CHICAGO -- Fresh off another road series win in conference play, UIC is set for a busy week on the softball field as the Flames embark upon a stretch of five games in five days beginning Tuesday afternoon at Northwestern. UIC will return home to host Northern Illinois on Wednesday afternoon at 3 p.m. before traveling to Cleveland State for a three-game series against the Vikings on April 29-30.

UIC traveled to Detroit Mercy and won a second consecutive Horizon League road series by taking two-of-three against the Titans over the weekend. The Flames fell in the opener Friday before bouncing back to take both ends of a doubleheader on Saturday. Carlee Jo Clark allowed one run on one hit in the circle, while driving in two at the plate in a 4-1 victory in the opener before the offense exploded for a season-high 13 runs with the help of four home runs to take the finale, 13-3. Isabelle Garcia hit her first of the season in the fifth inning. UIC later hit back-to-back-to-back jacks in the top of the sixth. Dee Dee Caskey launched her first of the season to left, and two pitches later Grace Fleming went deep to center. Jojo Santiago blasted her first collegiate home run to right field two pitches after Fleming's round-tripper.

Clark has been a two-way force for the Flames over the last nine games since April 9. At the plate, the Carol Stream, Ill., native is batting .429 (12-for-28) and slugging .714 with six extra-base hits, 10 RBI, and 20 total bases in that span. In the circle, she has appeared in eight of the last nine games, while posting a 1.88 ERA and 4-1 record over 38.1 innings.

Northwestern is 34-7 overall and 15-2 against the Big Ten. The Wildcats rank 12^th nationally in scoring with 6.66 runs per game and 18^th with 1.39 home runs per game. Rachel Lewis is fourth in the country with 19 home runs this season. In the circle, Danielle Williams is 16^th in the NCAA with a 1.32 ERA and tied for first with eight shutouts. The Wildcats are 8-1 at home this season with the only loss coming against #23 Michigan on April 3.

Northern Illinois is 13-23 overall and 7-13 against the Mid-American Conference. The Huskies are batting .275 as a team and averaging 4.5 runs per game. Katie Keller is batting an eye-popping .418 in 36 games and she ranks in the top 20 nationally with 0.36 doubles per game. Opponents are batting .302 against NIU and scoring 5.6 runs per contest. Emily Dato leads the pitching staff in innings (91.2), ERA (3.97) and strikeouts (49).

For links to watch the games at Northwestern and against Northern Illinois, please use the blue box above.