SPRINGFIELD, IL --- The Prairie Stars (27-15, 15-5) will play host to the Puma's of Saint Joseph's College (29-13, 11-9) in their final home series of the season. Illinois Springfield is winners of their last six games, as they hold the longest winning streak in the GLVC east and second longest in the entire conference. With eight games remaining in the regular season, UIS is on the cusp of making the conference tournament for the second straight year and third time in last four years.

SETTING THE SCENE
The Prairie Stars, tied atop the GLVC east standings, head into the penultimate weekend, six games up on the two-teams fighting for the last playoff position. With eight games remaining in the regular season, UIS needs to win three games to secure a playoff spot with the current standings.

Saint Joseph's (29-13, 11-9) is coming off a four-game sweep of McKendree and has won six straight games overall. The Puma's are currently fourth in the GLVC east and looking to hold onto the final playoff spot.

SOMETHINGS GOTTA GIVE
The Prairie Stars and Puma's are the two hottest teams in the conference right now, both winning their last six games. UIS is coming off a four-game sweep of UW-Parkside while Saint Joseph's swept McKendree.

UIS holds the GLVC's best offense, while Saint Joseph's brings the second best ERA in the league at 4.22. The Puma's also rank second in the league in batting average against, holding teams to a .274 mark.

MIDWEST REGIONAL RANKINGS
This will be the first time that UIS will play a game ranked in the region, as the first poll came out on Wednesday, putting UIS tenth in the Midwest Region. St. Joseph's is ranked fourth in the same ranking. 

OFFENSE KEEPS ROLLING
The Prairie Stars put up 18 runs against MacMurray College in non-conference action on Tuesday, adding 12 more extra base hits in the process. UIS totaled six doubles, a triple, and smacked five home runs. Two came from a familiar face, as Michael Rothmund clubbed his 19^th and 20^th of the season, while Troy Cantu and Will Stanka each connected for their first of the season.

UIS currently leads the league in average (.331), runs (349), hits (475), RBI (317), total bases (774), slugging percentage (.540), and on-base percentage (.411).

Cole Taylor tops the entire GLVC in runs (54), hits (68), and doubles (19) while Michael Rothmund leads the GLVC in slugging percentage (.839), RBI (55), and home runs (20).

ON THE HILL
UIS currently has the fourth best ERA in the league at a 4.99 mark. This is large in part to the top-three arms for UIS: Adam Gregory, Ethan Howard, and Brayden Jensen who all own an ERA under 3.85.

Gregory leads the pack with a 2.41 mark while his 8-2 record is best in the league. Those eight wins are also a UIS single-season record, besting the previous record of seven. Gregory now has 14 career wins, four off the career record of 18.

THE LAST TIME…
UIS holds an all-time record of 7-11 against the Puma's, but have won four of the last six meetings. Last season, UIS took the first two games in Rensselaer by scores of 7-6 and 3-2 but fell in the final two games 6-2 and 4-3.

These two teams have split their last three four-game series.

SCOUTING THE PUMA'S
Saint Joseph's is led by Riley Benner and his GLVC leading .411 batting average. Benner has scored 41 runs on the season and has 18 doubles and 10 home runs. Much like UIS, the Puma's have eight players hitting .299 or better and hold a .319 team average.

These two teams rank second and third in the league in home runs as UIS has 58 on the season to St. Joseph's 54.

On the mound, Tasker Strobel leads the way with a 5-2 record and 2.78 ERA. Four pitchers have a sub-3.60 ERA and as a team, have struck out 266 batters opposed to 132 walks.

COMING UP NEXT
Following their final home series of the year, UIS will travel to the University of Indianapolis for a four-game series to conclude the regular season. Games against UIndy will be Friday, May 5^th and Sunday, May 7^th to accommodate for graduation.