CHICAGO (April 30, 2024) – Graduate student
Carlee Jo Clark (Carol Stream, Ill./St. Francis/Southern Illinois) couldn't be stopped in the circle Tuesday night, pitching a three-hit shutout to lead UIC (18-32, 11-13 MVC) to a 2-0 Missouri Valley Conference victory over Valparaiso (8-37, 2-18 MVC) at Flames Field in the hosts' final home game this season.
Clark struck out a season-high six batters during her 113-pitch performance. Redshirt freshman
Jazmyn Casas (Berwyn, Ill./Taft) beat out an infield single to collect a first-inning RBI, and junior
Larissa Ortiz (Romeoville, Ill./Romeoville/Wisconsin) added a pinch-hit RBI single in the fourth to give Clark all the offensive support she would need.
COMMENT FROM GRADUATE STUDENT CARLEE JO CLARK
"I feel super confident whenever
Emma Crowley is behind the plate. She doesn't get the recognition she deserves. She works hard for me and for every other pitcher on this team."
COMMENT FROM SENIOR EMMA CROWLEY
"This sweep (of Valparaiso) really helped us gain confidence going to play Bradley this weekend. Hopefully, it will bring us up in the standings a little bit to give us the best seeding heading into the MVC Tournament."
COMMENT FROM REDSHIRT FRESHMAN JAZMYN CASAS
"Today was a great win. Softball is a game of failures, so to come back and beat a team three times says a lot about our program. Our offense could have picked up a little bit more. At the end of the day, we made it work.
Carlee Jo Clark did her thing. She was locked in, and they weren't getting to her all game. She was in her own zone and in her element."
GAME RECAP
- Valparaiso had two runners on with one out to open the game before freshman Cameran Rios (Effingham, Ill./St. Anthony) fielded a ground ball, tagged her base, and threw to first for an inning-ending double play.
- The Flames got on the board in the bottom of the frame when Casas' hard shot to Valpo's Lexi Szostak was fumbled, scoring graduate student Alannah Cran (Oxnard, Calif./Oxnard) from second base.
- Clark held Valparaiso hitless through the first four innings, capped by back-to-back strikeouts.
- With two runners in scoring position in the bottom of the fourth, Ortiz connected on a 1-1 pitch, looping a shallow fly ball to center field that scored senior Emma Crowley (Peoria, Ill./Peoria Notre Dame) from third and added a key insurance run for the Flames.
- Behind the work of Clark in the circle, the Flames secured the win, holding Valparaiso to its lone three hits (all singles) in the final three innings, with no Beacon making it further than second base.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
- In her two outings against Valparaiso this season, Clark has pitched 16.0 innings, two complete game victories, seven hits, five walks and 10 strikeouts. She also carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning of both games (she tossed seven no-hit innings in a 2-1 nine-inning win on April 9).
- Casas continues to capitalize in the batter's box with a hit in 11 of the past 12 games. She has batted .361 since UIC's 4-1 win against Valparaiso on April 10, her first as the Flames' starting shortstop. In that time, she has posted 13 hits, 11 total bases, scored five times and has a team-high eight RBI.
- Ortiz delivered her second pinch-hitting RBI in the past three games, also collecting an RBI double in Saturday's 8-7 victory against Drake, also at Flames Field.
UP NEXT FOR THE FLAMES!
The Flames complete MVC play on the road against Bradley (13-11, 26-25 MVC) Friday through Sunday on the OSF Healthcare Field at the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Peoria, Ill. Sunday's noon (CT) game will be the lone contest streamed on ESPN+. Live stats for the entire series will be available at
UICFlames.com.
Fans are strongly encouraged to support NIL opportunities for UIC student-athletes through contributions to
The Chicago Collective.
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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