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SWOSU (4-18, 0-10 GAC) at Northwestern Oklahoma State (12-15, 7-9 GAC) Alva, Okla. (Alva Recreation Complex) Tuesday, March 24, 3:00 pm (DH) Watch Live | Live Stats SWOSU (4-18, 0-10 GAC) at Arkansas Tech (18-6, 9-3 GAC) Russellville, Ark. (Chartwells Women's Sports Complex) Friday, March 27, 4:00 pm (DH) Saturday, March 28, 12:00 pm (DH) Live Stats SWOSU Weekly Notes

Setting the Scene
- SWOSU continues its road trip with six more games against conference opponents. The Bulldogs will first head to Alva, Okla., to face in-state rival Northwestern Oklahoma State on Tuesday starting at 1 pm. On the Friday and Saturday, Southwestern makes the trek to Russellville, Ark., for a four-game series with Arkansas Tech
- The Bulldogs split the series with the Rangers 2-2 last season in Weatherford, including a 10-1 run-rule victory to cap the series
- Southwestern went 1-3 against the Golden Suns last season in Weatherford
- SWOSU finds itself mired in a conference-worst 12-game losing skid headed into a week of tough Great American Conference matchups

The Coaches
SWOSU: Barbara Burnett (4-18, 1st season)
- Burnett returns to her alma mater to lead the Bulldog softball program for the first time this spring
- She has spent the last four seasons among the junior college ranks at Independence Community College in Independnce, Kan. where she left as the all-time winningest coach in program history with a 112 wins
- While at Independence she led the Lady Pirates to back-to-back regional runners-up finishes while breaking numerous program records and ranking nationally in the Top Five in offensive production
- She has coached two National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-Americans, two National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Americans, 16 NJCAA All-Region selections and 13 All-Conference selections

Northwestern Oklahoma State: Ricki Rothbauer (12-15, 1st season)
- Rothbauer assumed the title of head coach for the Rangers, becoming the third head coach in program history
- Prior to her appointment at NWOSU, she spent four seasons at Texas A&M-Kingsville where she picked up 68 wins
- Rothbauer was named to the NFCA Coaching Staff of the Year in 2006
- Has also spent time at North Alabama, and was a U-18 coach for the Louisville Lady Sluggers

Arkansas Tech: Kristina McSweeney (57-50, 3rd season)
- McSweeney returns to the dugout for a third season at the helm of the Golden Suns softball program
- She has helped develop nine All-GAC selections and one All-American
- The Golden Suns have qualified for the GAC Tournament both seasons under McSweeney's instruction, and has spent time in the national Division II polls
- Prior to joining taking over at ATU, McSweeney spent time at Seminole State College and Southridge (Fla.) High School

The Opponents
Northwestern Oklahoma State (12-15, 7-9)
- NWOSU comes into the doubleheader having just dropped all four games in a conference series to Henderson State
- Northwestern is batting a conference-worst .269. Jordan Haya leads the team with a .360 average to go along with a team-best .596 slugging percentage
- NWOSU is one of just two teams yet to break triple digits in runs scored, plating 94 runenrs through 27 games
- The Rangers' pitching staff boasts the third-best ERA in the GAC at 3.87. They are led by the GAC's Week 7 Pitcher of the Week Allora Miller, who has posted a 3.24 ERA

Arkansas Tech (18-6, 9-3 GAC)
- The Golden Suns are currently on a five-game win streak, most recently sweeping Southern Arkansas in a four-game series
- With a .340 batting average, the team ranks second in the category. They also have a conference-best .592 slugging percentage. Amy Halter leads the team with a .417 batting average, while Shanna Davidson holds a GAC-best .875 slugging percentage
- ATU gives up an average of 4.05 earned runs per game, led by Morgan Vaughan who holds a 3.22 ERA
- The Golden Suns lead the GAC with a .970 fielding percentage to go along with a conference-low 20 errors

Last Time Out
- Despite having six games scheduled last week, SWOSU only played two and went 0-2 against Ouachita Baptist. The first game ended in a 3-2 loss before the Bulldogs suffered a 12-4 run-rule defeat
- Ashley Filer hit a three-run bomb over the fence in the second game for her first home run of the season
- Rileigh Ricken and Laura Wilson picked up a loss apiece in the doubleheader

Checking the Standings
- SWOSU (4-18, 0-10 GAC) sits at the bottom of the standings and is still hunting for their first conference victory
- Arkansas-Monticello (16-5, 8-2 GAC) remains in first. HSU (20-6, 11-3 GAC) is second and ATU (18-6, 9-3 GAC) rounds out the top three
- NWOSU (12-15, 7-9 GAC) is currently in seventh place

Bulldog Facts
- The Bulldogs went .247 at the plate against OBU and have batted .313 overall for the season. Maci Brown recorded three hits on four at-bats and leads the conference with a .490 batting average
-  Brown and Adrienne Martinez both rank in the top six in on-base percentage. Brown leads the conference with a .597 OBP, while Martinez reaches base 50 percent of the time
- SWOSU's pitching staff holds a 5.82 ERA. Ricken has a team-low 4.43 ERA in her freshman season
- Ashley Dunigan is a perfect 6-6 on stolen base attempts this season
- Molly Vivo has become the primary relief pitcher for the Bulldogs, appearing in relief a conference-high eight times this season
- SWOSU has faced the second-most steal attempts this season, but have caught a GAC-best 12 runners attempting to steal. Filer has thrown out seven attempts to lead the GAC
- The third inning has proven pivotal to the Bulldogs' season, as they have been outscored 43-14 in that inning

Looking Ahead
- SWOSU heads to Eastern New Mexico on Tuesday, March 31 for a doubleheader starting at 3 pm. They then face Harding in a four-game series on Friday, April 3 and Saturday, April 4 in Weatherford. Friday's first pitch is scheduled for 1 pm