EVANSVILLE, Ind. (March, 29, 2024) –The UIC softball team (9-23, 2-5 MVC) outlasted Evansville (9-23, 4-5 MVC) in a Missouri Valley Conference pitcher's duel at the Tri-State Orthopaedics Field at James and Dorothy Cooper Stadium Friday evening in Evansville Ind., winning 1-0.

Graduate student Christina Toniolo (Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake South) pitched her ninth complete game of the season, striking out four and only walking three batters. Redshirt freshman Jazmyn Casas (Berwyn, Ill./ Wiliam Howard Taft) secured the win with a pinch-hitting RBI single in the top of the seventh inning. Freshmen Siena Stickney (Mission Viejo, Calif./Capo Valley), juniors Grace Fleming (Long Beach, Calif./Millikan) and Hailey Cowing (Torrance, Calif./West Torrance) each collected hits in the game.

COMMENT FROM HEAD COACH LYNN CURLYO
"What a great team win! Christina Toniolo led the way in the Circle! Happy with the production off the bench from Jazmyn Casas on offense and Anna Walker on defense!"

COMMENT FROM GRADUATE STUDENT CHRISTINA TONIOLO
"What an exciting game today that took each one of us. We couldn't have won that game without Anna Walker and Emma Crowley each throwing out a runner, JoJo Santiago making that over the shoulder catch or Jazmyn Casas RBI single!"

COMMENT FROM REDSHIRT FRESHMAN JAZMYN CASAS
"When Grace Fleming started the inning with a single, followed by a beautiful hit and run by Emma Crowley, the only thing I can think about was my two teammates ahead of me did their job. So, I wanted to do mine."

GAME RECAP

• Evansville rallied to have bases loaded with one out in the bottom of first before back-to-back strikeouts from Toniolo got UIC out of the inning unscathed.
• While the Flames' bats remained quiet, Toniolo remained dominant in the circle ending the third and fourth innings with two more strikeouts.
• The Flames first hit came off the bat of Cowing in the top of the fifth with a base hit to right center field. That was soon followed by a single past Evansville's shortstop from Stickney before they were both stranded on base.
• After Evansville's Zoe Frossard singled to open the bottom of the sixth, strong defensive play supported Toniolo when senior Anna Walker (Burnside, Ill./Warsaw) threw out Frossard after catching a line-drive for the double play. A line-out to right field ended the sixth inning as the game remained a stalemate.
• Fleming led off the top of the seventh with a line shot out to right center for a single, and was soon moved up to scoring position on a hit-and-run from senior Emma Crowley (Peoria, Ill. / Peoria Notre Dame). Pinch-hitting for Stickney, after seeing ball one, Casas connected on a pitch out to the left field grass, scoring Fleming from second base to give the Flames a late 1-0 lead.
• Toniolo shut the door on the Purple Aces in the bottom of the seven with a 1-2-3 inning to secure the win for UIC.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE

• The Flames snap a six-game losing streak with the victory, last having defeated Murray State on the road back on March 15.
• UIC has now defeated Evansville in its last four meetings.
• After missing most of last season due to injury, this is Casas' first RBI since her two-RBI performance against Seattle in the Fresno State Invitational in Feb. 2023.
• After her ninth complete game, Toniolo is now tied for second in the MVC this season.

UP NEXT FOR THE FLAMES!
The Flames return to the Tri-State Orthopaedics Field at James and Dorothy Cooper Stadium Saturday for a 2 p.m. (CT) game against the Purple Aces. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+, with live stats available on UICFlames.com .
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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