SPRINGFIELD, IL --- The Prairie Stars (22-15, 11-5), fresh off Coach Ramirez's 100^th career victory, will look to carry that momentum back into Great Lakes Valley Conference play as they travel to Wisconsin-Parkside for a four-game series. Illinois Springfield is currently second in the GLVC east division and two-games in front of the Rangers.

SETTING THE SCENE
The Prairie Stars (22-15, 11-5) enter the weekend having won three of their last four games and sit second in the GLVC east. UIS is two games back of top seed Southern Indiana and two games up on UW-Parkside for the final playoff spot.

Wisconsin-Parkside (15-15, 9-7) enters the weekend also having won three of their last four games, taking their last series over the University of Indianapolis. There was no lack of offense for the Rangers, as they scored 43 runs in the four game series.

BATS ARE ALIVE
The Prairie Stars are batting .326 as a team, second only to Drury in the GLVC, who boast a .328 team average. However, its arguable the Prairie Stars have the best offense in the league, having scored the most runs (293), tallied the most hits (410), most extra-base hits (132) --- including the second most home runs (50) --- and highest slugging percentage (.529).

Cole Taylor currently leads the GLVC in runs (47), doubles (18), and is second in hits (60). Myles Hann ranks sixth in batting average (.402) while Michael Rothmund leads the entire league in both RBI's (46) and home runs (17).

Adam Gregory is tied for the league lead in wins with seven. The lefty owns a 2.63 ERA across 54.2 innings of work, striking out 40 batters opposed to 13 walks.  

GLVC UPDATE
The top-four teams from each division qualify for the conference tournament, something UIS has reached in two of the last three seasons. Currently, UIS is two-games clear of the fourth place spot in the east division, but has three series left, each with a team that is chasing the Stars.

LEAVING THE PARK
Michael Rothmund has already bested the single-season and career home run records for UIS, blasting a record 17 home runs this season and 23 for his career. Currently, Rothmund ranks second in the nation in home runs per game, hitting one at a pace of one every other game. His 17 blasts ranks fourth in the nation.

THE LAST TIME…
UIS holds an all-time record of 8-9 against the Rangers, winning three of the last four meetings and five of the last seven. Amazingly, UIS is 5-5 against the Rangers at home and 2-2 on the road, owning a 1-2 record at neutral sites. Last season, in a four-game series in Springfield, UIS won three of the four and outscored the Rangers 27-23.

SCOUTING THE RANGERS
The Rangers, who are 15-15 overall, are led by the dynamic offensive tandem of Kyohei Makita and Max Widmar. Makita leads the Rangers with a .406 batting average and four home runs, while Widmar is batting .404 and has 25 RBIs. Senior catcher Jake Kolasinski tops the team with 28 RBIs and is batting .330 and Troy Bittenbender is batting .333 and has two homers and 13 RBIs.

Nate Stolte and Mario Samuel anchor the Rangers pitching staff. Stolte has been brilliant for the Rangers as he has a 3-0 record and a 1.72 earned run average, while Samuel has a 2-4 record and a 4.22 ERA. Nicholas Rana and Connor Cunningham are tied with Stolte for the team lead with three wins, while Keaton Kastberg tops the squad with five saves.

COMING UP NEXT
The Prairie Stars will return home for six consecutive games, beginning with two non-conference matchups on Wednesday and Thursday. UIS will host Quincy University on Wednesday before welcoming in Division III opponent MacMurray College on Thursday.

This will precede the weekend series with Saint Joseph's College on Saturday and Sunday for the penultimate GLVC series. On Sunday, UIS will recognize the teams four seniors in a pre-game ceremony.