LIVE STATS
LIVE AUDIO/VIDEO
CONWAY, Ark. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears finally return home to Bear Stadium this weekend for an important Southland Conference series against the Lamar Cardinals.
The Bears (19-6, 0-3) and Cardinals (21-6, 1-2) will meet in a three-game series beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday. Friday’s game is also set for 6, with Saturday’s series finale beginning at 1 p.m.
UCA has played 12 of its past 13 games on the road, including an 11-3 victory over 18th-ranked Oklahoma State on Tuesday in Stillwater, Okla. The Bears dropped all three games of their opening SLC series at Oral Roberts last weekend, while the Cardinals lost two of three against McNeese State at home.
Lamar won 1-0 in 18 innings on Saturday, then lost 14-13 on Sunday.
UCA swept Lamar 3-0 in last year’s series, also played at Bear Stadium. The overall series is tied at 9-9, with UCA holding a 7-5 edge in games played in Conway.
The Bears are ranked No. 1 in the Southland in pitching with a team earned-run average of 2.41. Lamar has the top hitting team at .295. The Cardinals and Bears are Nos. 1-2 in fielding percentage in the conference.
UCA senior Forrestt Allday is second in the SLC in hitting at .427 after going 4 for 5 against OSU on Tuesday. Lamar’s Darian Johnson is fourth (.389) and Jude Vidrine is sixth (.356). UCA catcher Michael Marietta leads the league in RBI (24) and senior second baseman Blake Marchal is first in stolen bases (12) and second in walks (21). Allday is first in on-base percentage (.537) and second in runs (28).
The series will feature some of the top pitchers in the SLC. UCA seniors Jeffery Enloe and Caleb McClanahan are tied for the league lead in victories with four, while McClanahan is fourth in ERA (2.18) and Enloe is tied for sixth in strikeouts (36). Lamar’s Jonathan Dziedzic is tied for first in strikeouts (50) and third in opponent’s batting average (.177).
The matchups for the weekend are expected to be McClanahan (4-2) vs. Lamar’s David Carver (4-1, 3.09) on Thursday; Enloe (4-1, 2.45) vs. Eric Harrington (4-0, 2.64) on Friday, and UCA’s Bryce Biggerstaff (2-1, 2.34) vs. Dziedzic (3-1, 2.38) on Saturday.
