CHICAGO – The UIC softball team (3-2) will travel west this weekend to compete in the Fresno State Invitational. The Flames will be facing off with Pacific, UCSB and Ohio State in addition to host Fresno State Feb. 21-23 at the Bulldogs' Margie Wright Diamond.

LAST TIME OUT
UIC opened the 2020 season with a 3-2 showing at the FGCU Invitational, taking a pair of comeback wins over Memphis and a win over Furman while falling to No. 24 Arkansas and host Florida Gulf Coast. Freshman Samantha Ferguson shined in her collegiate debut, collecting a team-high six hits on the weekend with one run, one RBI and a pair of steals. Christina Toniolo was also strong in her first college appearances in the circle, putting up a 1.80 ERA through 11.2 innings of work.

FAMILIAR FACES
UIC returns 11 members and 240 of its 463 hits from 2019. Defending Horizon League Player of the Year and USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List honoree Kayla Wedl is back for 2020 after an incredible 2019 season that saw the shortstop earn a spot on the All-Great Lakes Region First Team, All-Horizon League First Team and Horizon League All-Tournament Team. Wedl also picked up three Horizon League Player of the Week awards and took home an Easton/NFCA National Player of the Week Award for the second-straight year in 2019.

Also returning for the Flames are All-League Second Team Honorees Alyssa Griman and Cassie Kaelber. Griman finished 2019 batting .281 with 38 hits, 25 runs, 48 RBI and eight homers, while Kaelber hit .317 with 44 hits, 26 runs and eight steals in 2019.

BACK FOR MORE
The Flames will look to build off a successful 2019 season that included their fifth-straight regular season title, as well as its 15th Horizon League Tournament Championship appearance. The 2019 squad took home a program-best 20 conference wins and finished with the highest team batting average in program history at .323.

The 2020 squad was selected to finish at the top of the Horizon League for the fifth-straight year. The Flames took home seven first-place votes and 79 total points in the conference's preseason poll, as voted on by the League's head coaches.

IN THE CIRCLE
Freshman Christina Toniolo led the Flames in their first weekend, compiling a 1-1 record with a 1.80 ERA to rank fourth amongst Horizon League pitchers. Allie Trudeau saw the most time in the circle this past weekend, putting together a 1-1 record with a 5.02 ERA through 15.1 innings. Jennah Speth saw 5.0 innings of work, allowing two runs off five hits while striking out eight in her three appearances.

NEW FACES
The Flames welcome six newcomers to the squad in 2020, as McKennah Ulrey, Alannah Cran, Samantha Ferguson, Christina Toniolo, Jordyn Cebedo and Mary Jones all kick off their UIC careers. Jones and Toniolo hail from nearby Chicago suburbs, while Cran, Ferguson and Cebedo all call California home. Ulrey is also from out west, calling Orting, Washington home.

SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
University of the Pacific is 5-3 on the season after a 2-2 showing last weekend at the Libby Matson Tournament. The Tigers were defeated by Seattle and CSUN on Friday before finishing off the tournament with wins over CSU Bakersfield and Nevada. Talli Shepherd is batting .412 with seven hits to lead the Tiger offense, while Myka Sutherlin leads the pitching staff with an ERA of 1.40 through 20.0 innings. The Flames will look to take their first-ever win over Pacific, who owns a 3-0 record all-time against UIC. Friday's game will serve as the first meeting between the two teams since 2007.

Fresno State received votes this week in both the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll and the USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll after a 5-0 showing at their own Fresno State Kickoff Classic this past weekend. The Bulldogs boast five players batting .300 or above, led by McKenzie Wilson's .486 average. Wilson also leads the team in both hits (18) and runs (13). Danielle Lung owns a 1.35 ERA through 31.0 innings to lead Fresno State's pitching staff, and she also owns a team-high 33 strikeouts. This weekend's games will be the first-ever meetings between UIC and Fresno State.

UC Santa Barbara is 4-6 so far this year, most recently taking a 3-2 record at the 2020 Susan Craig Classic. The Gauchos went 2-1 with a pair of eight-inning contests against Northern Colorado while also splitting a pair of games with New Mexico. Ally Nodohara has a .500 average to lead the team, but Sierra Altmeyer has driven in the most runs, boasting a team-high 13 RBIs. Emily Schuttish has pitched 24.1 of the Gauchos' 65.1 innings, owning a 2.88 ERA. UIC is 2-7 all-time against UC Santa Barbara, last facing the Gauchos in 2008.

Ohio State dropped a pair of games to both NC State and Notre Dame this past weekend at the Big Ten/ACC Challenge to fall to 3-5 on the season. Avery Clark takes care of the offense with team highs in hits (12), batting average (.522) and RBI (7). Payton Buresch handles things in the circle for the Buckeyes, owning a 1.97 ERA with 26 strikeouts through 39.0 innings of work. Ohio State took the win in the only meeting between the two teams, a 10-1 victory back in March of 2009.

UP NEXT
The Flames will travel to Oklahoma Feb. 28-March 1 to compete in the OSU/Tulsa Invitational.