CHICAGO -- The UIC baseball team takes a four-game winning streak on the road to take on Milwaukee April 23-25. The Flames and Panthers will play one game Friday, a doubleheader Saturday and the finale Sunday. The final three games of the series will be broadcast on ESPN3.

FIRST PITCH
• UIC won its second consecutive series, sweeping Purdue Fort Wayne last time out. The Flames won a trio of close contests, 1-0, 2-0 and 4-2, before securing the sweep with an emphatic 11-4 victory in the finale.
• The Flames are one of the top teams in the country in turning double plays. The team's 25 double plays turned is second in the conference and 43rd nationally while their .86 double plays per game is tops in the conference and 28th in the country.

NEAR NO-NO
• Jacob Key fell one out shy of throwing the 11th no-hitter in UIC history with his outing against Purdue Fort Wayne on April 16.
• Key threw 8.2 innings of no-hit baseball, allowing a walk and a batter to reach via error, before an infield single with two outs in the ninth broke up the no-hit bid. Key proceeded to pick the runner off first to end the game and complete the one-hit victory.
• For his effort, Key was named the Horizon League Pitcher of the Week.
• Key leads the team in wins (4), ERA (2.47) and complete games (3). His three complete games are second in the conference and seventh nationally.

SETTING THE TABLE
• Thomas Smart, the only UIC player to start in every game, has batted in the leadoff position in all 29 contests this year.
• Smart has excelled in the spot, ranking fifth in the Horizon League in batting average (.360), first in on base percentage (.508) and tied for first in hit by pitches (8).
• Smart's .508 on base percentage is 22nd-best among all Division I players.
• The right fielder is also one of four Flames tied for third in the Horizon League with two triples on the season.

LOPEZ SHUTS DOWN OAKLAND
• Senior Cristian Lopez shut down the Youngstown State Penguins on April 2 en route to being named the Horizon League Pitcher of the Week on April 6.
• The righty threw a complete-game two-hitter, leading the Flames to a 6-0 victory over Youngstown State. Over the course of the seven-inning contest, Lopez surrendered a single in the first and second innings before dominating the rest of the way.
• The right hander struck out four, did not surrender a walk in the outing and allowed just a pair of base runners over the final five innings. Lopez finished in impressive fashion, retiring the final six batters in order to secure the win.