Bears aiming to end skid in tournament

May has not been kind to the Central Arkansas baseball team.

UCA, which started 18-3 and was ranked in the top 25 by Baseball America at one point, has lost eight of its past 11 games, including three consecutive Southland Conference series. But Coach Allen Gum said he is confident the Bears can return to the form they showed earlier this season when they open play today in the Southland Conference Tournament.

“We’ve had a rough stretch, but it’s a new season,” said Gum, who is in his third season as UCA’s coach.

The seventh-seeded Bears (34-19, 12-15) take on No. 2 seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (32-22, 17-10) at noon Central today at Constellation Field in Sugar Land, Texas. The winner will face No. 6 seed Stephen F. Austin or third-seeded Oral Roberts at 4 p.m. Thursday, while the loser will play at 9 a.m. Thursday in an elimination game.

UCA will have to find a way to get its offense going again if it wishes to advance deep in the tournament. The Bears were swept at Sam Houston State last weekend, hitting just .178 in three games.

“We haven’t swung the bats very well,” Gum said. “We’ve been ahead in games but haven’t extended the innings. … Hopefully that will pick up this week.”

Bears senior pitcher Caleb McClanahan (9-5, 2.18 ERA) will start today. He had his worst start of the season Friday at Sam Houston State, giving up seven runs in seven innings in a 7-3 loss. The Wynne native was named first-team all-conference Monday and leads the conference in complete games (five).

“They’re really dangerous,” Gum said of the Islanders, who are led by first baseman Jonathan Gonzales (.321,5 home runs, 43 RBI). “Caleb will have to have his change-up working.”

UCA will face Islanders ace Trevor Foss (8-6, 3.13). The Bears scored five runs on eight hits against Foss in a 7-2 victory April 19.

Constellation Field, which seats 7,500, is home of the minor league Sugar Land Skeeters, who play in the independent Atlantic League. But Gum said he doesn’t expect the Bears to be overwhelmed by the bigger park since they have played at North Little Rock’s Dickey-Stephens Park and at SEC venues such as Dudy Noble Field in Starkville, Miss., this season.

“The fans are close, but they’ve been on fields like that,” Gum said. “They’re used to it.”At a glance CENTRAL ARKANSAS VS.

TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI WHAT Southland Conference Baseball Tournament WHEN Noon Central WHERE Constellation Field, Sugar Land, Texas RECORDS Central Arkansas 34-19, 12-15 Southland Conference; Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 32-22, 17-10

Sports, Pages 24 on 05/22/2013

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