CHICAGO -- After back-to-back weekends playing at Flames Field, UIC will hit the road April 22-23 for a three-game series at Detroit Mercy. It will mark the first trip to the Motor City for the Flames since March 2018.
The weekend schedule will see the teams play a single game on Friday, April 22 at 2 p.m. CT, before wrapping up the series on Saturday, April 23 with a doubleheader at Buysse Ballpark beginning at 11 a.m. CT.
The Flames (8-25, 5-11 Horizon League) handed Horizon League-leading Oakland its first conference loss of the season last weekend, but the Golden Grizzlies bounced back to win the finale of the three-game series. Oakland won the opener, 5-0, before the Flames jumped out to a 7-4 lead through two-plus innings in the nightcap on April 15. The game was suspended in the bottom of the third inning and UIC tacked on two more runs when play resumed on April 16 courtesy of RBI singles from
Isabelle Garcia and
Jojo Santiago. The Flames jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the finale before Oakland scored five unanswered runs to take the contest.
Tara McElligott, UIC's lone senior, is batting .483, slugging 1.138 and getting on base at a clip of .568 in her team's last 10 games since April 2. The Lockport, Ill., native has 14 hits, 11 runs and 11 RBI in that span. She enters the weekend ranked second in the conference in slugging percentage (.767), on-base percentage (.491), and home runs (8) and fifth in batting average (.372). McElligott is batting .425 and slugging .975 in 14 Horizon League contests.
Newcomer
Carlee Jo Clark has been a two-way force for the Flames over the last six games since April 9. At the plate, the Carol Stream, Ill., native is batting .375 (6-for-16) and slugging .750 with four extra-base hits, five RBI, 12 total bases, and three runs scored in that span. In the circle, she has appeared in five of the last six games, while posting a 1.95 ERA over 27.2 innings.
Detroit Mercy is 3-30 overall and 3-15 against the Horizon League this spring. The Titans won their first series of the season last weekend, taking two-of-three on the road at Purdue Fort Wayne, winning the opener, 3-2, and the second game, 11-10. Detroit Mercy is led offensively by
Taryn Peru, batting .295 with three home runs and 12 RBI in 33 games. In the circle,
Liz Murphy has a team-high 21 starts and 24 appearances with a 5.83 ERA.
UIC leads the all-time series against Detroit Mercy, 68-8. The Titans have won the last two meetings, defeating the Flames twice in one day to win the 2019 Horizon League Championship in Chicago.
All three games between the Flames and Titans are scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN+.
More notes, statistics and information can be found in the UIC Game Notes PDF found in the blue box above.
