03 ERA leads the Horizon League and ranks 24^th in the NCAA. The staff has walked only 2.96 batters per nine innings, which ranks 19^th in the country at the beginning of the week.

Senior southpaw Braeden Toikka is slated to make his third start of the season against the Redbirds. Last time out against Chicago State, Toikka allowed just one hit over 4.0 scoreless innings at Granderson Stadium. He struck out four and collected his first win of the season.

Illinois State (12-6, 0-0 MVC) has won five of its last six games, including a 7-3 victory at No. 1 Vanderbilt on March 10. The Flames and Redbirds have played one common opponent so far in SIUE. ISU topped the Cougars on March 13, 16-9, while the Flames dropped both games of a doubleheader on March 1.

Statistically, ISU currently has five hitters batting .360 or better and a team batting average of .317. Jordan Libman paces the bunch with a mark of .406 through 18 games. He's got six extra-base hits and 15 RBI. Libman is one of five Redbirds with at least 15 RBI as the club is averaging 8.2 runs per game.

On the mound, right-hander Brett Wicklund is expected to start the ballgame for ISU. He has appeared in four games and made one start. The Chicago, Ill., native owns a 4.22 ERA in 10.2 innings pitched and opponents are batting .319 against him.

Tuesday's game will be available on ESPN+.