CHICAGO – UIC hosted Louisville in the final non-conference contest of the regular season on Wednesday afternoon and the Cardinals left town with a 12-3 triumph.
The Flames (11-31) were limited to three hits, while being hampered by four fielding errors.
The Cardinals squeaked out a run on two hits in the first inning, neither of which left the infield.
Carmyn Greenwood opened the game with a bunt single and three batters later,
Kendall Smith drove in a run from second base when her high pop-up on the infield dropped in no-man's land in front of second base with two outs.
Louisville capitalized on UIC miscues to add to its lead in the top of the fourth. The Flames were hampered by two fielding errors and two wild pitches in the frame that helped the Cardinals score twice to increase the lead to three runs. The first run scored on a wild pitch and the second on an RBI single up the middle from
Jenna Servi.
The Flames finally broke through in the bottom of the fourth.
Tara McElligott was hit by a pitch and she found herself on second base with two away when
Grace Fleming blasted a double off the base of the wall in right-center field for her team's first hit of the game. Fleming's extra-base hit drove in McElligott and cut the deficit to two.
The Cardinals padded the cushion once again in the top of the fifth. Louisville had the bases loaded with one out and the UIC defense prevented the first run when
Jojo Santiago fired a strike to the plate from her spot at second base for the second out. The next hitter,
Vanessa Miller, lined a triple into the corner in right field to clear the bases and she would score herself on a Flames error.
Trailing by six, UIC would get a pair back to stay within striking distance in the bottom of the inning. McElligott and
Dee Dee Caskey both singled into center field to score
Isabelle Garcia and
Maica Ingles, respectively. Unfortunately, that was as close as the Flames would get.
U of L added two more runs in the top of the sixth and three more in the seventh to go on to win, 12-3.
Notes
- Tara McElligott was hit by a pitch for the 35th time in her career to lead off the fourth inning. That ties her for the program's all-time lead alongside Amanda Rivera (2001-04).
Up Next
- The Flames will close the regular season this weekend by hosting the IUPUI Jaguars
- The series begins on Saturday, May 7 with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. and wraps up Sunday, May 8 at 1 p.m.
- Prior to Saturday's doubleheader, UIC will celebrate the team's lone senior, Tara McElligott in a pregame ceremony
- The Flames will also have a game benefiting Vs. Cancer. Please click the link to support the cause.
