CHICAGO -- The UIC baseball team hits the road for the final two conference weekends of the regular season, beginning this Friday-Sunday, May 14-16, as the Flames take on Purdue Fort Wayne.

FIRST PITCH
• The Flames, one of the hottest teams in the country, have won 11 of their last 12 contests, with the streak beginning with a four-game sweep of the Mastodons at home April 16-18. UIC earned 1-0, 2-0 and 4-2 victories before securing the sweep with a 11-4 victory in the finale.
• The Flames are one of the top teams in the country in turning double plays. The team's 33 double plays turned is second in the conference and 48th nationally while their .89 double plays per game is tops in the conference and 17th in the country.

RECORD WATCH
• With his last start against Youngstown State, UIC's Jacob Key tied the program record for career starts with 52 and will break the record when he takes the mound in Friday's series opener.
• Entering Friday's contest, Key ranks second all-time with 254 career strikeouts. The graduate student needs four strikeouts to match the program record of 258 punchouts, while five strikeouts will set the new record.
• Key's 23 career victories ranks sixth all-time in program history. His next win will move the righty into a four-way tie for third place.
• Key has thrown 329.1 career innings, the third most in program history. Zach Peterson is in second place with 333.1 innings while Ian Lewandowski ranks first all-time with 351.2.
• Over the course of his 55 career appearances, Key owns a career ERA of 3.33 which currently ranks ninth all-time.

SETTING THE TABLE
• Thomas Smart, the only UIC player to start in every game, has batted in the leadoff position and played in right field in all 37 contests this year.
• Smart has excelled in the spot, ranking ninth in the Horizon League in batting average (.348), fifth in on base percentage (.482) and tied for first in hit by pitches (9).
• Smart's .482 on base percentage is 51st-best among all Division I players.
• The right fielder is also one of two Flames tied for third in the Horizon League with three triples on the season.

ON A STREAK
• Bryan Rosario, who has started in 35-of-36 games for the Flames this season, was on a 16-game hitting streak before going hitless in the series finale against Oakland, the longest hitting streak for the Flames this season.
• The redshirt junior, who did not appear in any games in his first season with UIC a year ago, leads the team in hits (50) and batting average (.391).
• Rosario also has the active team lead for consecutive games reaching base with 18, tied for the longest streak this season.
• Garret McCarthy is UIC's active hitting streak leader, taking a five-game hitting streak into this weekend.