CHICAGO – The UIC softball team is set to finish its season series against Valparaiso Tuesday evening at Flames Field. The first pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. and will be available to stream on ESPN+.

MATCH UP BREAK DOWN

• This will be the third time both programs are set to battle it out on the diamond.
• Valparaiso currently has a 2-0 lead in the series. They won the opening match-up at Flames Field 2-1 back on Apr. 4.
• The Beacons followed that up with a 4-0 victory last week on Apr. 19.
• Junior Emma Crowley has seen the most success against Valparaiso in the batter's box. She is batting .500 against the Beacons with hits in both meetings.

COWING POWER

• Sophomore Hailey Cowing was vital in UIC's sweep over Evansville.
• She had four hits and five RBI over the three-game series.
• Cowing crushed a ball over right-center field to clear the fence for her third home run of the season. It was also the first homerun from UIC at Flames Field.
• She now leads the team in hits (25) and RBI (13) this season.

TONIOLO-ING THE RUBBER

• Senior Christina Toniolo had a strong series in the circle for the Flames, earning three wins.
• She pitched 16.2 innings over the three games. Her biggest game came on Saturday when she thre a complete game shutout.
• She struck out 15 batters over the weekend, including a season-high eight batters in the extra innings win Friday.

LET'S GO LARISSA

• Sophomore Larissa Ortiz had a strong weekend, landing six hits in the Evansville series.
• Her biggest game came on Saturday, when she batted 3-for-3 in the game, scoring twice. That was her first multi-hit game in her career at UIC.
• She now has the fifth-best batting average (.236) for the Flames this season.