Chicago, Ill. – Wrapping up their Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) series and their final regular season game of the year, the UIC softball team and the Bradley University Braves took Flames Field for a noon contest on May 4th. Marked as their #VScancer game and joining the fight against pediatric brain cancer, the Flames' #VScancer representative, Alyssa McIntosh, threw out the first pitch. With the game underway, both teams would pick up their first runs of the game in the third inning, with the Braves (24-29, 13-14 MVC) taking the lead. The Braves led for most of the game, but a Flames comeback was brewing as they began to close the gap late into the contest. Trailing by one in the bottom of the seventh inning with bases loaded, Siena Stickney stepped up to bat with no outs. Stickney would go on to nail a two-RBI single to center field, collecting an 11-10 walk-off victory for the Flames.
RECAP
The Flames would hold the Braves to no hits through two full innings while collecting two hits of their own with singles from Hailey Cowing and Siena Stickney. Third inning action saw the game turn in favor of the Braves as they took a 4-0 lead off three hits and one error. The Flames would go on to cut the Braves' lead in half with a two-run bottom half of the inning. With one out, Cowing doubled to center field before advancing to third on an Emma Gumont single. Cowing then went on to score as Stickney reached on a throwing error by the Braves. Then, with bases loaded, Jojo Santiago singled to right field, scoring Gumont as the Flames trailed the Braves 4-2 after three innings. The Braves went on to add two runs in the fifth, off a two-run home run, and one run in the sixth, taking a 7-2 lead. In the bottom of the sixth, the Flames tallied four runs to bring them within one. Grace Fleming opened the inning with a lead-off walk before being called out on a Nina Pesare fielder's choice. Bases were then loaded for the Flames after Cowing was walked and Gumont was hit by a pitch. Stickney then hit a two-RBI single to right field, bringing home Cowing and Pesare. Sequoia Sanchez followed with a two-RBI single of her own to right field, scoring Stickney and Gumont to make the Flames within one heading into the final inning. The top of the seventh inning saw the Braves take back three runs to go up 10-6, but the Flames weren't done yet. In the bottom half of the inning, the Flames capitalized on hits and errors to complete the comeback. Santiago began the comeback with a lead-off single to right field before advancing on a fielding error. Santiago went on to score off a Fleming single to center field. Then, on a fielder's choice, Brianna Motto reached first while Fleming was able to advance to second on a throwing error. With two runners on, Pesare reached on a throwing error and made her way to third while both Motto and Fleming scored, bringing the Flames within one. The Flames would once again load the bases as Cowing was walked and Gumont reached on a fielder's choice. Then, in a similar fashion to the sixth inning, Stickney stepped up to bat and nailed a two-RBI single to center field, completing the Flames' comeback and giving them a walk-off 11-10 victory for their last game on Flames Field in 2025.
The box score and play-by-play can be found here.
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With the conclusion of today's game, the Flames wrap up the 2025 MVC regular season and take the #12 seed in this upcoming week's Missouri Valley Conference Softball Championship. This year, the postseason tournament is hosted by Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. The Flames will be in action on Wednesday, May 7th, as they will take on the to-be-determined #5 seed in a 1:00 PM contest. The winner of the contest will go on to play on Thursday, May 8th. All tournament games will be live-streamed on ESPN+, with live stats available on UICFlames.com.
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