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SAN ANTONIO, Texas _ Fresh off a matchup with one of the top teams in college baseball on Tuesday night, the University of Central Arkansas return to Southland Conference action this weekend for a four-game series in San Antonio, Texas.

The Bears (7-9, 4-4) will take on the UIW Cardinals beginning at 6:30 Friday night at Sullivan Field. The four-game SLC series continues at 2 and 6:30 p.m. Saturday and concludes at 1 p.m. Sunday. All four games can be heard live on The Bear 91.3.

UCA dropped a 5-2 decision at No. 3/4 Ole Miss on Tuesday in Oxford, Miss. The Bears' bullpen plan worked well, save for three home runs by the Rebels. UCA's seven pitchers combined for 10 strikeouts, including three each from freshmen Tate Busey and Trent Gregson, and two more from junior Cole Halpin in his season debut. 

The Bears also had another perfect day defensively with no errors, their 10th error-free game this season and six in their past seven games. UCA leads the SLC and is ranked sixth nationally in fielding percentage at .986, with just eight errors in 16 games.

UCA sits 4-4 in conference play after splitting their its first two series with Abilene Christian and Lamar. UIW is 5-3 after a road split with Northwestern State and a 3-1 series win over Southeastern Louisiana last weekend in San Antonio, winning the opener in 13 innings. UIW lost 10-1 to ninth-ranked Texas in non-conference action on Tuesday night in Austin, Texas.

The Bears and Cardinals will be meeting for the 19th time Friday, with UCA leading the series 11-7. However, the Bears have had most of their success at home against the Cardinals. UCA is just 2-7 in games played at Sullivan Field and 9-0 at home at Bear Stadium.

The last time the teams met, in 2019, the Cardinals won two of three games. UIW hit .398 for the series _ including eight home runs _ compared to .271 for UCA. The Bears' earned-run average was 9.36 while the Cardinals' had a 5.00 ERA for the weekend.

The Cardinals are currently fifth in the SLC in batting average (.256) while UCA is seventh (.239). UIW's earned-run average is 4.33 while UCA's is 5.43. UCA is tied for first in the conference in walks with 97 and has allowed a league-low 46. The Bears are also tops in sacrifice bunts with 21 and second in double plays turned (14).

UCA is in the middle of a 10-game road swing that continues at No. 1 Arkansas next Tuesday before the Bears finally return home on Thursday, April 1 to host Sam Houston in SLC play.