CHICAGO – The Missouri Valley Conference announced its weekly honors Monday afternoon, naming junior Mason Lei the Pitcher of the Week after a stellar outing in the opening game of a weekend series against Murray State (21-15, 7-5 MVC) leading to a 3-1 win for the Flames.

"He (Lei) is a grinder," head coach Sean McDermott said. "He is a competitor and we were facing a really good opponent. He went out there and established his strike zone, going on the attack his entire outing. Mason is not afraid of contact, and he got after it. He's a warrior, and he is exactly what you need on Friday, getting us deep into that game. It was exactly what the Flames needed."

"Every Friday night, Mason is the ultimate competitor, and he sets the tone for the weekend," pitching coach Mitch Mormann said. "One of the things you love about Mason is his consistency and what he brings, you just know what you are going to get. He just pounds the zone, and he will be relentlessly on the attack. He's able to maneuver pitches, mix pitches really well, change speeds and move his pitches around the zone to be super effective. He has good velocity and a good fastball to pair with all that."

Lei went toe-to-toe with Murray State's Nic Schutte in a pitcher's duel at Curtis Granderson Stadium on a cold, windy Friday night.  After allowing just one run across in the top of the first, Lei dialed it in. Supported by stellar defensive play, Lei pitched seven innings, allowing four hits, walking a pair and striking out five.

Lei's efforts led to the Flames leading 3-1 into the later innings, before the work of graduate students Mark Eddie and Zack Millsap on the mound secured the win for UIC.

The Freeport, Ill. native continues to shine for the Flames on the mound this season, ranking sixth in ERA (4.19), fourth in strikeouts (48), tied for sixth in wins (three) and first for innings pitched (58.0) in the MVC. This is the second weekly honor for the hurler, earning Newcomer of the Week on Feb. 24  after leading a shutout against Sam Houston State.

The Flames are back in action tomorrow at Rocky and Berenice Miller Park to take on Northwestern (13-18-1, 5-10 Big Ten) at 3:30 p.m. (CT).

The game will be streamed on B1G+ network via a paid subscription. The game will also be available to listen to for free on the Flames Network and live stats will be online at UICFlames.com.

UIC Careers in Sports Day
 
Prior to UIC's Kids Day Game on April 24, the Flames will host a Career Day event inside the Flames Athletic Center from 9–11 a.m.
 
Attendees will have the opportunity to hear from UIC Athletics staff about their roles and the various career paths available in sports.
 
Due to space limitations, attendance is limited to the first 150 participants. To register, please email Brian Davis at briand@uic.edu.

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