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    SPRINGFIELD, Mo. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears will take on a familiar foe this weekend when they face the Missouri State Bears in a three-game, non-conference series at Hammons Field.

    The purple Bears and maroon Bears will play at 3 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. The teams will be meeting for the 34th time on Friday night. They played a three-game series in Conway last year, with MSU winning two of three. The teams have met at least twice every year since 2014.
    
    UCA is 3-1 after a 2-1 series victory over Southeast Missouri last weekend in Conway and a 5-4 upset of No. 10 Vanderbilt on Tuesday in Nashville, Tenn. MSU went 1-2 on its California road swing last weekend at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, Calif. They came back and knocked off Oral Roberts 8-5 on Tuesday in Tulsa, Okla.
    
    The purple Bears are hitting .295 through four games, led by sophomore second baseman Tanner Leonard with a .500 batting average. Junior center fielder Drew Sturgeon has a pair of home runs, while senior right fielder Kolby Johnson has two triples. UCA is slugging .500 as a team.

    UCA's pitching has been solid, holding two-time national champion Vandy to just four hits on Tuesday. UCA's team earned-run average is 3.00. The Bears are expected to start right handed sophomore Tate Busey on Friday, right handed junior Jesse Barker on Saturday and right handed senior Noah Argenta in Sunday's series finale.
    
    Both Barker and Argenta picked up victories last weekend against SEMO. Barker went 5 2.3 innings, allowing three hits and no runs while striking out a career-high nine batters. Argenta, who started the first two games of the series behind the plate, went six innings of one-hit ball in his pitching debut.

    Junior Trent Gregson, UCA's closer a year ago, started Game 1 last weekend but has moved back to his familiar role at the back end of the bullpen.

    Busey, a 6-foot-1, 180-pounder from Pea Ridge, Ark., missed all of last season after arm surgery but was sharp in relief last weekend in his first action since 2021. He tossed 3 1/3 innings and allowed no hits or runs and struck out three.
    MSU, from the Missouri Valley Conference, is expected to start three right handers Jake Eddington (0-0), Brandt Thompson (1-0) and Hayden Minton (0-0).

    The games can be heard live on The Bear 91.3.