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Setting the Scene
- (5) SWOSU Baseball (18-25, 14-16 GAC) travels to Arkadelphia, Ark. to take on (5) Henderson State for a second time this season, this time for postseason action in a best-of-three series against the Reddies
- In the regular season series between schools, HSU took all three games over the Bulldogs despite all contests being determined by three runs or less including two one-run games
- The Bulldogs enter the Great American Conference Tournament having never won a postseason contest in the six-year existence of the year, despite having an NCAA Regional victory under their belts  
- Since the GAC formed in 2012, the Bulldogs are an even 9-9 against Henderson State      
 
The Opponent
Henderson State (28-19, 20-13 GAC)
- The Reddies come into the tournament as the fourth seed as the final team in the conference with an above .500 record
- Offensively, Henderson finished sixth in the league in hitting with a team batting average of .270 including a league-leading 63 stolen bases on the season
- On the bump, HSU holds the second best team earned run average of 4.14 including a conference-low 124 walks through 399.2 innings
- Five Henderson State players were named to the All-GAC team including the Pitcher of the Year Bryant Haralson


The Coaches
SWOSU: Zack Saunders (152-125, 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
 
Henderson State: Cody Hooten (175-176-1, 7th season)
- In 2015, Hooten and Reddies became the first team from the GAC to advance to the NCAA Division II National Championships after winning the Central Regional in St. Cloud, Minnesota
- He is in his seventh year as Henderson State's head baseball coach after serving three years as an assistant coach for the Reddies
 
The Tournament Field
- (1) Southern Arkansas hosts (8) Ouachita Baptist
- (2) Arkansas Tech hosts (7) Harding
- (3) Arkansas-Monticello hosts (6) Southeastern
- (4) Henderson State hosts (5) SWOSU

SWOSU Notes
- The Bulldogs finished the regular season ranked sixth in pitching and 11th in hitting in the conference
- In the field, the Dawgs ended the year tied for second in fielding percentage with a .970 mark
- Jeremy Smith, a Second Team All-GAC selection, ranks sixth in the conference with a 3.75 ERA with 74 strikeouts through 62.1 innings
- Jason Nichols (.317) and Connor Anderson (.303) ended the season as the only two hitters above the .300 average line
- On the base paths, Rafael Otero led the Bulldogs with 12 stolen bases in 13 attempts
- Joshua Santos has now reached base successfully in seven-consecutive games coming into the postseason, a team best mark
- Ruben Rodriguez compiled a team-best 15 multi-hit games during the regular season and returns to the lineup after battling a foot injury
- Against Henderson State in the regular season, Ted Wisdom batted a series-best .583 in three games after going 7-for-12
- Skyler Martin turned in the best outing against the Reddies, throwing 6.0 strong innings while allowing one run and striking out three out of the bullpen

Looking Ahead
- The winner of the best-of-three series will return to Arkadelphia, Ark. and advance to the final four-team tournament the following weekend, playing the winner of (1) Southern Arkansas and (8) Ouachita Baptist