CHICAGO -- The UIC baseball team hits the road for the final time in the regular season, closing out Horizon League play on the road at Northern Kentucky this Friday-Sunday (May 21-23).

FIRST PITCH
• The Flames, one of the hottest teams in the country, have won 15 of their last 16 contests, including a four-game sweep of Purdue Fort Wayne last weekend. The Flames outscored the Mastodons 70-15 over the four games.
• The Flames are one of the top teams in the country in turning double plays. The team's 38 double plays turned are second in the conference and 32nd nationally while their .93 double plays per game is tops in the conference and 13th in the country.
• UIC's pitching staff has combined to throw six shutouts this season, the most among Horizon League schools and two shy of the national lead of eight. The Flames' pitchers have allowed 8.78 hits per nine innings, first in the conference.

CLOSING STRONG
• Since the calendar turned to April, UIC has been one of the hottest teams in the Horizon League.
• Between April and May, the Flames are a combined 18-5, including a perfect 7-0 in the month of May. After losing three of their first four games in April, the Flames are 17-2.
• Since the start of April, UIC has outscored its opponents by a 206-98, including an 88-22 scoring advantage over their last five games.

HIT PARADE
• Bryan Rosario is one of the top hitters in the country as his .413 batting average is second in the conference and 11th nationally. 
• As a team, the Flames have a collective batting average of .303, second in the Horizon League and 16th among Division I programs.
• UIC's 14 triples are 29th in the country while their .473 slugging percentage ranks 23rd nationally.

RECORD WATCH
• With his last start against Purdue Fort Wayne, UIC's Jacob Key set the program record for career starts with 53.
• During his start against the Mastodons, Key became UIC's all-time leader in career strikeouts with 260, surpassing the previous record of 258.
• Key's 24 career victories are in a four-way tie for third place in UIC's record books. Key is two-shy of second place (26) and three shy of matching the program record for career wins (27).
• Key has thrown 336.1 career innings, the second most in program history. Ian Lewandowski ranks first all-time with 351.2.
• Over the course of his 56 career appearances, Key owns a career ERA of 3.34 which currently ranks ninth all-time.