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SWOSU at Northwestern Oklahoma State Friday, April 24, 7:00 pm Saturday, April 25, 1:00 pm (DH) Alva, Okla. (Myers Stadium) Live Stats  |  Listen Live SWOSU at Oklahoma Christian Tuesday, April 28, 6:00 pm Oklahoma City (Dobson Field) Live Stats SWOSU Weekly Notes (pdf)

Setting the Scene
- SWOSU Baseball concludes the 2015 season with four road games against in-state foes over the course of the next week
- The Bulldogs wrap up Great American Conference play this weekend with a three-game set at Northwestern Oklahoma State in Alva
- On Tuesday, SWOSU will head to Oklahoma City to face Oklahoma Christian for a single, nine-inning game at 6:00 pm
- SWOSU enters the week on a nine-game slide, looking for their first win since April 3 against Ouachita Baptist
- The Bulldogs are 8-10 on the road this season, with a 4-5 mark in league play, but they've lost four straight road games dating back to a 12-10 win on March 25 at Fort Hays State
 
The Opponents
Northwestern Oklahoma State (19-26, 8-19 GAC)
- Have won two straight games entering the weekend series, but they've been swept by Arkansas Tech and Harding in their last two league series
- They hold an 8-11 record on their home field this season, including three straight wins
- Ranked eighth in the GAC in batting with a team average of .278 with 10 doubles, 24 home runs and 214 runs scored
- Pitching staff ranks ninth in the league with a team ERA of 6.33 while teams are hitting .306 against them in 352.1 innings of action this year
 
Oklahoma Christian (25-16)
- Entering the weekend with a 25-16 record, but they will face Lubbock Christian and Oklahoma Baptist prior to the game against SWOSU on Tuesday
- They have played 31 home games already this season with a 21-10 mark on their home field
- Hitting .284 as a team with 74 doubles, 10 triples, 18 home runs and 180 RBI for a team slugging percentage of .405
- Have used 19 different pitchers to date, with them combining for a 3.49 team ERA in 322.1 innings of work as opponents hit .254 against the Eagles
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Zack Saunders (99-85, 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
- Has a record of 99-85 while leading the Bulldogs, including a 5-1 mark against Northwestern Oklahoma State and an 0-2 record against Oklahoma Christian
 
Northwestern Oklahoma State: Sam Carel (19-26, 1st season)
- First-year head coach for the Rangers after a successful eight-year run as the head coach at Jefferson College, an NJCAA Division I program in Missouri
- Led his teams at Jefferson to eight consecutive conference titles and made back-to-back junior college world series trips in 2011-12
- Has earned 10 Coach of the Year awards in his coaching career
 
Oklahoma Christian: Lonny Cobble (87-57, 3rd season)
- Tabbed as the 13th coach in Oklahoma Christian baseball history in May 2012 to help led the Eagles program in the transition to NCAA Division II
- After going .500 in his first season at the helm, he led the Eagles to a 10-win improvement, finishing 36-15 last season
- Came to OC after 19 seasons at Edmond Santa Fe HS, building his program from scratch and into a Class 6A powerhouse
 
SWOSU Notes
- With two triples on Monday against Harding, Jacob Spring moves into the conference lead in the category with six
- CJ Faddis ranks second in the league with 16 stolen bases in 18 attempts
- Ethan Davis made his first start of the season against Harding on Sunday, lowering his ERA to 3.89 on the year, but he suffered a tough-lock loss and fell to 3-5 on the year
- SWOSU is ranked last in the conference in hitting with a team batting average of .246 for the year
- Junior pitcher Jon Chidester, who was named the Team MVP at the All-Sports Banquet earlier this week, now leads the GAC in ERA (2.51), ranks second in strikeouts (63) and fourth in both innings pitched (75.1) and opponent's batting average (.230)
- SWOSU has turned a league-leading 41 double plays this season, but they've also committed league-high 73 errors and their .954 fielding percentage ranks 10th in the league
- Spring leads the Bulldogs in all of the major power hitting categories, including doubles (10), triples (6), home runs (5) and slugging percentage (.531)
 
Checking the Standings
- SWOSU is holding steady at ninth in the Great American Conference standings heading into their final league series of the season
- The Bulldogs are unable to move up any further in the standings, meaning they will miss the GAC Tournament in Enid next month for the first time since joining the conference
- Northwestern Oklahoma State and Southern Nazarene are both one game behind SWOSU in the standings, meaning the weekend set will be valuable for final standings in the conference