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   CONWAY, Ark. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears return home Friday night for a big ASUN Conference series with the Jacksonville State Gamecocks.

    The Bears and Gamecocks are tied for second play in the ASUN West Division with 6-3 records. They begin their series at 6 p.m. Friday at Bear Stadium, the first of six regular-season meetings on this year's schedule

    The Bears, coming off a loss at No. 2 Arkansas on Tuesday night, will send sophomore Tyler Cleveland to the mound for the opener. Cleveland has tossed consecutive complete-game victories the past two weekends against Lipscomb and North Alabama. Cleveland is 2-1 with a 2.55 earned-run average, with a team-high 43 strikeouts in 42 1/3 innings.

    The Gamecocks are 12-14 overall after having their mid-week game with Alabama State rained out on Tuesday. JSU was swept at home last weekend by ASUN West leader Eastern Kentucky, getting outscored 33-11. Prior to that, they swept Lipscomb on the road and won three at home against North Alabama. JSU also beat Auburn 5-2 on Tuesday, March 29.

    The Gamecocks lost their first six games of the season against stiff competition, while the Bears opened the season 1-6 against an equally tough slate. The teams, who both turned it around at the beginning of conference play, will be meeting for the first time Friday, The return series in Jacksonville, Ala., is set for May 13-15 at Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium.

    The Gamecocks are expected to start junior right hander Isaiah Magwood (3-1), who picked up his first loss of the season last weekend against EKU. On the season, Magwood has a 2.61 earned-run average with 40 strikeouts in 31 innings. The offensive leader for JSU is junior center fielder T.J. Reeves, a transfer from Alabama. He is hitting .355 with 4 home runs, 7 doubles and 17 runs batted in.     

    Sophomore designated hitter Drew Pollum leads the UCA offense, hitting .341 in 14 games. Junior first baseman Hunter Hicks is next at .296, followed by senior left fielder Connor Emmet at .292. All three of those players had two hits in the loss at Arkansas.

    The remainder of the series is set for 4 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday for the finale. All games will be on The Bear 91.3 and ESPN+.