PEORIA, Ill. (May 2, 2024) – The UIC softball team (18-32, 11-13 MVC) will finish up the regular season this weekend, taking on Missouri Valley Conference opponent Bradley (26-25, 13-11) Friday through Sunday on OSF Healthcare Field at the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Peoria, Ill. The Flames and Braves are among seven schools separated by only three games in the MVC standings heading into the final weekend of the regular season.
 
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.
 
UIC (18-32, 11-13) at Bradley (26-25, 13-11)
When: Friday-Sunday (May 3-5) at 5 p.m., 5 p.m., and Noon (CT), respectively.
Where: OSF Healthcare Field at the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex (8400 Orange Prairie Rd, Peoria, IL 61615)
Stream: ESPN+ (Sunday only)
Live Stats: UICFlames.com
 
SCOUTING BRADLEY

• UIC makes its first visit to Peoria since 2015 and its first-ever appearance on OSF Healthcare Field at the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex. The Braves hold a 20-18 lead in the overall series, as the Flames aim to win their first road game against Bradley since a 6-3 victory on March 23, 2011.
• The Braves took two out of three games last year at Flames Field during UIC's first season in The Valley. In UIC's 4-3 win on April 30, 2023, graduate student Christina Toniolo (Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake South) nearly pitched a complete game, going 6.2 innings with five strikeouts. Senior Miranda Gomez (Pico Rivera, Calif./Bishop Rivera) shut the door with a one-out save. Senior Anna Walker (Burnside, Ill./Warsaw) hit a solo home run in the win, while senior Emma Crowley (Peoria, Ill./Peoria Notre Dame) crushed a two-RBI double.
• Bradley is tied for fourth place in the MVC standings, having lost the final two games of its series at Belmont last weekend. The Braves have conference series wins this season against UNI, Drake, Valparaiso and Missouri State.
• Bradley's pitching corps owns a collective 2.85 ERA, ranking fourth in the conference.
• Junior Sydney Kennedy is a proven dual-threat for the Braves. She has compiled the fourth-best ERA (2.15) in the conference, striking out 171 batters in 185.1 innings. In the batter's box, Kennedy has the fifth-best batting average in The Valley (.345), with a .440 slugging percentage and 51 RBI this season.

 
LAST TIME OUT: VALPARAISO

• The Flames secured the season sweep against Valparaiso with a win in their home finale on Tuesday night, defeating the Beacons 2-0.
• Graduate student Carlee Jo Clark (Carol Stream, Ill./St. Francis/Southern Illinois) pitched a three-hit shutout, striking out a season-high six batters in her 113-pitch performance.
• Redshirt freshman Jazmyn Casas (Berwyn, Ill./Taft) beat out an infield single for an RBI. The shortstop now has hits in 11 of the past 12 games, batting .361 with a team-high eight RBI since UIC's 4-1 win against Valparaiso on April 10, her first as the Flames' starting shortstop.
• Junior Larissa Ortiz (Romeoville, Ill./Romeoville/Wisconsin) connected on a 1-1 pitch in the bottom of the fourth, looping a single to centerfield for her pinch-hit single, scoring Crowley from third. Ortiz has had pinch-hit RBI in two of the past three games, collecting an RBI double in UIC's 8-7 victory win over Drake on April 27 at Flames Field.
• Freshman Cameran Rios (Effingham, Ill./St. Anthony) finished Tuesday's game against Valparaiso going 1-for-3. She has collected a hit in eight of her last 10 games.

 
NEED TO KNOW
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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