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Setting the Scene
- SWOSU Baseball has a battle with Oklahoma Baptist ahead them in another three-game conference series set to get underway this weekend in Weatherford
- Both teams enter the series tied for fifth in the Great American Conference standings and hold what would be the final two GAC Tournament spots for postseason play
- A series victory over the Bison would help the Bulldogs gain conference standing positioning heading into the final three weekends of the regular season
 
The Opponent
Oklahoma Baptist (20-12, 13-8 GAC)
- The Bison rank second in both batting and pitching in the GAC, hitting .316 as a team at the plate and pitching with a 4.52 team ERA
- Juan Gonzalez leads the league in batting average, hitting .406 in 31 games for OBU
- Zach Fowler has logged the most innings for the Bisons with 53.0, holding a 3.74 ERA and a 5-3 record in nine starts
- Seven of the nine regular hitters in the starting lineup are hitting over the .300 mark  
 
The Coaches
Zack Saunders (173-144, 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
 
OBU: Bobby Cox (1312-603, 34th season)
- Cox is OBU's all-time leader in coaching wins in all sports, having led the Bison baseball team to 1312 wins through 33 seasons at the OBU helm
- He is the only coach to take a Bison baseball team to the NAIA World Series having accomplished the feat in 1989, 1996, 2011, and 2014
- His teams have never had a losing season. He has coached 30 All-Americans, two NAIA Players of the Year, and 22 major league draftees

SWOSU Notes
- The Bulldogs are currently 14-7 in games played at the Athletic Complex this season and will look to improve that record with three more home games against Oklahoma Baptist coming up
- Nine of SWOSU's final 13 games will be played at home to close out the regular season schedule – all of which will be conference contests
- Coming into Friday, Robert Perea and Jason Nichols both have a team leading five-game hitting streak
- Perea, in that span, has upped his season batting average in every game
- Nichols (.313) is one of four SWOSU hitters batting above the .300 mark
- Alex Pimentel and Chase Duncan both homered in the midweek game this week and both now have four home runs on the season – ranking them third on the team in the category
- Tyler Tuck, in his last three starts on the mound, has pitched more innings than his previous first seven appearances out of the bullpen combined
- Tuck has also now allowed just two earned runs in his last two starts (five runs overall)
- Cooper Cantwell got back on track last weekend in his start at Southern Nazarene after he threw a complete game shutout while scattering just three hits
 
Looking Ahead
- The Dawgs will remain at home next week when they host Henderson State on Friday and Saturday (April 13-14)