LIVE STATS
LIVE AUDIO
LIVE VIDEO

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears return to ASUN Conference play this weekend, taking on the Jacksonville Dolphins for the first time at John Sessions Stadium.

The Bears (11-9) put their 3-0 league mark on the line against the Dolphins (15-8), who dropped two of three in their ASUN opening series last weekend at Lipscomb. Freshman pitcher Evan Chrest earned ASUN Pitcher of the Week honors after the Dolphins won the opener 6-2. Chrest went eight innings, allowing four hits and one earned run with seven strikeouts.

The Dolphins then dropped the final two games of the series, getting outscored 10-5 on Saturday and 10-0 in eight innings on Sunday.

UCA is coming off a sweep of North Alabama, its second in two seasons. The Bears won the opener 9-1 on Friday, got a walk-off 7-6 win on Saturday and then dominated Sunday's finale 17-8.

The Bears and Dolphins did not meet last season in UCA's first run through the ASUN because of divisional play. JU was picked eighth in the preseason poll while UCA was 10th. The Bears are currently tied for first place with Stetson and Jacksonville State as the only teams with 3-0 records.

Jacksonville swept a pair of mid-week games from Dartmouth on Tuesday and Wednesday, winning 8-3 and 15-4 in seven innings.

UCA played at No. 1 LSU on Tuesday night, with the Tigers coming back from a 4-3 deficit in the fourth inning to beat the Bears 10-4. Senior left fielder Dylan Cyr hit his fifth home run of the season to give the Bears their only lead. Junior A.J. Mendolia extended his on-base streak to all 20 games with walk against the Tigers. Senior right fielder Kolby Johnson extended his streak to 13 games.

Junior Jesse Barker is scheduled to get the start on the mound for the Bears. Barker improved to 3-1 with last weekend's win, going 6 1/3 innings and allowing five hits, one unearned run and striking out five.

The Dolphins are hitting .268 as a team and have a 5.42 earned-run average. UCA counters with a .284 average and a 4.27 ERA. Jacksonville is 11-6 at home this season and averages 6.8 runs per game. 

The game will be carried live on The Bear 91.3 and at judolphins.com/watch.