CHICAGO – The UIC softball team (20-19, 10-2 HL) will look to extend its four-game win streak this weekend with a three-game series against Horizon League foe Northern Kentucky (13-23, 6-5 HL). The Flames and the Norse will play a single game on Friday, April 19 at 4 p.m. CT and will wrap up the series on Saturday, April 20 with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.

UIC will be honoring seniors Claire Crane, Karissa Frazier, Skylee James, Lexi Watts, Emily Wetzel and Jasmine Willis prior to the start of Saturday's doubleheader.

LAST TIME OUT
UIC completed its third conference sweep of the season on Wednesday (April 17), defeating IUPUI in three games on the road. The Flames trounced the Jags 19-9 in Tuesday's series opener and followed it up with a pair of shutout victories in Wednesday's doubleheader, 7-0 and 11-0. UIC put up 37 runs to IUPUI's nine in the series, smacking 17 extra-base hits in the three games, 10 of which were homers.

WHERE WE RANK
UIC is batting .304 to lead the Horizon League and rank 35th in the nation as a squad. The Flames are also 40th in the nation with a .472 slugging percentage, and their 1.49 swipes per game ranks 48th in the country. UIC is the Horizon League's top offensive team, owning the most runs (229), RBI (204) and homers (34), while also tallying the second-most hits with 306.

Watts and James own identical .427 batting averages to lead the League, and a three-way tie between Watts, James and Kayla Wedl sits at the top in hits, each owning 50 tabs on the season. The trio is also atop the conference ranks in runs, as Watts leads with 45, Wedl follows with 40 and James comes in third with 35. Wedl leads the League with 40 RBI, followed by James with 35. Alyssa Griman comes in at number three in RBI behind her teammates, driving in 31 runs so far, while Tara McElligott is locked in a tie for fourth with 29 runs driven in.

Jennah Speth owns a 0.75 ERA in the circle against Horizon League opponents after her shutout win on Wednesday, holding batters to a mere .152 average in conference games. Marley Hanlon's 2.63 ERA in conference contests ranks seventh among Horizon League pitchers, while Karissa Frazier's 3.36 ERA comes in at 13th. As a staff, UIC pitchers own a 3.21 ERA in Horizon League games, third-lowest in the conference. UIC's staff has allowed the fewest hits (73) in conference play, as well as the fewest earned runs (33).

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Northern Kentucky battled in-state rival Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday, taking a 6-3 loss. The Norse are 6-5 in conference play, owning series wins over Oakland, Wright State and Green Bay. NKU ranks sixth overall in the League in batting average, batting .254 as a squad. The Norse run a solid defense, owning the League's top fielding percentage at 96.4 percent. Zahrya McFarland leads the Northern Kentucky offense with a .337 batting average, a mark that puts her at 10th in the conference. Taylor Ginther controls the circle for the Norse, leading the pitching staff with a 3.29 ERA through 136.2 innings pitched. UIC swept last season's series against Northern Kentucky, and the Flames are 8-1 all-time against the Norse.  

UP NEXT
The Flames will face Green Bay in their final home series April 23-24.