GAINESVILLE, Fla. (Feb. 25, 2024) – The UIC softball team (4-11) concluded its time at Florida's T-Mobile Tournament on Sunday, falling to the host (and No. 14) Gators (14-2), 8-0 in six innings at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. The Flames finished the three-day tournament with a 3-2 record, with a pair of wins against Lafayette and a 5-3 tournament-opening victory against Colgate last Friday.
 
 
GAME RECAP

• Junior Jojo Santiago (Channahon, Ill./Joliet Catholic Academy) was the first Flames' batter to reach base with a two-out, four-pitch walk in the top of the third inning, but she was stranded.
• After allowing five runs in the first inning, graduate student Carlee Jo Clark (Carol Stream, Ill./Southern Illinois) only one more hit and one more walk before being pulled midway through the third inning.
• Entering the circle in relief for UIC was graduate student Christina Toniolo (Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake South). After getting the Flames out of the third, Toniolo held the Gators scoreless in the next two innings, striking out a batter and walking two.
• The Flames' lone hit of the day came off the bat of junior Larissa Ortiz (Romeoville, Ill./Wisconsin) in the top of the fourth, taking a 1-2 pitch up the middle for a base hit.
• After UIC went down in order in the top of the sixth, the Gators secured the win in the bottom of the inning after scoring three additional runs to engage the run rule.

 
TOURNAMENT OUTLOOK

• Through the first three weekends of the season, UIC currently sits eighth in the Missouri Valley Conference standings.
• Senior Larisa Villa (La Habra, Calif./La Habra) led the Flames at the T-Mobile Tournament with six hits, including two doubles and an RBI. She is second on the team with a .311 batting average this season.
• Highlighted by her walk-off double against Lafayette last Friday, freshman Cameran Rios (Effingham, Ill./St. Anthony) batted .400 during the weekend with four hits scattered across the five games.

 
NEXT UP FOR THE FLAMES
UIC will return to the Sunshine State next Friday-Sunday (March 1-3) at the FIU Classic in Miami. The Flames are slated to play North Dakota State, Seton Hall, and FIU during the weekend. Full coverage plans for the tournament, including the potential of live video, audio and stats, will be distributed once they are made available by the tournament host.
 
For more information, fans are encouraged to visit UICFlames.com, or follow the Flames on social media through X (@UIC_Softball and @UICFlames) and Instagram (@uic_softball and @uicflames).
 
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