Preview: Central Arkansas Bears at Vanderbilt Commodores

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Interstat) — Two teams with identical records seeking momentum will meet Tuesday when the Central Arkansas Bears visit the Vanderbilt Commodores at Hawkins Field.

Both teams enter the midweek nonconference matchup at 7-5. Central Arkansas arrives after taking two of three from South Dakota State, capped by a 9-3 win Sunday. Vanderbilt looks to rebound from a 1-2 weekend at Oregon, where it fell 6-4 in the series finale.

A key matchup will feature Central Arkansas right-hander Caide White against Vanderbilt’s lineup. White has been a steady arm for the Bears, allowing two earned runs in each of his last two starts. He threw 4 2/3 innings of relief with four strikeouts in Sunday’s victory.

The Commodores will counter with right-hander Nate Taylor, who seeks consistency. Taylor was dominant against Marist on Feb. 22, tossing four scoreless innings with six strikeouts. However, he struggled with command in his last outing at Oregon on Sunday, walking six batters and allowing six earned runs despite not surrendering a hit over six innings.

Central Arkansas has shown resilience, winning four of its last five games. Vanderbilt has found wins harder to come against power-conference opponents, dropping games to Oregon, Arizona and Oklahoma State this season.

According to Interstat’s game simulator, this contest projects to be a high-scoring affair, with a predicted final of Central Arkansas 7, Vanderbilt 6.

Following Tuesday’s game, Vanderbilt will host Troy on Wednesday before a weekend series with North Dakota State. Central Arkansas continues its road swing with a weekend series at Arkansas-Little Rock starting Friday.

First pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. CDT on Tuesday.