Setting the Scene
- SWOSU Baseball comes into the final weekend of the regular season with their postseason hopes still unsecured with just one spot remaining in the Great American Conference Tournament bracket
- Five of the possible six teams around the league have punched their tickets to the postseason and SWOSU is next in line to be the final team to qualify for the tournament
- The Dawgs can clinch that final spot themselves (with no help) with at least one win this weekend against rival Northwestern
- Since Zack Saunders has been at the helm of SWOSU Baseball, the Bulldogs are 12-2 against the Rangers
 
The Opponent
Northwestern (22-24, 14-16 GAC)
- The Rangers entered this season with a new head coach and have already tallied the most wins in a season since 2014 when they went an even 25-25
- The Rangers sit in ninth place in the conference standings due to winning percentage, but have to same amount of wins as Southeastern in eighth place and are one game behind Harding in seventh
- Offensively, NWOSU is hitting .279 as a team and have five everyday players in the lineup above the .300 mark
- On the mound, they are led by Walker Wharton who has logged 74.0 innings this year with a 3.65 earned run average and a 6-3 record
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Zack Saunders (175-149, 14th 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
 
NWOSU: Ryan Bowen (22-24, 1st season)
- Enters year one as head coach in Alva after spending five seasons as an assistant at fellow GAC member Southeastern
-  While a part of the Savage Storm coaching staff, Bowen assisted in the team getting to three-straight postseason appearances in 2015, 2016 and 2017

SWOSU Notes
- In 28 conference games, SWOSU has four everyday players batting above the .300 mark including Bryan Miranda (.393, 44 GAC hits) and Alex Pimentel (.377, 40 GAC hits) who continue to rank first and second in the conference in total hits this season
- Brady Burtner is tied for the team lead in conference doubles this season (6) despite starting five less games than Pimentel who he is tied with   
- The Bulldog offense ranks second in the league this season in conference batting average, holding a .313 team average against conference opponents  
- In GAC play, Miranda also leads the league with 16 stolen bases in 19 attempts
- SWOSU pitchers' 5.20 conference ERA puts them fourth in that category
- SWOSU pitchers have also only issued 66 walks in 220.0 innings of conference action this season – a number that ranks them second around the league
- Cooper Cantwell has earned four of SWOSU's 16 GAC wins this season despite holding a 5.93 ERA in 10 conference starts  
 
Looking Ahead
- The GAC Tournament is set to be held in Enid, Oklahoma on May 5-8 (Saturday-Tuesday)