JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida softball opens up conference play on the road with a three-game series against Central Arkansas from Mar. 18-19 in Conway, Ark.

After a 4-1 weekend at the UNF Invitational, including a pair of wins against Northern Kentucky and Army, the Ospreys look to continue a successful season against ASUN opponents. They will play a doubleheader against the Bears on Saturday, followed with a single-game matchup to close the series on Sunday.

All matchups will be hosted at Central Arkansas' Farris Field and will be broadcasted on ESPN+. Updates for each game will be made through live stats, as well as on Twitter at OspreySB.

WHAT TO KNOW

• The Ospreys have swept three of their doubleheader days, while also splitting six and being swept in none this season.
• UNF holds an undefeated record against UCA in program history, including a regular-season series sweep and two wins in the ASUN Championship tournament in 2022.
• Logan Jackson drove in the go-ahead RBI against the Bears after being down a run early to clinch a conference title game appearance last season.
• In the UNF Invitational, the Ospreys scored 27 runs in four games and allowed two runs or less in two of those games as well.
• First time that UNF will play Central Arkansas on the road in program history.
• In last season's series, no more than three runs were scored from either team, as eight combined runs were scored in the three-game weekend.
• Abi Annett had the best offensive weekend on the team with nine hits over five games, including four multi-hit games and two solo home runs.
• Shannon Glover remains on a tear going 5-for-7 in games against Northern Kentucky this past weekend.
• Chloe Culp had an eight-game hitting streak, including three-multi hit games until the Troy game on Sunday.
• Jackson, Glover and Culp are the only three to start in all 22 games on the season.
• Ashley Connor leads the team with a 1.20 ERA after appearing in all five games at the UNF Invitational while recording a win and a save.
• She also tallied a career-high 10 strikeouts in weekend opener against Army in a complete-game performance.
• Jackson started the season with 21 straight games reaching base, but it came to an end in their most recent game against Troy.

OPPONENT NOTES

• Central Arkansas enters ASUN play with a 15-7 record, including a 6-3 mark at home. They have played several games against Power Five opponents, including Utah, No. 18 LSU, Iowa, No. 6 Arkansas, Kansas and No. 2 Oklahoma State. Their marquee win was a 2-1 win against the sixth-ranked Razorbacks just over a week ago. The Bears were also picked to finish second in the conference by the league's coaches. Jaylee Engelkes, Tremere Harris, Jenna Wildeman and Mary Kate Brown were all Preseason ASUN All-Conference selections. The top two hitters in non-conference play comes from outside that group with both Kylie Griffin and Madi Young hitting over .300 with 18 hits each. Kayla Beaver and Jordan Johnson completes a solid rotation for UCA, as they each have less than a 1.75 ERA and 167 strikeouts combined.
  • UNF leads the overall series against the Bears, 6-0, with the last meeting being a 3-1 victory at Jacksonville, Fla., in 2023.

UP NEXT

The Ospreys come back home to play in a midweek matchup against in-state opponent, Florida Atlantic, on Wednesday, Mar. 22, starting at 3 p.m., at UNF Softball Complex.

SERIES SCHEDULE

Saturday
North Florida at Central Arkansas - 3 p.m. ET
North Florida at Central Arkansas - 5 p.m. ET

Sunday
North Florida at Central Arkansas - 12 p.m. ET