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SWOSU (4-9, 2-4 GAC) at Southern Arkansas (11-5, 3-0 GAC) Friday, February 27, 2:00 pm Saturday, February 28, 12:00 pm (DH) Magnolia, Ark. (Walker Stadium) Live Stats  |  Watch Live SWOSU Weekly Notes (pdf)

Setting the Scene
- SWOSU Baseball is coming off a 2-1 series win over Southeastern Oklahoma State and the Bulldogs are back on the road this weekend to face Southern Arkansas
- The Bulldogs improved to 4-9 on the year and 2-4 in Great American Conference play with the series win at Southeastern
- Southern Arkansas enters the weekend 11-5 and a perfect 3-0 in league play after a decisive three-game sweep of Southern Nazarene last weekend
- SAU is receiving votes in the latest NCBWA Top 25 poll and they're ranked fourth in the latest NCBWA Central Regional poll
 
The Opponents
Southern Arkansas (11-5, 3-0 GAC)
- Enter this weekend's series on a five-game winning streak after the sweep of SNU and a pair of wins against Lincoln (Mo.)
- Split a doubleheader against No. 22 Central Missouri and also own a 4-3 victory over then-ranked West Texas A&M in extra innings
- Lead the GAC with 18 home runs in 16 games, twice as many HRs as every other team in the league
- Hitting .284 as a team to rank fourth in the GAC with a league-high 149 hits, 32 doubles, seven triples and 108 runs scored
- Ranked second in the league in pitching with a team ERA of 2.27 and an opposing batting average of .229 in 139 innings of action this season
- Chase Harvey leads the GAC with 23 hits while Trevor Rucker and Jon Phillips are both in the top five with 19
- Have four of the top-five ranked players for runs scored, led by Billy Germaine with 16
- Pitchers Hunter Mayo and Preston Gray are both tied for the league-lead with three wins apiece
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Zack Saunders (87-67, 4th season)
- In his fourth season leading the Bulldogs and his teams have earned a berth in the Great American Conference Tournament in each of the previous three seasons
- Has tutored 14 players who have earned All-GAC status, including four first-team selections, one All-Central Region honoree, one regional gold glove award winner and one MLB draftee
- Named GAC Coach of the Year in 2013 after leading the Bulldogs to a 31-16 record and a second place finish in the conference at 21-9
- Previously served as an assistant at SWOSU for six seasons under former Bulldog coaches Charles Teasley and Scott Selby
- Played collegiately at Kansas State following two seasons at Connors State playing on nationally-ranked junior college teams
 
Southern Arkansas: Steve Browning (165-74, 5th season)
- In his fifth season as the head baseball coach at Southern Arkansas and his third while also serving as the school's Director of Athletics
- A former SAU player, he has been a part of the Mulerider baseball program since 1998
- Has led the Muleriders to a conference regular season or tournament championship and a trip to the regional tournament in each of his seasons at the helm
- Coached 18 first-team all-conference players, three All-American selections and three MLB draftees
 
Checking the Standings
- SWOSU ascended into a tie with Southern Nazarene for sixth in the standings with two wins last weekend
- The Bulldogs remain one game behind Southeastern for fifth and two games back of Henderson State, who is currently in fourth
- East Central, Ouachita Baptist and Southern Arkansas all remain unblemished in league play while four teams sit at the bottom of the standings with just one conference victory each
 
SWOSU Notes
- Christian Perez leads the Bulldogs and ranks seventh in the GAC with 17 hits (1.3/game) so far this season, good for a .333 batting average, which ranks second on the team
- Perez also has a team-high six multi-hit games this season, twice as many as anybody else on the team, and he's currently in the midst of a three-game hit streak
- Jon Chidester picked up his second win of the season in Game 1 of the Southeastern series, allowing just three hits while striking out four in 7.2 innings of the 11-3 victory
- Taylor Weifenbach got the win in the rubber match at Southeastern, relieving Austin Hannum and going 4.2 innings while giving up three hits and one run
- Bryan Holt and CJ Faddis have both reached base in eight straight games, the longest such streak by a Bulldog this season
- Holt ranks third on the team with a .321 batting average with two doubles, seven RBI and four RBI
- Faddis is hitting .289 with 11 hits and he is currently tied for the GAC lead with six stolen bases in six attempts
- The Bulldogs rank seventh in the GAC in batting with a .261 average but they're fourth in runs scored with 67
- SWOSU's pitching also ranks seventh in the conference with a team ERA of 4.63
- Ethan Davis is anchoring the Bulldogs bullpen with a 1-0 record and he earned his first save at Southeastern to go along with a 1.17 ERA
- Cole Wagner is hitting a team-leading .391 with nine hits, one double and six RBI
- Korbin Polston has started all 13 games for the Bulldogs and he's batting .250 with 12 hits, a team-high five doubles and seven RBI, tied with Holt and Haden Houska for the team lead
- SWOSU ranks 10th in the GAC with a .941 fielding percentage, but the Bulldogs have the second-most stolen bases in the conference with 13 in 17 attempts
 
Looking Ahead
- After a midweek game next Tuesday at Science & Arts, the Bulldogs return home next weekend for a GAC series against Arkansas-Monticello