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Setting the Scene
- SWOSU Baseball (13-18, 9-10 GAC) looks to get over the .500 mark in conference play for the first time this season against Oklahoma Baptist this weekend on the road in Shawnee
- The Dawgs had a small four-game winning streak snapped on Tuesday against USAO after falling to the Drovers 9-2
- Last season, the Bulldogs lost the series to OBU 2-1 after blowing a seventh-inning lead in the final game of the series
- Since SWOSU has been a D2 school, they trail the all-time series against OBU 16-4 dating back to 1998 but are tied with the Bison since Head Coach Zack Saunders took over the program in 2012 with a 3-3 mark
 
The Opponent
Oklahoma Baptist (22-12, 13-8 GAC)
- Oklahoma Baptist is on a seven-game winning streak coming into the contest with a game-three victory over Arkansas Tech, a sweep over Northwestern and three midweek wins in between weekend series
- The Bison rank second in the GAC in batting with a .303 collective team batting average and leads the GAC in pitching with a 3.25 team ERA
- The offense has six hitters batting .300 or better with at least 20 starts to their credit, led by Josh Timms at .358 with eight doubles, three triples, five homeruns and 26 runs batted in
- Jinny Parra has thrown the most innings on the bump for OBU, holding a 5-3 record with 58 strikeouts and a .215 opponents' batting average

The Coaches
SWOSU: Zack Saunders (147-119, 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
 
Oklahoma Baptist: Bobby Cox (1282-600, 6th season)
- Under the tutelage of Lee, four pitchers have gone on to play professionally while two have been drafted. He has also coached three NAIA All-Americans and one Sooner Athletic Conference Player of the Year; all on the SNU pitching staff
- Lee was named Head Coach of Southern Nazarene's baseball program, June 14, 2011 after spending seven years as an assistant coach working with the Crimson Storm's pitching staff
 
Checking the Conference Standings
- Southern Arkansas (19-2), Arkansas Tech (17-4), Arkansas-Monticello (15-6)
- Oklahoma Baptist (13-8), Henderson State (13-8), SWOSU (9-10)
- Southeastern (8-11), Harding (8-13), Ouachita (8-13)
- East Central (8-13), Northwestern (3-18), Southern Nazarene (3-18)

SWOSU Notes
- The Bulldogs are winless in nine games against Oklahoma Baptist in Shawnee dating back to 1998
- On Tuesday, two pitchers had quality outings in Skyler Martin and Lane Moore who combined for 5.1 innings without an earned run
- Martin pitched a season best 4.1 innings, striking out a season-high six while only allowing two hits
- Moore made his first appearance of the season in the ninth, facing five batters but holding USAO scoreless in the frame
- Tuesday's five errors committed by the defense marks the most the Dawgs have had in a single game this season
- In games where the offense tallies more hits than the opponent, SWOSU is 8-1 compared to 5-16 when the opponent out hits the Dawgs
- Danny-David Linahan has quietly collected at least one hit in his last three contests, raising his season average 41 points in that time span

Looking Ahead
- No midweek action scheduled next week, so SWOSU will have to wait until Friday/Saturday April 14-15 when they travel to Arkadelphia, Ark. to face Henderson State in more conference action