CHICAGO – The UIC softball team (23-17, 20-10 HL) will head to Indianapolis, Ind. this weekend to face off with IUPUI (11-26, 9-18 HL) in its final Horizon League series of the season. The Flames and Jags will kick off the series on Friday, April 30 with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. CT and will close out the series on Saturday, May 1 with another twin bill starting at 11 a.m.

LAST TIME OUT
The Flames finished 1-3 last weekend at Oakland, dropping the first three games before finishing with an 11-8 win in the finale. All but one starter recorded a hit in UIC's 14-hit effort in the finale, while Kayla Wedl, Samantha Ferguson, Alannah Cran, Emma Crowley and Cassie Kaelber led for UIC with multi-hit showings.

BRINGING OUT THE BATS
Heading into the final weeks of Horizon League play, UIC stands at second in the League in batting, averaging .290 at the plate as a team. The Flames lead the conference in RBIs (195), hits (309), runs (220), on-base percentage (.364) and stolen bases (64), while checking in at second in slugging percentage (.453) and third in both home runs (27) and walks (100).

Kayla Wedl continues to pace the Flames at the plate, batting .415 on the season to rank second in the Horizon League. The fifth-year senior leads the conference in nearly every offensive category, including RBIs (41), slugging percentage (.852), runs (48), hits (56), stolen bases (23) doubles (13), triples (8) and homers (10). Nationally, Wedl leads the way in triples while also checking in at 12th in the nation in runs per game (1.20), 15th in hits and ninth in total bases (115).

Junior Tara McElligott checks in at third in the League in runs with 30, followed by freshman Dee Dee Caskey and redshirt sophomore Maica Ingles in a tie for seventh with 24 runs so far on the season. Sophomore Samantha Ferguson is in a tie for eighth in the League in hits with 38, while senior Cassie Kaelber follows closely in a tie for 12th with 37 hits on the season so far. Ferguson has driven in 25 runs this year to stand at sixth in the League, while freshman Emma Crowley is right on her heels in eighth with 24 RBI so far this year.

HEATING UP THE CIRCLE
As a team, the UIC softball pitching staff owns a 3.25 earned run average, putting them at fourth in the Horizon League. Senior Marley Hanlon leads the Flames with a 1.68 ERA, putting her at second in the League. Freshman Miranda Gomez comes in at 14th in the League, owning a 3.41 ERA through 74.0 innings pitched, while sophomore Christina Toniolo follows just behind Gomez in 18th with a 3.98 ERA through 109.0 innings. Toniolo is in a tie for the third-most wins in the conference with 11 and she also comes in at 11th in the League in strikeouts with 54 so far this season.  

FAN ATTENDANCE
At present, only pre-authorized family and friends of participating UIC student-athletes and staff are permitted to be in attendance at Flames Field due to the reduced capacity allowed under State of Illinois COVID safety guidelines. Guests of visiting personnel and members of the general public are unfortunately not permitted at this time. Walk-up admission is strictly prohibited.

SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
IUPUI is 9-18 in Horizon League action after dropping three out of four games to Northern Kentucky last weekend. The Jags run-ruled the Norse in the opener, 11-1, but came up short in the final three games to hand the series to Northern Kentucky. Morgan Gilbert is batting .296 on the season to lead the Jags' offensive efforts, and she also owns a team-high 37 hits. Jennah Speth leads IUPUI's pitching staff with a 3.07 ERA, allowing 106 hits and 47 earned runs through 107.0 innings of work. Lexi Lucas also sees a lot of action in the circle, owning a 3.48 ERA through 112.2 innings. The Flames are 15-4 all-time against the Jags after sweeping IUPUI in a doubleheader earlier this season at Flames Field on April 6.