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Setting the Scene
- SWOSU Baseball (2-0) is coming off of a weekend sweep of Panhandle State on Saturday in the season opener to begin the 2017 season undefeated
- The Bulldogs will now hold their home opener against Central Oklahoma on Wednesday in a single nine-inning game starting at 2:00 out at the Athletic Complex
-  Last season SWOSU and UCO split the season series 1-1, as the Dawgs dropped the first game against the Bronchos 9-7 in Edmond before run-ruling UCO 14-1 in Weatherford later in the season
- UCO leads the all-time Division II series 48-17 against the Dawgs, but the series is tied 2-2 since Head Coach Zack Saunders has been at the helm of SWOSU Baseball dating back to 2012
 
The Opponent
Central Oklahoma (2-0)
- UCO was picked sixth in the MIAA conference coaches poll, out of 13 teams in the league
- The Bronchos started the 2017 season with a double-header sweep over last season's GAC Tournament champion – Arkansas-Monticello
- 1B and OF Jon Kamies was named a 2017 NCBWA Preseason All-American and currently is batting .375 with three hits in eight at-bats and one RBI 

 The Coaches
SWOSU: Zack Saunders (138-102, 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 (32-22, 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

GAC Preseason Poll
Rank. Team, Points (First Place Votes)
1. Oklahoma Baptist, 112 (4)
T2. Arkansas-Monticello, 101 (3)
T2. SWOSU, 101 (2)
4. Southern Arkansas, 96 (3)
5. Henderson State, 82
6. Southeastern, 70
7. Arkansas Tech, 65
8. Harding, 56
9. East Central, 39
10. Northwestern, 30
11. Ouachita, 29
12. Southern Nazarene, 11

SWOSU Notes
- Jason Nichols led the SWOSU offense last Saturday against OPSU, batting .571 with four hits including a three-hit performance in the nightcap where he belted two doubles and drove in two runs
- After being held to only one run on six hits in the season opener, the Bulldog offense exploded for 11 runs on 13 hits in the second game
- In that second game, Joel Baxley, Rogelio Sanchez and Rafael Otero all slugged their first home runs of the year
- The hitters batted .306 as a team through the first two games of the season
- Six SWOSU pitchers saw action on the mound on Saturday, and only one player allowed an earned run in 14 combined innings of work
- Gunnar Cook started the first game, pitching 3.1 innings while striking out four and walking only one
- Brendan Peitsmeyer came in relief for Cook, throwing the final 4.2 innings to collect the first win as a Bulldog after striking out three and allowing just two hits
- Devin Ring started in the nightcap, earning his first victory of 2017 after throwing 3.0 innings of scoreless baseball where he faced one more batter than the minimum before exiting the game
- As a staff, pitchers held the Aggies to a .157 batting average while collectively holding a 0.60 ERA   

Looking Ahead
- SWOSU will host Cameron in a doubleheader on Friday starting at noon and will then travel to Lawton on Sunday to finish up the series with another double header