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Setting the Scene
- SWOSU Softball is back at home this weekend to host Arkansas-Monticello for a four-game Great American Conference series at the Athletic Complex
- The teams will open the series with a 2:00 pm doubleheader on Friday afternoon before returning at 11:00 am on Saturday for a doubleheader to conclude the set
- This is just the second home league series for the Bulldogs, who remain in the hunt for their first home victory of the season
- SWOSU fell to 1-25 on the year after dropping a tough doubleheader at Cameron on Wednesday in Lawton
 
The Opponent
Arkansas-Monticello (4-21, 4-10 GAC)
- UAM sits directly ahead of SWOSU in the standings after splitting their GAC series with Northwestern Oklahoma State last weekend to improve to 4-10 in league play
- The Blossoms feature the lowest team batting average in the conference, hitting .226 for the year with a league-low eight home runs
- UAM's pitching staff has a team ERA of 4.49, which ranks them seventh in the GAC
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Kim Maher (19-58, 2nd season)
- Enters year two of her time at the helm of SWOSU Softball looking to continue the rebuilding process of the program
- 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 (747-443-2, 22nd season)
- All-time wins leader in the state of Arkansas at the collegiate level and UAM's winningest coach in both women's basketball and softball
- Named the 2012 GAC Coach of the Year after leading UAM to the league's inaugural regular season and tournament championships
- Has guided UAM to the NCAA Regional Tournament four times, including a Super Regional and No. 11 national ranking in 2010
 
SWOSU Notes
- The Bulldogs have three players hitting above .300 for the season in Kinsey Skroh (.369), Allyson Gafford (.360) and Hannah Morris (.316)
- SWOSU is hitting .270 as a team, a mark that ranks 10th in the conference, with 160 hits, 30 doubles, two triples and nine home runs
- A first-inning grand slam in Game 1 against Cameron was the team-leading fourth for Sidney Kirk and it gave her the team lead with 13 RBI for the season
- Skroh leads the Bulldogs with six multi-hit games this season and she currently is riding a team-high four-game hit streak
- Struggles for the pitching staff has caused the Dawgs to drop to 12th in the GAC and 278th out of 284 NCAA Division II teams with a Team ERA of 10.19
- Rileigh Ricken leads the Bulldogs with 33 strikeouts and she enters the weekend with an 8.17 ERA in 16 appearances, including 10 starts and six complete games
 
Looking Ahead
- SWOSU returns to action next weekend with a three-game GAC series in Bethany against Southern Nazarene on March 30-31