BENTONVILLE, Ark. – SWOSU Softball makes their first postseason appearance since 2013 on Friday as they take on No. 14-ranked Arkansas Tech in the opening round of the 2019 Great American Conference Tournament in Bentonville. First pitch is set for 12:30 pm and it will be an elimination game as the tournament was delayed for two days forced into a single elimination format due to rain.
 
The Bulldogs enter the GAC Tournament as the No. 7 seed with a record of 20-24 in conference play this season, setting a new record for the most league wins in a season as a member of the GAC. SWOSU is 21-32 overall, marking the program's most wins since 2012 and they will be making their third all-time appearance in the GAC Tournament, where they have an all-time record of 2-4.
 
Third-year head coach Kim Maher has guided the Bulldogs back to the postseason in large part due to an eight-game win streak in April that included a sweep over Oklahoma Baptist and split series against Southern Nazarene and Harding which put SWOSU in position to finish in the top eight of the conference standings. That winning streak allowed SWOSU to finish seventh in the regular season standings and claim the No. 7-seed despite suffering a sweep last weekend at East Central.
 
SWOSU's first opponent will be the only GAC team other than ECU to sweep the Bulldogs in Arkansas Tech. ATU enters tournament play as the No. 14-ranked team in the NFCA Top 25 and they are ranked No. 4 in the last NCAA Central Region rankings. Tech finished second in the GAC standings at 35-7 this season and they are the reigning champions of the GAC Tournament.
 
SWOSU features the eighth-best offense in the conference with a team batting average of .279 and the Dawgs have 44 home runs and 14 triples to their credit along with 260 runs scored. Five different Bulldogs are hitting .300 or better, led by third baseman Amanda Moreno and shortstop Hannah Morris at .356. Moreno leads the Bulldogs with 14 home runs and 16 doubles while Morris has a team-best 63 hits and five triples to her credit. Hannah Franklin (.350), Hannah Owen (.333) and Samantha Householder (.318) are among the other top offensive threats for the Dawgs.
 
Freshman Alisa Friesen has emerged as the Bulldogs best pitcher this season and she enters the postseason with a 4.73 ERA and a record of 12-12, with 11 complete games and one shutout on her record. Friesen has logged 137.2 innings of action and opponents are batting .310 against her. Other top pitching options for the Dawgs include Miranda Grover (4-4; 4.98 ERA) and Kaytlin Donaldson (5-14; 6.14 ERA) while Jessica Carmo and Sidney Kirk have also made appearances in the final two weeks of the season.
 
SWOSU and Arkansas Tech will play the second quarterfinal matchup on Friday, with the winner advancing to face the winner between (3) Harding and (6) Southern Nazarene on Saturday at 1:00 pm. All games in the tournament will stream live on the GAC Sports Network. For complete coverage and additional information, visit the Softball Championship Central page.