CHICAGO – The UIC softball team (2-3) will wrap up the non-conference portion of its schedule this weekend as it travels to Carbondale, Ill. for the Saluki Invitational. The Flames will kick off the three-day tournament on Friday, March 5 against Creighton (10 a.m. CT) and host Southern Illinois (2:30 p.m.) before continuing on with Saint Louis on Saturday, March 6 at 4:45 p.m. The weekend wraps up on Sunday with rematches against both Creighton (10 a.m.) and Southern Illinois (12:15 p.m.).

LAST TIME OUT
The Flames got off to a 2-3 start to the season last weekend at the Winthrop Garnet/Gold Classic, picking up wins over host Winthrop and Mount St. Mary's while falling to Syracuse, Saint Francis and Tennessee Tech. Fifth-year senior Kayla Wedl led the offense all weekend, batting .474 with nine hits, eight runs and five RBI, earning her the title of Horizon League Player of the Week. In the circle, Christina Toniolo saw the most action, making three appearances and pitching 15.0 innings with an ERA of 3.73.

BACK IN THE LINEUP
The 2021 roster features just six upperclassmen, including fifth-year senior and 2019 Horizon League Player of the Year Kayla Wedl, who led the team in hits (23), runs (14) and steals (6) in the shortened 2020 season. Also returning for UIC is senior Maddie Spinks, who hit .340 in 2020 with 17 hits and 13 runs. Fellow seniors Cassie Kaelber, Marley Hanlon and Kayla Pociejewski are also all back for the Flames in 2021. Junior Tara McElligott is also back in the lineup after hitting .228 with 13 hits, three home runs and 10 RBI in the 2020 campaign.

YOUNG SQUAD
UIC's 2021 squad is made up primarily of underclassmen, boasting seven freshmen and seven sophomores. First-year Flames Annmarie Sillas, Dee Dee Caskey, Isabelle Garcia, Larisa Villa, Miranda Gomez, Emma Crowley and Alyssa McIntosh will all be making their UIC debuts this season, while sophomores Mary Jones, Jordyn Cebedo, Christina Toniolo, Samantha Ferguson, Alannah Cran and McKennah Ulrey are all back for their second season with the Flames.

Ferguson led the Flames last year with a .349 batting average, accumulating 22 hits, eight runs and five RBI in her freshman campaign. In the circle, Christina Toniolo paced the Flames' staff with a 3.12 ERA across 49.1 innings pitched in her first year with the Flames.

SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Creighton is 0-3 so far this season after dropping a three-game series to Wichita State Feb. 27-28. Ashley Cantu is batting .286 with a pair of hits for the Bluejays, while Kailey Wilson follows batting .250 also with a pair of hits in addition to one RBI. In the circle, Parker Body has seen the most time so far, dealing 7.1 innings and allowing 13 earned runs off 16 hits in that span. The Flames are 4-1 all-time against Creighton, taking a 3-2 win over the Bluejays the last time the two teams met on Feb. 25, 2017.

Host Southern Illinois is an undefeated 9-0 so far in 2021, most recently taking down Austin Peay, Ball State and DePaul in the Coach B Classic (Feb. 26-27). Tori Schullian leads the Salukis in batting with a .467 average, while Maddy Vermejan and Jenny Jansen lead in hits with eight apiece. Vermejan also leads SIU in runs, crossing the plate 10 times so far in 2021. Sarah Harness has seen the most time in the circle, owning a 2.21 ERA with 31 strikeouts through 25.1 innings pitched. Carlee Jo Clark also sees a fair amount of action in the circle, boasting a team-low 1.24 ERA through 22.2 innings pitched. UIC owns a 5-6 record against the Salukis all time, but the two teams haven't met since splitting a pair of games on March 12-13, 2011.

Saint Louis was also at the Coach B Classic last weekend, where they fell to both Ball State and DePaul. The Billikens are 0-3 on the season so far, also owning a 5-4 loss to Bradley back on Feb. 22. Kat Lane paces Saint Louis's offensive efforts, owning a team-high seven hits and three runs. Alyssa Chavez has driven in the most runs, tallying four RBI so far on the young season. Kaili Hanner has dealt a team-high 8.1 innings in the circle, owning a 4.20 ERA with six strikeouts in her two appearances so far. The Flames and Billikens are in an even 3-3 split all time after each team won one game of a doubleheader back on March 25, 2009.