UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS • 2018 BASEBALL SID Contact: Steve East • Phone: (501) 450-5743 • Cell: (501) 339-8215 E-mail: [email protected] • www.ucasports.com 2018 BEARS BASEBALL SCHEDULE UCA BEARS (12-9, 4-2 SLC) DATE OPPONENT TIME/RES GAMES FEBRUARY 16 vs. Northern Illinois W, 3-2 @ New Orleans Privateers (9-12, 2-4 SLC) 17 vs. Northern Illinois L, 3-6 18 vs. Northern Illinois L, 4-9 22-24 Friday 6:30 • Saturday 2:00 • Sunday 1:00 19 vs. Little Rock L, 5-6 Maestri Field • New Orleans, La. 25 vs. Missouri State W, 1-0 (10 inn.) 25 vs. Missouri State L, 2-5 28 @ Oral Roberts L, 3-4 • BEAR TRACKS • MARCH 2 vs. Creighton L, 5-12 • SERIES HISTORY The Bears lead the overall series with the Privateers 12-2, including taking 2 of 3 last year 3 vs. Creighton W, 6-2 in Conway. 4 vs. Creighton W, 7-6 UCA won the first 10 meetings from 2013-16, but UNO has split the last four, winning the 6 vs. Mississippi Valley W, 19-4 series finale in New Orleans in 2016 and taking the middle game last year in Conway. The Bears 7 vs. Mississippi Valley W, 27-2 won the series finale 10-0 in seven innings a year ago. 9 @ McNeese State* W, 6-1 The Bears hit .367 for the weekend with 36 hits, with only six extra-base hits. UCA also drew 10 @ McNeese State* L, 5-6 (11 inn.) 12 walks. UNO hit .303 with five home runs. 10 @ McNeese State* L, 3-8 UCA’s ERA was 5.76 while UNO’s was 6.94. Hunter Strong hit .615 for UCA, while Brooks 13 vs. SE Missouri W, 7-3 Balisterri and Josh Somdecerff were at .500. Mark Moyer and Brandon Hagerla picked up the 14 vs. SE Missouri W, 5-4 victories on the mound for UCA. 16 vs. Incarnate Word* W, 4-3 (10 inn) UCA-UNO SERIES (UCA 12-2) 17 vs. Incarnate Word* W, 8-3 3/1/13........ .Conway..................... .W,.11-1 4/26/15...... .Conway..................... .W,.5-0 18 vs. Incarnate Word* W, 6-5 3/3/13........ .Conway..................... .W,.4-3 4/19/16...... .New.Orleans,.La....... .W,.4-3 20 vs. Oklahoma State L, 1-3 5/15/14...... .New.Orleans,.La....... .W,.14-0 4/20/16...... .New.Orleans..La....... .W,.9-7 5/16/14...... .New.Orleans,.La....... .W,.11-8 4/20/16...... .New.Orleans,.La....... .L,.3-7 23 @ New Orleans* 6:30 5/17/14...... .New.Orleans,.La....... .W,.4-3 3/24/17...... .Conway..................... .W,.6-5 24 @ New Orleans* 2:00 4/25/15...... .Conway..................... .W,.8-0 3/25/17...... .Conway..................... .L,.4-11 25 @ New Orleans* 1:00 4/25/15...... .Conway..................... .W,.6-1 3/26/17...... .Conway..................... .W,.10-0.(7) 27 vs. Wichita State 6:00 29 vs. Northwestern St.* 6:00 • LAST SLC SERIES VS. INCARNATE WORD 30 vs. Northwestern St.* 6:00 The Bears swept the Cardinals last weekend at Bear Stadium, winning 4-3 (10 inn), 8-3 and 31 vs. Northwestern St. 1:00 6-5. Sophomore closer Mark Moyer picked up a pair of wins out of the bullpen, while Saturday APRIL starter Tanner Wiley got the other victory. Ross Rogers earned a save in Game 2. 3 @ Little Rock 6:00 The Bears hit .333 for the weekend, led by senior third baseman Rigo Aguilar (.636), along 6 vs. Houston Baptist* 6:00 with Josh Somdecerff, Keaton Presley and Colby LeBlanc all at .417. Presley had 3 doubles and a home run and a team-high 5 RBI for the series. Senior RH Tyler Gray struck out nine Cardinals 7 vs. Houston Baptist* 4:00 on Friday but got a no decision when the Bears won in extra innings. 8 vs. Houston Baptist* 1:00 10 @ UA-Pine Bluff 3:00 • LAST GAME VS. OKLAHOMA STATE 13 vs. UT Martin 6:00 The Oklahoma State Cowboys limited the Bears to just four hits and UCA stranded 15 run- 14 vs. UT Martin 4:00 ners on base in a 3-1 loss on Tuesday at Bear Stadium. UCA’s lone run came in the fifthinning 15 vs. UT Martin 1:00 with a bases-loaded wild pitch that scored Josh Somdecerff. 17 @ Wichita State 6:00 20 @ Sam Houston St.* 6:00 • SLC PITCHER OF THE WEEK 21 @ Sam Houston St.* 4:00 Senior righthander Tyler Gray (Fort Smith, Ark.) was named the Southland Conference 22 @ Sam Houston St.* 1:00 Pitcher of the Week on March 12 after his 14 K win over McNeese State on March 9. 24 @ Arkansas State 6:00 Gray, a preseason second-team All-SLC selection, allowed just three hits and one run over 27 vs. Texas A&M-CC* 6:00 7.0 innings in the series opener. 