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Setting the Scene
- SWOSU Baseball (1-2) will look to even up their record when they play host to Northeastern State on Wednesday out at the Athletic Complex
- The game was moved from Tuesday to Wednesday due to impending weather concerns with first pitch slated for 2 pm
- The Bulldogs are coming off of an opening series loss to Cameron where they had a chance to earn the series victory but couldn't hold on to a 9-4 lead in the series' final game
 
The Opponent
Northeastern State (1-2)
- Picked to finish 11th in the 2018 MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll after finishing 22-25 overall a year ago which included a 15-20 league slate
- Opened the season against St. Edwards and after winning the series opener 4-1, dropped the final two games by a combined three runs to the Hilltoppers
- The Riverhawks batted just .161 in three games against St. Edwards, but were picked up by the pitchers who combined for a 2.31 team ERA   
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Zack Saunders (155-131, 7th 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
 
Northeastern State: Jake Hendrick (50-50, 3rd season)
- Hendrick served as NSU's pitching coach for two years prior to being elevated to head coach
- During his first term as skipper in 2016, he led the RiverHawks to their fourth-straight trip to the postseason
- Was the pitching coach in 2012-13 at Marion Military Institute, a Division I NJCAA member
- Began his coaching career at Stillwater High School as an assistant from 2009-12   
 
Around the GAC
- Northwestern and Oklahoma Baptist both opened up the 2018 season by sweeping their three-game series
- In their neutral site round robin tournaments, Arkansas Tech and Southern Arkansas both went 3-1 to start the year
- Arkansas-Monticello is the only other team above the .500 mark with a 2-1 series victory     
 
SWOSU Notes
- In the Cameron series, the Bulldog offense batted .275 as a unit with five extra-base hits
- Alex Pimentel led the way with eight hits in 14 at-bats, boasting a .571 average which included a 4-for-5 performance in the final game of the series
- Peyton Maddox notched the first two extra-base hits of his career with a triple and a home run and finished the weekend 2-for-4 with three walks
- Bryan Miranda ranks second on the team in hits with six which included a 3-for-4 day in the final game of the series
- Chase Duncan was the first Bulldog to hit a home run this season when he went yard in the second inning of game number two
- On the mound, Drew Grubb allowed three unearned runs in his start while striking out seven batters in 4.0 innings of work
- Cooper Cantwell and Justin Moreno both pitched a scoreless inning in relief
- In the closer roll, Jesse Lee picked up his first save of the season over the weekend   

Looking Ahead
- SWOSU will face No. 20 Angelo State in a three-game series on the road in San Angelo, Texas on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday with one nine-inning game each day