Bears start home schedule Friday against Southern Illinois

CONWAY, Ark. — Central Arkansas’ start to the season has been rough, but it was probably planned that way. It’s part of the preparation process for conference play and they’ve only been 1-4 but now they get a series at home.

The Bears will host Southern Illinois for a three-game non-conference series at 3 p.m. at Bear Stadium. Game 2 is set for 2 p.m. Saturday, with the series finale at 1 p.m. Sunday.

UCA’s start includes a pair of close losses to defending national champion LSU last weekend in Baton Rouge, La. The Bears ran into a buzzsaw Wednesday night at Memphis, losing 14-4 on a windy day at FedExPark.

The offensive-minded Salukis are 4-0 after opening the season with a three-game sweep of Northwestern State in Natchitoches, La. SIU won 14-7, 14-9 and 15-11. They followed that up with a 14-1 road win over UT Martin on Tuesday. For the season, the Salukis are averaging 14.2 runs, 13.5 hits and 12 runs batted in per game and are hitting .342 as a team. SIU has also drawn a whopping 49 walks in four games.

On the pitching side, SIU has a team earned-run average of 9.25, while its opponents have a 12.50 ERA.

UCA is hitting .193 and have a team ERA of 5.36. Senior third/first baseman A.J. Mendolia is leading the way at the plate, hitting .375 with three doubles and five walks. Next is transfer catcher Casey Shipley at .300, followed by Fort Smith freshman Zeb Allen at .294. Allen and junior center fielder Drew Sturgeon had UCA’s first two home runs of the season on Wednesday at Memphis.

The teams will be playing for just the seventh time on Friday. The Salukis swept a three-game series in 2015 and again in 2022, both played in Carbondale, Ill.

UCA will be on the road next Tuesday at in-state rival Arkansas State in Jonesboro before hosting Tarleton State in a four-game series next weekend at Bear Stadium.

Information from UCASports.com is included in this story.