CHICAGO (April 6, 2024) – After being down 9-5 entering the bottom of the sixth, the UIC softball team (12-25, 5-7 MVC) scored five unanswered runs in the final two innings innings against Illinois State (13-26, 7-7 MVC), to split Saturday' doubleheader with a 10-9 Game Two victory on a cold Saturday night at Flames Field. The Flames have won four of their last six games and the victory clinched UIC's second MVC series win in a row.
Graduate student
Carlee Jo Clark (Carol Stream, Ill./St. Francis/Southern Illinois) hit the game-winning drive in Game Two, scoring two on a fly ball fumbled by the Redbirds' right fielder. Clark also earned the win in Game Two after entering the circle midway through the sixth inning. She allowed two hits and one walk pitching.
Graduate student
Alannah Cran (Oxnard, Calif./Oxnard) finished the day batting .714, tallying five hits and two RBI. Senior
Larisa Villa (La Habra, Calif./La Habra) batted .571 with four hits and a pair of RBI over the two games.
COMMENT FROM GRADUATE STUDENT CARLEE JO CLARK
"Before the second game started, Coach Curylo talked about have a short term memory, so we fought throughout the whole entire second game. I am super proud of our freshman
Cameran Rios. I think a big reason why my hit got through was because she applied pressure and everybody else in the seventh inning applied pressure. It was a great team win!"
GAME ONE (6-2, ILS)
- After Clark opened the bottom of the first with a single to left field, she scored later in the inning off an RBI single to centerfield by Villa to give UIC an early 1-0 lead.
- A two-run home run in the top of the third gave the Redbirds a 2-1 lead. In the bottom of the frame, freshman Cameran Rios (Effingham, Ill./St. Anthony) legged out an infield single to score Cran to tie the game at 2-2.
- Senior Miranda Gomez (Pico Rivera, Calif./Bishop Amat) tallied two of her five strikeouts in the top of the fourth to help get the Flames get out of the inning unscathed.
- Cran tallied her second hit of the game with a single to left field in the bottom of the fifth, before being caught in an inning-ending double play a few at-bats later.
- After the Redbirds scored four runs in the top of the seventh, a one-out pinch-hitting single from junior Hailey Cowing (Torrance, Calif./West Torrance) gave the Flames a base runner, but back-to-back putouts in the infield secured the 6-2 win for Illinois State.
GAME TWO (10-9, UIC)
- The Redbirds got on the board in the top of the first, before Villa crushed a 3-1 pitch to centerfield to score Cran, tying the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the inning.
- In the next inning, the Flames scored two more runs behind RBI doubles senior from Cran and senior Emma Crowley (Peoria, Ill./Peoria Notre Dame).
- The Redbirds scored four in the top of the third and aimed to continue to add to their lead the very next inning, but an unassisted double play from junior JoJo Santiago (Channahon, Ill./Joliet Catholic Academy) ended their momentum.
- UIC tied the game at 5-5 with runs scored in back-to-back innings when a pinch-running freshman Siena Stickney (Mission Viejo, Calif./Capo Valley) scored on an Illinois State defensive error in the fourth, followed by a sacrifice fly in the fifth from junior Grace Fleming (Long Beach, Calif./Millikan).
- After Illinois State regained the lead in the middle innings, UIC found themselves down by three in the bottom of the seventh. The Flames began to rally after Cowing scored Fleming off a bases -oaded RBI single. Cowing later scored on a defensive error to cut the Redbirds lead to 9-8, before Clark's walk-off at-bat secured the 10-9 win for the Flames.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
- The Flames have defeated fellow MVC members Illinois State and Evansville (11-26, 6-8 MVC) in back-to-back weekend series. The Flames are eighth in the MVC standings with a 5-7 conference record.
- Cran finished the weekend batting .727, going 8-for-11 in the batter's box, scoring four times, and hitting three RBI.
- Seven batters collected 10 RBI for the Flames in their Game Two victory, a new season-high for the Flames.
- Crowley collected a pair of doubles in Saturday's doubleheader. With five doubles on the season, she ranks second on the team.
UP NEXT FOR THE FLAMES!
UIC returns to the road for a two-game weekday series against Valparaiso (8-21, 2-6 MVC) at the Valpo Softball Complex in Valparaiso, Ind. beginning Tuesday, April 9. The first pitch of each game is scheduled for 3 p.m. (CT) and will be streamed on ESPN+. 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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