CHICAGO – The UIC softball team (17-19, 7-2 HL) gets back to Horizon League action this week, facing IUPUI (14-29, 8-5 HL) on the road for a midweek series. The Flames and the Jags will face off in a single game on Tuesday, April 16 at 4 p.m. CT before wrapping up the series with a doubleheader on Wednesday, April 17 beginning at 1 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
The Flames took a break from conference play last week with a doubleheader against in-state rival Western Illinois. The Leathernecks came out on top in game one, 9-4, but the Flames responded with a 6-3 victory in game two to split the day.

WHERE WE RANK
The Flames are second in the League standings behind an 8-2 Youngstown State squad, owning a 7-2 mark in conference play. UIC is the top team in the Horizon League in several categories, including runs (192), RBI (173), home runs (24), slugging percentage (.440) and on-base percentage (.377). The Flames are batting .296 as a squad, second-best in the conference and own 271 hits, good for fourth-highest in the League.

Lexi Watts ranks 13th in the nation in batting average, owning a .443 average at the plate. Fellow senior Skylee James is batting .430 to rank 28th in the nation, and the two lead the Horizon League as the sole players batting above .400. Kayla Wedl follows her teammates in third batting .391, and the three also appear in the top five in the League in both hits and runs. Wedl's 33 RBI leads the conference, while James (28), Tara McElligott (27) and Alyssa Griman (26) round out the League's top five in the category.

UIC's 3.24 ERA against Horizon League opponents is fourth-lowest in the League, and its 34 hits allowed in conference play is second-lowest in the League. Marley Hanlon is second among Horizon League pitchers in Horizon League games, owning a 1.09 ERA against conference opponents.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
IUPUI's 8-5 mark in Horizon League play puts them at fourth in the conference standings. The Jags lead the League in hits with 308, and their .266 team batting average comes in third behind the Flames. IUPUI batters have driven in 167 runs, good for second in the League, and its 188 runs also puts them in second, trailing UIC in both categories. Delaney Thompson leads the Jags with a .321 average, putting her at 12th in the League, and her 44 hits lands her in fifth in the conference. Lexi Lucas leads the way in the circle, owning a 5.82 ERA through 153.0 innings pitched. Lucas's 67 strikeouts ranks sixth among Horizon League pitchers, and her .277 opponent batting average is ninth-lowest in the conference. UIC is 9-4 all-time against the Jags, most recently taking a 7-4 victory in the Horizon League Championship Semifinals last year.

UP NEXT
UIC will return home for more Horizon League action this weekend at home against Northern Kentucky.