FLORENCE, Ala. (April 25, 2024) – The University of North Alabama baseball team hosts Central Arkansas for an Atlantic Sun Conference series this weekend on April 26-28 at Mike D. Lane Field in Florence, Ala. 
  
Live stats will be available via StatBroadcast, and all three games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
  
 
Central Arkansas at North Alabama
Friday, April 26, 2024
6:00 p.m.
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Central Arkansas at North Alabama
Saturday, April 27, 2024
3:00 p.m.
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Central Arkansas at North Alabama
Sunday, April 28, 2024
1:00 p.m.
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NOTES
  
The Rundown: UNA out-hit Ole Miss on Tuesday in Oxford, but fell 9-4 in the midweek contest. Gehrig Frei and Andrew Knight each hit home runs in the game, making it North Alabama's sixth multi-home run game in the last eight games. 
 
April Showers: In the month of April, the University of North Alabama baseball team has strung together some of the best offensive numbers of the Division I era. The Lions have the best numbers in batting average (.304), home runs (21), runs per game (8.3) and slugging percentage (.511) with three games left to play in the month. UNA made the move to Division I prior to the 2019 baseball season. 
 
Big Fly Frei: Frei leads the team with 11 home runs so far this season. The redshirt sophomore infielder has appeared in 38 games for UNA and has already hit the most home runs by a UNA batter in Division I program history. The North Alabama record for most home runs in a season is 17, set by Mike Burns (1989) and D.J. Harris (1993). 
 
A Record Weekend: North Alabama set multiple Division I offensive program records against Bellarmine on April 13-14. UNA tallied 48 runs in three games, the most in a series since 2006. The Lions also set new single-game Division I program records for runs (22), hits (23), total bases (36) and margin of victory (19) in Sunday's match.
 
A Chance at History: North Alabama starting pitcher Jacob James struck out five batters on Saturday, April 20 against Stetson. He exited the series with the Hatters having struck out 255 batters in his UNA career. James is second in the ASUN with 77 strikeouts and is just 25 strikeouts shy of tying Chad Boughner for the most in program history. 
 
Mr. 300: North Alabama head baseball coach Jad Prachniak picked up his 300th career win on Sunday, April 14 against Bellarmine, 22-3. Prachniak came to UNA with 273 career victories at Division II West Chester, where he won two NCAA Division II National Championships. Prachniak is in his second season at the helm of the UNA Baseball program.
  
Five is the Magic Number: On Sunday, April 14 against Bellarmine, Frei tied the program record for the most hits in a game with five. Frei tallied three singles, a double and a three-run homer in the series finale in Louisville. Earlier this season, Frei became the first UNA player with five hits in a game since 2016 in a 5-for-6 performance against Alabama A&M on April 3.
 
Scouting the Bears: Central Arkansas enters the weekend with a 17-22 record, including a 7-11 record in ASUN Conference play. UCA travels to Florence riding a four-game winning streak, which includes a three-game sweep of Bellarmine and a midweek win over Arkansas State. The Lions are one game back of Central Arkansas in the ASUN standings entering the weekend series. 
 
UCA Series History: UNA and Central Arkansas have met 20 times before in program history, with the two teams winning 10 games apiece. Central Arkansas has taken the last six meetings between the teams, with all six games taking place in Conway, Ark.  The Bears have won seven of eight meetings since UNA made the move to Division I in 2019. UNA's lone win came on April 2, 2022 in Florence by a 3-1 final. For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.