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#4 Southern Arkansas (21-3, 11-1 GAC) at SWOSU (10-10, 4-6 GAC) Friday, March 17, 1:00 pm (DH) Saturday, March 18, 11:00 am (DH) Weatherford, Okla. (SWOSU Athletic Complex) Stats  |  Video

Setting the Scene
- SWOSU Softball faces their stiffest test of the 2017 season this weekend as they welcome the No. 4-ranked Southern Arkansas Muleriders to the Athletic Complex for a four-game Great American Conference series in Weatherford
- The teams will open their series on Friday with a doubleheader at 1:00 pm before concluding play on Saturday with another doubleheader, this one set for 11:00 am
- SAU is ranked No. 4 in the NFCA Top 25 this week, dropping down from their No. 2 ranking last week but remaining in the top-five for the fifth consecutive week
- SWOSU has a 1-3 record against ranked teams this season with a 5-4 victory over No. 23 Harding on February 24th to their credit and the Dawgs remain the only GAC team to defeat the Lady Bisons this season
 
The Opponents
Southern Arkansas (21-3, 11-1 GAC)
- The reigning Central Region Champions, SAU has picked up right where they left off with a 21-3 record that includes 11 victories by run-rule this season
- Lady Muleriders are second in the nation in runs per game at 9.41 and their team batting average of .354 and 51 home runs are far and away the top marks in the Great American Conference
- SAU also has the second-best pitching staff in the conference with a 2.29 ERA and 80 runs allowed (51 earned) in 156.0 innings of action
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Kim Maher (10-10, 1st season)
- Named the fourth head coach in SWOSU Softball history on June 2, 2016, bringing with her a wealth of experience from the collegiate, professional and international levels of softball
- Spent eight seasons as the head coach at Purdue University, leading the Boilermakers to 240 victories and two NCAA Tournament appearances from 2006-13
- Previously coached at California-Berkeley as an assistant coach from 2000-05 following a playing career with USA Softball and the Women's Professional Softball League (WPSL)
 
Southern Arkansas: Jason Anderson (100-38, 3rd season)
- Now in his third season as the head coach at SAU, Anderson has helped the Lady Mulerider softball program reach new heights in his short time at the school
- Guided the Lady Muleriders to their best season in program history with 53 wins and an NCAA Division II Women's College World Series appearance in 2016
- Recorded his 400th career victory earlier this season in a 10-year career that included stops at Central Baptist, North Alabama and Northwestern Oklahoma State before SAU
 
Checking the Standings
- Harding and Southern Arkansas sit atop the standings with matching records of 11-1 in their first three conference series
- Arkansas-Monticello and Arkansas Tech are the only other teams currently above .500 while Southeastern Oklahoma State is right at .500 with a 5-5 mark
- SWOSU currently sits eighth in the league standings with a 4-6 league record
 
SWOSU Notes
- SWOSU comes into the weekend on a three-game winning streak after winning their final game of the East Central series before a doubleheader sweep of Southeastern Oklahoma State last weekend
- The Bulldogs and Savage Storm were rained out on Saturday, but SWOSU earned their first doubleheader sweep of Southeastern since 2004 on Friday afternoon
- Abigail Schade led the Bulldogs against Southeastern, going 5-of-6 at the plate with three RBI and three runs scored in the two games
- Schade now leads the team with a .410 batting average and she's one of three Bulldogs ranked among the top ten hitters in the GAC with Paige Bowler and Miranda McDonald both also hitting .400 for the year
- Tori Hawk is batting .356 with a team-leading four home runs and 17 runs scored and she's ranked second in the GAC with 11 stolen bases in 12 attempts
- Miranda Grover picked up her fifth victory in the circle after throwing a complete-game and allowing 10 hits and three runs to Southeastern last weekend
- Taya Haney pitched a complete game in SWOSU's opener against Southeastern, allowing eight hits and three runs with five strikeouts to improve to 3-3 on the year
 
Looking Ahead
- SWOSU will play their next 10 games on the road, starting next weekend with a four-game series at Arkansas-Monticello
- The following weekend, the Bulldogs are at Southern Nazarene before a midweek doubleheader on April 4 at Northwestern Oklahoma State in Alva