Perennial Power Wichita State Coming to Bear Stadium

Courtesy University of Central Arkansas Athletics Department

CONWAY, Ark. _ For the second straight weekend, the University of Central Arkansas baseball program has a high-profile guest coming to Bear Stadium.

Wichita State, which won the 1989 national championship and has made seven College World Series trips and 27 NCAA Tournament appearances in its history, will escape the winter weather at home and head south to play five games over four days in the central Arkansas area, including a matchup with UCA at 4 p.m. Saturday at Bear Stadium.

Fellow Southland Conference foe Northwestern State and Missouri State are also moving their weekend series to Bear Stadium because of anticipated weather issues in Springfield, Mo.

UCA will play its regularly scheduled game with New Orleans at 6 p.m. Friday, preceded by Northwestern State-Missouri State at 1 p.m. On Saturday, Wichita State will face New Orleans at noon, followed by UCA-Wichita State at 4 p.m. and Northwestern State-Missouri State at 7 p.m. Sunday’s schedule has NSU and MSU playing at 9:30 a.m., followed by UCA’s regularly scheduled game with New Orleans at 1 p.m.

Wichita State will also play a Thursday game vs. UALR in Little Rock, as well as a Friday game vs. Western Illinois and a Sunday matchup with Iowa, all at UALR’s Gary Hogan Field. The Shockers have had to cancel eight games this season due to weather issues.

UCA, 6-0 at Bear Stadium this season, beat Big 12 Kansas 9-3 last Saturday after the Jayhawks joined the Bears’ series with Jackson State. UCA is 6-1 overall, with the lone loss coming at then-No. 2 Vanderbilt. 

The Bears will play this year’s SLC series with Northwestern State on April 5-7 in Natchitoches, La.

 

SCHEDULE FOR BEAR STADIUM:

FRIDAY:

Northwestern State vs. Missouri State – 1:00

UCA vs. New Orleans – 6:00 

SATURDAY:

Wichita State vs. New Orleans – 12:00

UCA vs. Wichita State – 4:00

Northwestern State vs. Missouri State – 7:00

SUNDAY:

Northwestern State vs. Missouri State – 9:30

UCA vs. New Orleans – 1:00