CHICAGO -- The UIC baseball team turns its attention to postseason play as the second-seeded Flames head to Dayton, Ohio for the 2021 Horizon League Baseball Championship, hosted by Wright State. UIC earned the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament after collecting a 28-11 in Horizon League play. The Flames will open tournament action on Thursday, May 27, against third-seeded Youngstown State.

FIRST PITCH
• The Flames enter the tournament on an 11-game winning streak, the second longest active streak in Division I baseball (VCU, 18) and tied for the 14th longest streak in the country this season.
• As a team, the Flames own a .310 batting average, the second-highest in the Horizon League and ninth-best in the country. UIC's 17 triples are the 16th-most in the country while the team's .399 on base percentage ranks 19th nationally.
• The Flames are one of the top teams in the country in turning double plays. The team's 72 double plays turned are second in the conference and 21st nationally while their .93 double plays per game is tops in the conference and 11th 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 8.87 hits per nine innings, first in the conference.

FLAMES RAKE IN POSTSEASON AWARDS
• The Flames hauled in a number of postseason awards as the Horizon League announced the All-League honors on Tuesday (May 25).
• For the first time since the award was introduced in 2014, the Flames earned the Horizon League Freshman of the Year  honor as Cole Conn picked up the accolade.
• A quartet of Flames were named to the All-League Fist Team. Matt Bottcher, Jacob Key, Bryan Rosario and Thomas Smart were all selected to the team, with Key earning the honor for the second consecutive season.
• Three student-athletes collected All-League Second Team honors, with Conn, Joshua Figueroa and Fred Gosbeth all being selected. It is the second-straight Second Team nod for Figueroa.
• Two players were named to the All-Freshman Team in Conn and Ryan Nagelbach.

MOORE EARNS NATIONAL RECOGNITION
• First baseman Cory Moore picked up national recognition following the last series of the regular season, as Moore earned the Golden Spike Performance of the Week, presented by USA baseball.
• In the third game of UIC's series finale against Northern Kentucky, Moore finished the game 4-for-5 with three home runs and nine RBIs. Moore launched his first home run of the game in the sixth, as his three-run blast to right put UIC ahead 9-6 and proved to be the game-winner.
• The very next inning, Moore went deep for the second time in as many innings, as his three-run home pushed the Flames' advantage to 13-6. The native of Huntington Beach, California added an RBI double in the eighth before tacking on a two-run shot to center, pushing the lead to 24-10.
• Moore's nine RBIs are the most by a Flames since Rob Calabrese drove in eight in UIC's 17-3 victory over Northern Illinois on April 11, 2017. For the weekend, Moore finished with a .500 batting average (6-for-12), a .600 on base percentage and a 1.667 slugging percentage with four home runs, two doubles and 13 runs batted in en route to being named the Horizon League Batter of the Week.

CLOSING STRONG
• Since the calendar turned to April, UIC has been one of the hottest teams in the Horizon League and the country.
• Between April and May, the Flames are a combined 22-5, including a perfect 11-0 in the month of May. After losing three of their first four games in April, the Flames are 21-2.
• Since the start of April, UIC has outscored its opponents by a 253-125 margin, including an 135-49 scoring advantage over their last nine games.

HIT PARADE
• Bryan Rosario is one of the top hitters in the country as his .396 batting average is second in the conference and 23rd nationally. Thomas Smart sits right behind Rosario, ranking third in the conference and 34th in the country with a .388 batting average. 
• Matt Bottcher ranks third in the conference and ninth nationally with five triples on the season while Smart and Rosario rank tied for second on the team with three triples this year.
• The Flames have been raking in the extra base hits, as their .500 slugging percentage ranks second in the conference and 12th nationally.