VALPARAISO, Ind. (April 10, 2024) – The UIC softball team (14-25, 7-7 MVC) collected its third consecutive Missouri Valley Conference series win Wednesday afternoon, completing a two-game midweek sweep of Valparaiso (8-24, 2-8 MVC) with a 4-1 victory at the Valpo Softball Complex in Valparaiso, Ind.
Senior
Miranda Gomez (Pico Rivera, Calif./Bishop Amat) pitched her first complete game of the season, scattering four hits and striking out five. Junior
Hailey Cowing (Torrance, Calif./West Torrance) tallied two doubles and two RBI, while senior
Emma Crowley (Peoria, Ill./Peoria Notre Dame) and redshirt freshman
Jazmyn Casas (Berwyn, Ill./Taft) each collected an RBI.
The Flames and Beacons will play the third and final game of their MVC series at the end of the month when Valparaiso comes to Flames Field on April 30 for a 5 p.m. (CT) first pitch.
COMMENT FROM SENIOR MIRANDA GOMEZ
"I thought that today was a good team win. We executed well on offense and defense, and it was cool to see us bust the game open with our bats because yesterday was a close game. Having everyone behind me having fun and doing our jobs together as one was really cool. I am proud of the team for securing the series win."
COMMENT FROM JUNIOR OUTFIELDER HAILEY COWING
"I am proud of the team today. I was glad to see our offense, defense and our pitching do so well."
GAME RECAP
- After a scoreless inning of play, the Flames' first hit came off the bat of senior Larisa Villa (La Habra, Calif./La Habra), taking a 2-1 pitch to the outfield grass. She moved into scoring position via a wild pitch, but was left stranded at inning's end.
- Gomez closed out a 1-2-3 bottom of the second with back-to-back swinging strikeouts.
- Junior Jojo Santiago (Channahon, Ill./Joliet Catholic Academy) reached on a one-out shallow pop in the infield in the third and advanced into scoring position on a ground out by graduate student Alannah Cran (Oxnard, Calif./Oxnard) before being left on base.
- UIC broke through with three runs in the top of the fourth. After Villa made it to second base on two Beacon errors leading off the frame, Cowing followed with a run-scoring double. Casas then plated Cowing with an RBI single to left and Crowley capped off the outburst with an RBI double to drive home Casas.
- After Gomez held Valparaiso hitless and faced just one batter over the minimum through the first three innings, the Beacons got on the board in the fourth with a two-out RBI triple, but it would prove to be the hosts' lone run of the afternoon.
- Cowing helped UIC rebuilt its three-run cushion in the top of the fifth, collecting her second consecutive RBI double to score graduate student Carlee Jo Clark (Carol Stream, Ill./St. Francis/Southern Illinois) from third and make it 4-1, Flames.
- Gomez completed the game in the circle for the Flames, allowing just single base runners in the fifth and seventh and neither advanced beyond first base.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
- The Flames picked up their 14th victory of the season, their highest win total since the 2021 campaign (29-23).
- This is the third consecutive MVC series win for the Flames, having also claimed two of three on the road at Evansville (March 29-31) and at home against Illinois State (April 5-7).
- Behind her 2-for-3 performance on Wednesday, Cowing now has hits in seven of the past eight games for the Flames.
- Gomez has a team-leading 3.41 ERA in 37 innings pitched this season.
UP NEXT FOR THE FLAMES!
UIC returns to Flames Field this weekend, welcoming Indiana State (15-20, 4-7 MVC) for a three-game conference set. The series begins Friday with a 5 p.m. (CT) first pitch, with the remaining games against the Sycamores at 2 p.m. (CT) Saturday and noon (CT) Sunday. Friday's game will also be UIC's Vs. Cancer game, as the program raises money for the fight against pediatric brain cancer. The Flames will be taking
donations throughout the weekend series, which will be streamed 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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