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Setting the Scene
- SWOSU Baseball (4-6, 0-3 GAC) faces off against Central Oklahoma in another mid-week non-conference game, this time in Edmond on Wednesday with first pitch scheduled for 2:00 pm
- The Bulldogs started the season hot by winning their first four games which included a 3-2 victory over UCO back on February 8 in Weatherford, but have now dropped six-consecutive contests coming into the rematch with the Bronchos
- After that 3-2 victory earlier in the season, Head Coach Zack Saunders is now 3-2 all-time against Central Oklahoma dating back to 2012
 
The Opponent
Central Oklahoma (6-1)
- UCO was picked sixth in the MIAA conference coaches poll, out of 13 teams in the league
- The Bronchos only loss so far this season came at the hands of the Bulldogs, a game that was tied in the seventh inning before SWOSU scored another run to take the lead and allow Quintin Dougherty to collect the save
- 1B and OF Jon Kamies was named a 2017 NCBWA Preseason All-American and currently is batting a team leading .476 with 10 hits (2 2B, 1 HR) in eight at-bats and five RBI while LF Korey Floyd leads the team in home runs with three  
- UCO's team ERA is 1.77 through 56.0 innings pitched as a staff  

 The Coaches
SWOSU: Zack Saunders (140-108, 6th season)
- Two-time Great American Conference Coach of the Year, winning the award in 2013 and 2016
- Inducted into the Muskogee Athletic Hall of Fame on October 13, 2016
- Earned his 100th career victory at SWOSU against Northwestern Oklahoma State on April 24, 2015
- 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
 
Central Oklahoma: John Martin (36-23, 2nd season)
- Martin directed the Bronchos to a 30-22 record in his first season and coached two All-Americans in first-team selection Jon Kamies and third-team pick Landon Eason
- Took over the reins in July of 2015 after spending the previous four seasons as head coach at Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College
- Coach Martin spent three of his four playing years at Emporia State, ending his college career by leading the Hornets to the NCAA Division II World Series as a senior and was a 24th round draft pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2006

Checking the Standings
- After the first weekend of GAC play, Oklahoma Baptist, Southern Arkansas and Arkansas Tech all sit atop the standings after sweeping their opponents 3-0
- Henderson State, Harding and East Central all took two out of three against their opponents and all sit with 2-1 league records
- Arkansas-Monticello, Northwestern and Southern Nazarene took one game from the above bulleted teams to salvage their opening series with 1-2 marks
- SWOSU, Southeastern and Ouachita all failed to win a game on opening weekend of GAC competition and sit in last place after week number one

SWOSU Notes
- Following a current six-game losing streak, the Bulldogs are now batting just .235 as a team while the pitchers are posting a 8.44 team ERA collectively
- Offensively, SWOSU only has two hitters batting at or above the .300 mark in Jason Nichols (.429, 10/10 gp-gs) and Rogelio Sanchez (.300, 4/3 gp-gs)
- Sanchez and Rafael Otero now lead the team in power, as both have slugged two home runs so far this season while Joel Baxley and Danny-David Linahan each have one to their credit
- Jeremy Smith is anchoring the pitching staff with a team-best 2.19 ERA in 12.1 innings on the mound and 11 strikeouts
- Quintin Dougherty has earned two saves while appearing in four games for the Dawgs and has a second best 2.25 ERA
- When leading after six innings, SWOSU has proven to hold leads by winning both of their games when falling under that category
- On the contrary, when the Dawgs give up an early lead to opponents they are 0-4 when trailing after the first inning    

Looking Ahead
- The Bulldogs will travel to Searcy, Ark. this weekend to play the second GAC series of the season against Harding starting at 2:00 pm on Friday when they play game one of the three-game series
- On Saturday, SWOSU will play a doubleheader to conclude the series starting at noon