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West Texas A&M (2-2) at SWOSU (2-4) Tuesday, February 10, 2:00 pm Live Stats East Central (4-2, 0-0 GAC) at SWOSU (2-4, 0-0 GAC) Friday, February 13, 2:00 pm Saturday, February 14, 12:00 pm (DH) Live Stats SWOSU Weekly Notes (pdf)

Setting the Scene
- The second full week of the SWOSU Baseball team also boasts the Bulldogs first home games of the 2015 season as the Bulldogs
- SWOSU welcomes West Texas A&M to the Athletic Complex on Tuesday for a single game before hosting East Central on Friday & Saturday for a three-game GAC series
- The Bulldogs finished 2-2 at the QuikTrip Classic over the weekend in Grand Prairie, Texas, and they enter the week 2-4 on the year
- The game against WT on Tuesday will be the culmination of a home-and-home season series, with the Buffs taking two, one-run games from SWOSU on Super Bowl Sunday (6-5 and 4-3)
- East Central is the Bulldogs first opponent in GAC play for the second time in four seasons and SWOSU opens GAC play on their home field for the second straight season
 
The Opponents
West Texas A&M (2-2)
- Enter the week 2-2 with both wins over the Bulldogs and two defeats at the QuikTrip Classic against Arkansas-Monticello (4-3) and #9 Southern Arkansas (4-3)
- Jace Resse leads the team with a .462 batting average, six base hits and five RBI in four games of action
- Batting .213 as a team with six doubles, one triple and one home run while opponents are hitting .242 off WT pitching
- Have used nine pitchers this season with four different pitchers getting a start on the mound, combining for a Team ERA of 3.77
 
East Central (4-2, 0-0 GAC)
- Come into the week with a 4-2 record after winning three of four games against NAIA opponents at the Dallas Christian Tournament
- Also split a doubleheader against Cameron on Opening Day, defeating the Aggies 6-1 before a 7-6 extra-inning defeat in the final game
- Picked to finish in a tie with Ouachita Baptist for sixth in the GAC Preseason Poll
- Leading hitters are Eric Swann, who is batting .400 with two RBI and Bryce McKee who has five hits, one double, one home run and a team-best five RBI
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Zack Saunders (85-62, 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
 
West Texas A&M: Matt Vanderburg (171-135, 7th season)
- Introduced as just the fourth head coach in Buff Baseball history in May of 2008
- Coached five All-Americans at WT and five of his six teams have finished in the Top 20 of NCAA II in team batting average
- Coming off his best season with the Buffs after guiding WT to a school-record 37-21 record and berth in the program's fi rst NCAA Division II South Central Regional
- Has led WT to three 30-win seasons and just missed that mark by one game in 2012
 
East Central: Dino Rosato (86-149, 6th season)
- Named head coach of the Tigers prior to the 2010 season and in his third year produced the first winning season at ECU since 2004
- Has led the Tigers to two winning seasons, with matching 26-23 records in 2012 and 2014
- His teams at ECU have produced eight all-conference members and over 50 academic all-conference honorees
- Previously spent one season as the head coach at Bacone College, leading the Warriors to a 29-20 record in 2009
 
Checking the Standings
- Non-conference play has dominated the Great American Conference in the first two weeks of action, but league play heats up this weekend
- Eight of the GAC teams hoist a record of .500 or better to date, with Henderson State the lone remaining unbeaten team at 4-0
- SWOSU has battled a tough schedule to date and enter the week 2-4, as one of three teams below the break-even mark
 
SWOSU Notes
- Jacob Spring is currently on a six-game hitting streak and he's joined by Dalton Daniels as the only players to reach base in all six games this season
- Christian Perez had his four-game hit streak snapped against Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday but responded with two hits against Ouachita Baptist on Sunday
- Perez and Korbin Polston lead the Bulldogs with three multi-hit games this season while Spring and Haden Houska each have a pair of multi-hit games
- The Bulldogs have used 10 different pitchers this season with four different starting pitchers
- Jon Chidester picked up his first win as a Bulldog on Friday after allowing four hits and one run in 7.0 innings against #21 Texas A&M-Kingsville
- Chidester lowered his ERA to 0.75 through 12.0 innings and two starts
- Cole Wagner made his first start on Sunday and came through in the clutch with hits in both the eighth and ninth innings, including the go-ahead two-run single in the top of the ninth
- Ethan Davis tossed 2.2 innings in relief, allowing one hit and one unearned run to pick up the win in SWOSU's comeback win over Ouachita Baptist
 
Looking Ahead
- SWOSU has back-to-back conference road series upcoming, starting next weekend with a three-game set in Durant against Southeastern Oklahoma State