CHICAGO – The UIC softball team (25-20, 15-3 HL) kicks off its final road stretch of the regular season this weekend with a trio of games at Youngstown State (22-24, 10-6 HL). The Flames and Penguins will kick off the series with a single game on Friday, April 26 at 6 p.m. CT and will wrap up the series on Saturday, April 27 with a doubleheader starting at 12 p.m. CT.

LAST TIME OUT
UIC completed its fourth Horizon League series sweep on Wednesday with an 8-0 run-rule victory over Green Bay. The Flames also took home wins of 7-0 and 4-3 in Tuesday's doubleheader to outscore the Phoenix 19-3 in the series. Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Player of the Week Kayla Wedl finished the series a perfect 7-for-7 with seven runs, two doubles, a triple and one home run, while also drawing four walks. Lexi Watts batted .636 (7-for-11) against the Phoenix, while Skylee James ended the series with a .455 average (5-for-11) at the plate.

HORIZON LEAGUE HEROES
The Flames lead the Horizon League in nearly every offensive category, including batting average (.323), runs (274), hits (378), RBI (241), slugging percentage (.496) and on-base percentage (.398). On the defensive side, UIC boasts the League's top fielding percentage at .962. Watts leads the League with a .475 batting average, followed by Wedl (.460) and James (.442), and the trio leads the conference in both hits and runs as well.

The Flames are batting .388 in Horizon League games, led by a .679 average by Wedl. Watts owns a .552 average against conference foes, while James is batting .491 in League contests. UIC has a commanding lead in runs during Horizon League play with 156, 48 more than IUPUI in second with 108. The Flames also have a comfortable lead in RBI, driving 137 compared to 90 for IUPUI in second.

Jennah Speth owns the lowest ERA in Horizon League games at 1.68 after her one-hit shutout performance on Wednesday against Green Bay. Marley Hanlon owns an ERA of 2.73 against League foes to rank eighth followed by Allie Trudeau (3.71 ERA) and Karissa Frazier (4.97). As a staff, UIC pitchers have allowed the second-fewest hits in Horizon League action (105), and its 52 earned runs allowed is third-fewest in the conference.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Youngstown State stands at third in the League following a 2-1 series loss to Northern Kentucky earlier this week. The Norse won a marathon game one 5-4 in 16 innings and took game two 3-1 before the Penguins could take a 2-0 win in the finale. Youngstown State pitchers own the second-lowest ERA in the League overall at 3.32, allowing 306 hits this season and 183 runs. Opponents are batting .254 against the Penguins, lowest in the conference, and their 330 strikeouts also leads the Horizon League. UIC owns a 43-18 advantage all-time against Youngstown State, sweeping last season's series matchup.

UP NEXT
The Flames will wrap up the regular season next week at Wright State.