Softball sweeps Northern Kentucky

Taylor Cairns readies at the plate versus Northern Kentucky. Photo: John Kon

The softball team (26-12, 12-2 HL) put together 15 runs through two games against Northern Kentucky (9-30, 2-9 HL) to come away with its third Horizon League series sweep of the season Saturday at Flames Field.

The Flames hung on for a 6-4 victory in game one, then routed the Norse in five innings in game two with a 9-1 final.

“We played much better in game two as a whole,” head coach Michelle Venturella said. “It was nice to see the kids fight hard and come out on top. Our pitchers did a nice job against their hitters, which is always good to see, and our offense continues to have quality at-bats, which is a goal every time we play.”

UIC reached an 18-hit mark on the day and had six extra-base attempts.

Senior LaRi Mitchell had a team-high four hits, including a triple that gave the Flames the walk-off in game two, followed by sophomore Taylor Cairns and freshman Lexi Watts with three apiece.

With one hit in each game, senior Laura Swan extended her hit streak to a career-high 13 games. Of the 13 RBI, Mitchell, junior Kaleigh Nagle and freshman Skylee James each brought in three runs.

The pitching staff of redshirt-freshman Karissa Frazier, senior Bridget Boyle and junior Elaine Heflin held the Norse to 10 combined hits with five strikeouts and five walks.

The Flames play a doubleheader in Green Bay today, then host Northern Illinois at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Flames Field.