SUGAR LAND, Texas _ Three University of Central Arkansas baseball players will either finish or extend their baseball careers this week at the 2017 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament at Constellation Field.

Seniors Brooks Balisterri, Brandon Hagerla and Jacob Murray will lead the fifth-seeded Bears against the No. 4 Houston Baptist Huskies in first-round action at 7 p.m. Wednesday. The winner meets either No. 1 McNeese State of No. 8 Lamar at 7 p.m. Thursday. The losers of those first-round games play at noon Thursday in an elimination game.

UCA, which began SLC play with a 1-5 record before finishing 17-13, took two of three games from HBU in the regular-season series back in April at Husky Field in Houston, winning the final game 17-4 in a run-rule game.

It's a small senior class, but one with some definite leaders, according to head coach Allen Gum, who became the winningest baseball coach in UCA history last week with his 210th victory.

"It's small in numbers but large in leadership,' said Gum. "We were in that big hole early in the year, and it's because of those three guys and their leadership, that they just kept plugging and plugging, getting guys ready to go. Really overachieved a lot, overcame a lot to get us to this spot. 

"Everything rises and falls on leadership. The Southland is so tough and we have to play well and things have to go right. But if there isn't good leadership, there is no chance at all. We have good leadership with our seniors, plus a couple of guys who have been here a long time, Michael Haun and Justin McCarty. Those two fall right in line with those three seniors. So our leadership is there. I'm not concerned about that at all. 
'A lot of it is just keeping everybody calm, because we're going to face adversity. Just this past weekend, and all year, somewhere in that game we're going to face adversity. And that's when that senior leadership comes through.' 

Balisterri, a 6-foot, 175-pound shortstop from Benton, Ark., has started 50 games this season and is hitting .280 with 15 multi-hit games and six multi-RBI games. He had a season-high three hits twice (vs. Tennessee Tech and Houston Baptist) and had  a season-high three RBI in the same game against HBU. Balisterri, who has also stolen six bases in seven attempts, hit .444 in the series against HBU earlier this season.

"Brooks Balisterri, I can't say enough about his leadership. He's like another coach on the field,' said Gum. "He's vocal, he gets guys in the right spots, he leads them on the field. And one thing he's great at is he makes sure the guys are ready to play. And he holds them accountable.'

Murray, from Silsbee, Texas, has been a starter, closer and middle reliever for the Bears for two years after transferring fro Wabash Community College. He has pitched 71.1 innings over 30 career appearances and has six career saves and 66 strikeouts.  

"Jacob has been an outstanding pitcher for us, and he's done it in many roles,' said Gum "He's started, he's come in in relief, he's closed games. His last outing (against Nicholls State) was just outstanding, so we're looking forward to having him in the tournament. We're going to need that extra starter and it looks like he's prepared himself for that role.

"One thing he's done, even if he hasn't been pitching well, in the bullpen, he works so hard that he forces other people around him to work harder, too. That's just tremendous leadership, whether things are going up or down. You keep working hard, and that's what Jacob always does.'

Hagerla, from Petaluma, Calif., by way of Santa Rosa Community College, has been a true workhorse this season out of the bullpen for the Bears. Hagerla was a weekend starter in 2015, finishing 5-3 with a 3.74 earned-run average. He missed the entire 2016 season with shoulder surgery but returned this season as a huge part of the Bears bullpen. 

"Brandon Hagerla, he's the toughest guy on our team,' Gum said. "The toughness that he brings every day is unbelievable. He had to sit out last year with a shoulder injury, and a lot of guys don't come back from those. He worked so hard to get back.  And his composure on the mound and his toughness on the mound... he's the one that I hope those young pitchers just hang on to his words and what he does. He just has a winning spirit, a no-fear spirit. He's just a great competitor. 

"He is the pattern for pitching. Talent wise, he's OK. But he gets strike one. His goal was to only walk three this year but I think he walked five, so he's kind of upset about that. But that's what you get from Brandon. You look at what he's done for us. We've been very fortunate to kind of get him in at the right time and the right place. 

"Here's the thing with him... we could start him or bring him in for long relief. But we feel like if we get a lead with our starters, we can bring him in and the confidence on our team goes up tremendously.' 

The Bears, who won the 2013 tournament at Constellation Field as the seventh seed, have a shot at another title if they can be strong in a few key areas, according to Gum.  

"Tremendous effort out of our pitching staff, and a couple of our position players that do something extraordinary,' he said. "That's what I think it's going to take. We're going to have to turn a lot of double plays. Every time I've been in a tournament, it always comes down to who plays good defense and turns double plays. But our pitching staff, one after another, they are going have to do something special, something a little more than what they've done.
 
"Kind of like McCarty this past weekend, we needed somebody to step up and he stepped up big offensively. I think we're going to have to have a couple of guys do that. Just a little extra, no more than that.'