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21 SOFTBALL The Flames were highly represented in the Horizon League postseason awards. Elaine Heflin became just the second player in program history after All-American Samantha Iuli to be named Pitcher of the Year three times. Lynn Curylo additionally took a top honor as she was named Coach of the Year in her first season. UIC also earned three First Team All-League nods for Heflin, Lexi Watts and Karissa Frazier. Jennah Speth, Kayla Wedl and Taylor Cairns were selected to the All-League Second Team, as Speth and Wedl also placed on the All-Freshman Team with Allie Trudeau. BACK IN THE WINDY CITY Lynn Curylo returned to her alma mater to become the seventh head coach in program history after spending six seasons at the helm of Wright State. Curylo starred as an outfielder for the Flames from 1994-97. The two time All-MCC First Team selection was a member of the 1994 UIC Hall of Fame squad that posted 56 victories and made it all the way to Oklahoma City with the program's first Women's College World Series berth. The Flames finished at the top of the Horizon League for the third-consecutive season to claim the regular season title then was crowned the Horizon League Tournament Champion for the ninth time in program history. UIC advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011 and 10th time overall when it was selected to compete in the Eugene Regional, where it collected its first regional win since 2004 in a 5-4 victory over Missouri. RECORD BREAKERS Program notables were set during the 2017 campaign as Elaine Heflin and Lexi Watts rewrote the record book. Aside from posting a program-best five saves in a single season, Heflin broke the 20-year-old UIC strikeout record twice, first with 17 against Youngstown State then again six days later with 18 versus Northern Kentucky. Already the single-season steals record holder, Watts became the all-time leader in stolen bases, surpassing the mark of 62, after swiping 28 bases to bring her career total to 65 in just two seasons. UIC primarily used the rotation of Karissa Frazier (1.66 ERA), Elaine Heflin (2.08 ERA) and Allie Trudeau (2.20 ERA) to set itself apart in the circle. In splitting all but two starts, they each picked up at least 10 wins and three saves, and aided in the team's 13 shutouts. Batters were limited with Heflin (.196) and Trudeau (.204) turning out the best opposing averages. Having never allowed more than seven hits in an appearance, Trudeau was 52nd nationally in hits allowed per seven innings with a 5.12 average just behind Heflin's 47th ranking of 5.05. Heflin collected nearly half of the team's 309 strikeouts with 151 to top the Horizon League and rank 77th.