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Setting the Scene
- SWOSU Softball (10-14, 4-10 GAC) makes the long trip to Monticello, Arkansas to take on the Cotton Blossoms in a four-game conference series
- Due to weather concerns, the series was pushed back a day to Saturday and Sunday, with the same start times as usually scheduled
- The Dawgs are coming off a winless weekend against No. 4 Southern Arkansas, but played the Muleriders tight all weekend including two one-run losses
- Last season, SWOSU split with UAM 2-2 by winning games two and four 4-3 and 9-1 and losing games one and three 3-1 and 7-5
 
The Opponent
Arkansas-Monticello (16-10, 9-5 GAC)
- The Cotton Blossoms come into the series ranked fourth in the GAC standings with a 9-5 league mark
- UAM currently is the second-best defensive team in the conference with a .979 fielding percentage, having committed only 15 errors through 26 games
- Offensively, McKenzie Rice leads the lineup with a .337 average and six doubles, two triples, five homeruns and 13 RBIs
- In the circle, Kendra Coleman is 10-3 on the season with a 1.54 ERA in 87.2 innings of work  

 The Coaches
SWOSU: Kim Maher (10-14, 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)
 
Arkansas-Monticello: Alvy Early (598-291-2, 1997-present)
- Throughout his 16-year career at the helm of the UAM softball program, Early has coached 61 all-conference selections, 20 All-South Region selections, 10  All-America selections, six GSC or GAC Freshmen of the Year selections, six GSC or GAC Players of the Year, four GSC or GAC Pitchers of the Year selection and 43 All-Academic selections
- Early coached the UAM women's basketball team for 21 seasons, guiding the Cotton Blossoms to 425 wins, 211 losses, 18 winning seasons, 11 seasons with at least 20 victories, and a runner-up finish in the 1990 NAIA national championship tournament

Checking the Conference Standings
- Harding and Southern Arkansas are tied for the best record in the league with 15-1 slates
- Arkansas Tech sits in third at 12-4 followed by Monticello in fourth with their 9-5 record
- Both East Central and Henderson State are .500 holding 8-8 marks tied for fifth
- Southeastern is currently 6-8 followed by Ouachita and Northwestern at 5-11
- SWOSU is two spots out of 'would be' playoff contention at 4-10 with plenty of softball left to be played
- Rounding out the standings: Southern Nazarene (4-12) and Oklahoma Baptist (1-13)

SWOSU Notes
- The Dawgs have seven players batting above .300 led by Miranda McDonald at .371 with nine runs scored
- Taya Haney performed well both in the circle and at the plate last series against SAU, pitching 12.1 innings including a complete game one-run performance while also collecting at least one hit in all four games on the weekend
- As a team on the year, SWOSU has scored its most runs in the seventh inning (19), but conceded its most runs in the fourth inning (31)
- Tori Hawk leads the team with four homeruns, but has not hit one since the final game of the East Central series back on March 4
- When leading after four innings, the Bulldogs hold a perfect 6-0 record, but are just 2-13 when trailing after that fourth inning mark

Looking Ahead
- The Bulldogs will travel down the highway to Bethany to take on Southern Nazarene next Friday and Saturday in another four-game GAC series