Softball sweeps series versus Detroit

Skylee James takes a swing. The Flames head to Cleveland State this week after sweeping Detroit. — Photo: Steve Woltmann

The softball team (17-10, 3-0 Horizon League) put forth a strong defensive effort behind solid pitching Saturday to sweep the Horizon League-opening series against Detroit (6-24, 0-3 HL) with 5-1 and 8-1 wins in doubleheader action at Flames Field.

“I was really pleased with our pitchers in both games and our defense did a really nice job,” head coach Michelle Venturella said. “Offensively, we scored in multiple innings and kept the pressure on. It was great to see the team play well together and play solid all the way around.”

Redshirt-junior Alice Fitzpatrick and redshirt-freshman Karissa Frazier took turns to throw their first complete games of the season. They each struck out five batters and held the Titans to seven hits through the two games.

On offense, the Flames combined for 20 hits and had six extra-base tallies off home runs from freshman Skylee James (2) and senior Laura Swan (1) and doubles from junior Kaleigh Nagle (2) and senior Dana Capocci (1). Capocci, Nagle, Swan and junior Savannah Soppet all had three hits each as freshman Lexi Watts picked up four of UIC’s eight walks. In all, 10 of the Flames’ 11 batters reached base at least once
on the day.

On Friday, the Flames began Horizon League play with a 2-1 come-from-behind victory at Flames Field. Senior LaRi Mitchell posted the game-tying RBI on her fourth triple of the year and scored the winning run on a passed ball, as junior pitcher Elaine Heflin established a career-high 11 strikeouts.

“It was nice to come away with the win after a hard-fought game,” Venturella said. “Hef and Kaleigh (Nagle) did a nice job to manage their offense. It was good to be able to play at home in front of our fans.”

The Flames continue Horizon League play at Cleveland State this week, with games scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday and a doubleheader Saturday that begins at 11 a.m.