HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky softball heads to Chicago this weekend as the Norse take on Horizon League-leading UIC on Friday and Saturday, April 19-20. Friday is scheduled to be a single game at 4 p.m. CT/5 ET, while Saturday will be a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. CT/2 ET. All three games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
 
LAST TIME OUT: NKU dropped a midweek road contest at Eastern Kentucky, 6-3. Zahrya McFarland led the offense with a 2-for-3 showing at the plate, driving in a pair of runs, while Josie Frazier and Ava Lawson were both 2-for-4. Toree Stalter also added a hit and crossed the plate twice, driven in by McFarland on both occasions.
 
SCOUTING UIC: The Flames sit atop the league standings with a 10-2 record, their only losses coming from their series at Oakland. UIC shut the Golden Grizzlies out in five innings in the series opener, 10-0, but Oakland came out on top in the next day's doubleheader with 7-6 and 5-0 victories. UIC then traveled to IUPUI and swept the series, plating 19 runs in five innings in the opener before shutting the Jaguars out in the next two games, 7-0 and 11-0. Kayla Wedl has been having a tremendous league season for the Flames, leading the Horizon League with a .632 batting average, a 1.211 slugging percentage, 22 RBI and six home runs. Skylee James and Lexi Watts are also batting above .400 against league opponents and have combined for 37 runs. Watts currently leads the league in stolen bases, nabbing 12 on as many attempts. On the overall season, James and Watts rank 30th nationally with a .427 batting average, and Watts is 12th nationally with 1.15 runs per game. In the circle, the Flames have used four pitchers against league competition with Marley Hanlon logging the most time in the circle at 24.0 innings pitched.  Hanlon has walked just eight batters over the course of the entire season, boasting the fifth-best mark in the nation for walks per seven innings. The Flames hold an 8-1 record against the Norse in the all-time series, with NKU's lone win coming in eight innings in a 4-3 decision on April 15, 2017.