UNI softball to play first series as conference opponents against UIC

UNI softball at UIC

12 p.m. & 2:30 p.m. | March 24
Chicago | Flames Field (1,200)
ESPN+ | Peter Ferreri: Play-by-play

UNI softball at UIC

1 p.m. | March 26
Chicago | Flames Field (1,200)
ESPN+ | Announcers TBD

CHICAGO -- The Panthers face another new conference opponent this weekend as they make the trip to the Windy City.

The last time UNI played the UIC Flames was in the 2013 season at Arizona State's Littlewood Classic where the Panthers picked up an 8-0 win. This will be the first time UNI plays the Flames on their home field, and will be their first series as Missouri Valley Conference opponents. UIC joined the Valley over the summer along with last weekend's opponent Murray State and Belmont. The Panthers' first series in Chicago has changed slightly, moving to a Friday afternoon doubleheader and a single game Sunday afternoon due to projected cold temperatures.

THE PANTHERS:
- UNI had a perfect start to Missouri Valley Conference play over the weekend with three wins against conference newcomers Murray State. In their three wins over the weekend, the Panthers outscored the Racers 24-1 and picked up their first grand slam.
- The Panther offense continued to pick up their pace with a big weekend at the plate. In their series against Murray State, UNI connected on 29 hits, for six doubles, two triples, three home runs, and 23 RBIs for a slugging percentage of .522 and an on-base percentage of .379.
- Redshirt junior Taylor Hogan picked up the first grand slam of her career. In the final inning of the weekend, with the bases loaded on two hits and a walk, Hogan launched a strike past the center field fence for the grand slam. Hogan led all Panther batters against the Racers with an average of .556 with five hits, a double, and a home run.
- The Panthers continue to pick up conference honors from Missouri Valley staff after another week of dominant play. Pitcher Samantha Heyer was named the MVC Pitcher of the Week for the second week in a row after another strong outing in the circle against Murray State. Heyer pitched 12 innings for a .051 opposing batting average, throwing 24 strikeouts and no walks catapulting her into the Top 50 nationally for strikeout-to-walk ratio. She also moved to second in the conference in strikeouts and strikeouts per game at 112 and 10.8 respectively.

THE FLAMES:
- UIC comes into this weekend's series without a win, having dropped 25 games to start the season. This is due to the Flames loading up their schedule with Top 25 opponents during the non-conference portion of the season, including Northwestern, Clemson, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Kentucky.
- The Flames' most recent game was canceled against Eastern Illinois due to inclement weather. But before Wednesday, UIC played no. 24 Northwestern in a 6-3 slugfest where they ended up on the losing end of the scorecard. In the matchup, the Flames connected on seven hits, including a double and two home runs to boost their season offensive numbers.
- UIC played its first Valley series in program history on Sunday and Monday against the Indiana State Sycamores. The Flames didn't find their first win of the season against the Sycamores but did start to get their offense going after getting shutout in the first game of the series.
- The Flames are led by senior outfielder Alannah Cran on offense who is averaging .239 on an OPS of .583. In the circle, senior Christina Toniolo has pitched 69 innings for a 4.97 ERA, 1.75 WHIP, and a .292 opposing batting average.

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