28 vs. Texas A&M-CC* 4:00 • SLC NUMBERS 29 vs. Texas A&M-CC* 1:00 Only one team remains undefeated in the Southland Conference after two weeks of MAY league play. Sam Houston State, the preseason favorite and defending tournament champion, 4 @ Abilene Christian* 6:00 is 6-0 and had a nine-game winning streak broken on Tuesday by Texas. SHSU is followed by 5 @ Abilene Christian* 2:00 Southeastern Louisiana and McNeese State, both at 5-1. UCA is next at 4-2. 6 @ Abilene Christian* 1:00 Three teams are winless in SLC play, with Lamar at the bottom at 0-6. 8 vs. Arkansas State 6:00 9 vs. UA-Pine Bluff 6:00 • NEW/FAMILIAR FACES 11 vs. SE Louisiana* 6:00 The Bears return five of their top seven hitters from last season and all three weekend starters 12 vs. SE Louisiana* 4:00 on the mound. Leading hitter Hunter Strong is back for his junior season after hitting .351 and 13 vs. SE Louisiana* 1:00 setting the school record with 24 doubles. Outfielder Keaton Presley hit .284 with a team-high 15 vs. Little Rock (NLR) 6:00 55 RBI and stole a team-high 21 (of 28) bases. On the mound, UCA returns starters Tyler Gray (6-6, 3.80), Mark Moyer (7-3, 3.38) and Cody 17 @ Nicholls* 6:00 Davenport (4-4, 6.37), as well as jack-of-all-trades Will Brand (4-1, 3.86, 1 save), Ross Rogers (0-1, 18 @ Nicholls* 6:00 4.26) and Conner Williams (0-0, 2.70). 19 @ Nicholls* 1:00 Key newcomers who should contribute include: outfielder Coby Potvin (Temple CC); 23-26 SLC TOURNAMENT - Sugar Land, TX infielder Jay Anderson (Blinn College); infielder Tyler Smith (Alvin CC); outfielder Brett D’Amico (NE Okla. A&M); pitchers Ricky Ramirez (E. Okla. SC); Gavin Stone (Joneboro, Ark./Riverside HS); Logan Gilbertson (Cabot, Ark.) and Tanner Wiley (E. Okla. SC). • NOTABLES • The Bears qualified for their fifth straight Southland Conference Tournament a year ago and reached the championship game before losing to Sam Houston State. UCA has reached the title game three of the past five seasons, winning the title in 2013. • Prior to the loss to Oklahoma State on Tuesday, UCA had won nine straight at home at Bear Stadium after starting the season 1-3, including a 5-0 week last week (two vs. SEMO, three vs. UIW). • The Bears have already played four extra-inning games this season, going 2-2. UCA was 4-1 in extra innings all of last season. • UCA has four regulars currently hitting over .300, led by DH Colby LeBlanc at .455 in nine games. • The Bears have been hit by a pitch 43 times this season (T-5th in the nation), while their opponents have been hit just 16 times. UCA has also drawn 101 walks, an average of 4.8 per game. UCA is also 21st in the nation with 17 sacrifice bunts, led by junior second baseman T.J. Black with six. • Senior righthander Tyler Gray was drafted in the 20th round (586 overall) by the Minnesota Twins last season but chose to return to UCA. He is currently 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA and is second in the SLC in strikeouts with 44, one behind New Orleans’ Bryan Warzek. Warzek is 15th in the nation and Gray is 16th. • Senior shortstop Josh Somdecerff has a 15-game hitting streak going. Somdecerff also has a 18-game streak reaching base, while Hunter Strong and Rigo Aguilar stand at 14 each. • UCA has only made 18 errors compared to 42 for its opponents. UCA’s fielding percentage is .978 compared to .948 for its opponents. • Then-sophomore Hunter Strong set the school record with 24 doubles last season, while then-junior outfielder Michael Haun came within one of tying the school record for triples with six. • UCA is 10-1 when out-hitting its opponent this season but 0-8 when being out-hit. • UCA is outscoring its opponents 65-34 in the first four innings but is being outscored 32-14 in the eighth and ninth innings. • The Bears have left 203 runners on base through 21 games, an average of 9.6 per game. They left a season-high 15 on base against OSU. • UCA is tied for 5th in the nation in hit by pitch with 43 through 21 games. UCA’s on-base % is 41st in the nation at .395. • 2018 SENIORS The 2018 class of seniors is a large one that includes: pitchers Tyler Gray and Will Brand; outfielders Dusty Wright, Keaton Presley and Michael Haun; infielders Eddy Sanchez, Josh Somdecerff, Joey Pinney and Rigo Aguilar, and catchers Justin McCarty (graduate) and Colby LeBlanc.