CHICAGO – The UIC baseball team and head coach Sean McDermott have announced the schedule for the upcoming 2023 season.
 
Among the highlights of the schedule, the Flames will square off against SEC foe Alabama in a three-game series, a trio of home-and-home series against nearby Big Ten opponents in Northwestern, Purdue and Iowa, and the program's first-ever Missouri Valley Conference schedule.
 
"Traditionally we play a really aggressive schedule, and this year is no different," commented head baseball coach Sean McDermott. "I think it is one of the best non-conference schedules we have put together in a long time. We are also excited for the new challenges that come with joining the Missouri Valley Conference."
 
The early season slate features three consecutive weekends on the road and 11 total games away from home. First pitch of the 2022 season will come on Friday, Feb. 17, when the Flames head west to take on St. Mary's College in a four-game series Feb. 17-19. UIC will travel to Nashville to take on Lipscomb (Feb. 24-26) before swinging by Tennessee-Martin for a single game on March 1. The trip continues south for a marquee series against Alabama. The three-game series against the Crimson Tide is scheduled to take place March 3-5.
 
Following almost a month on the road, the Flames come back to the confines of Granderson Stadium and open their home schedule on March 7 against crosstown foe, Northwestern, in the first of six consecutive home games. The contest against the Wildcats is one of three home-and-home series that UIC has scheduled against Big Ten opponents this season.
 
UIC makes the return trip to Evanston on April 11^th and has dates on the schedule with Iowa (home – April 18; road – May 16) and Purdue (road – March 21; home – May 9). Last year, the Flames swept Purdue in a pair of slugfests, winning 10-9 in West Lafayette and 9-6 at home. UIC and Northwestern split the season series a year ago, with the Flames picking up a 13-0 win at Granderson Stadium.
 
UIC rounds out the home-stand with four games against St. Thomas (March 10-12) and one against former league foe Milwaukee (March 14). Following a road series at SIU Edwardsville and the trip to take on the Boilermakers, the Flames will take on Southern Illinois in the program's first-ever Missouri Valley Conference series.
 
The series, played in Carbondale March 24-26, is the first of nine MVC series slated to be played this season. In addition to the series at Southern Illinois, UIC will also make trips to Murray State (April 7-9), Valparaiso (April 21-23) and Illinois State (May 12-14). The home portion of UIC's conference schedule features visits from Indiana State (March 31 – April 2), Missouri State (April 14-16), Bradley (April 28-30) fellow MVC newcomer Belmont (May 5-7) and Evansville (May 18-20) in the final regular season contest for the Flames. Missouri State enters the 2022 season as the reigning Missouri Valley Conference tournament champions.
 
The 2022 schedule also features in-state midweek contests against Northern Illinois (home – April 4; road – April 25) and a home game against Western Illinois on March 28.
 
The season will culminate May 23-27 at the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, hosted by Indiana State.