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CONWAY, Ark. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears will take on another first-time opponent this weekend when they host the Stetson Hatters in ASUN Conference action this weekend at Bear Stadium.

UCA (16-20, 7-8) will host Stetson (21-17, 9-6) beginning at 6 p.m. Friday. Saturday's Game 2 is set for 4 p.m., with the series finale at 1 p.m. Sunday.

The Bears are coming off a 6-3 loss at No. 5 Arkansas on Tuesday night in Fayetteville. The Hatters also lost their mid-week matchup at Central Florida 7-6 on Tuesday in Orlando, Fla.

UCA went 1-2 last weekend in ASUN play at North Florida, winning the opener behind ASUN Pitcher of the Week Jesse Barker before dropping the final two games in Jacksonville, Fla. Stetson also had a 1-2 weekend at home, losing Games 1-2 to Lipscomb before taking Sunday's finale 8-2.

The Hatters sit in a tie for fifth place in the ASUN standings at 9-6. UCA is 7-8 and in a three-way tie for eighth place with North Florida and Kennesaw State. There are five conference series remaining.

Stetson, 3-10 in road games this season, ranks in the middle of the league in both hitting and pitching. The Hatters are ninth in hitting at .263 and are eighth in earned-run average at 5.76. Freshman first baseman Landon Moran is their leading hitter at .319, followed closely by senior outfielder David Bermudez at .318.

The Hatters have hit 54 home runs this season, led by Christian Pregent with eight. Eight different players have hit at least five home runs. Stetson's pitching staff has a combined 370 strikeouts, an average of 9.7 per game. The leader is juinor right hander Austin Amaral (4-3) with 57 strikeouts in 46.2 innings. The remainder of the weekend rotation is expected to be Nick Durgen (2-2) and Daniel Paret (1-0). 

Junior third/first baseman A.J. Mendolia leads the Bears in hitting at .342, with a team-best .487 on-base percentage. Sophomore shortstop Reid Bowman is next at .336. The Bears have hit 42 home runs, led by senior right fielder Kolby Johnson with eight. UCA has also stolen 64 bases, leed by Tanner Leonard (12) and Mason King (11).

Barker, a junior right hander from Benton, Ark., leads the UCA pitching staff with a 5.2 record and a 2.56 ERA, which ranks third in the ASUN. He earned ASUN Pitcher of the Week honors on Monday after a complete-game shutout win over North Florida.