BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Interstat) — The Southwestern Athletic Conference baseball championship begins Wednesday with a stark contrast in fortunes when seed Arkansas-Pine Bluff (22-32) faces seed Bethune-Cookman (37-18) at 1 p.m. at Regions Field.

The Golden Lions limp into the tournament having lost three of their last four, including a 12-6 defeat at Jackson State on Saturday. Bethune-Cookman, meanwhile, enters on a high note after a 12-1 rout of Grambling in its regular-season finale.

The teams met two weeks ago in Daytona Beach, where Bethune-Cookman won two of three games. The Wildcats took the first two games May 1 — a 16-9 slugfest and a 6-4 decision — before Arkansas-Pine Bluff salvaged a 10-6 win on May 2.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff will rely heavily on two-way player Zach Wieder. The right-hander and infielder had a strong outing in last weekend’s loss at Jackson State, pitching three scoreless innings of relief with two strikeouts and no hits allowed. At the plate, Wieder went 2-for-5 in that game and has hit safely in six of his last eight games, including a 2-for-5 effort in the May 2 win at Bethune-Cookman. Over his past seven games, he is 9-for-28 (.321) with two RBIs.

Bethune-Cookman counters with outfielder Darryl Lee, who has been one of the SWAC’s most dangerous hitters. Lee went 3-for-4 with three RBIs in Saturday’s victory over Grambling and posted a 4-for-6, four-RBI game against the Tigers on May 14. He also homered in a loss to Stetson on May 5. In the three-game series against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Lee went 2-for-10, but his overall production — .357 average with 12 homers and 55 RBIs entering the tournament — makes him a constant threat.

For Arkansas-Pine Bluff, the offense has been inconsistent. The Golden Lions scored 15 runs in a win over Southern on April 26 but managed only four runs in a loss to Jackson State a day later. Pitching has been a concern: the staff allowed 12 runs in each of the last two losses to Jackson State.

Bethune-Cookman’s strength is its lineup. The Wildcats have scored at least 12 runs in four of their past six games, including a 23-run outburst against Grambling on May 14. Their pitching, led by Tanner Boccabello (4 IP, 5 H, 1 ER vs. Grambling) and Anthony Anselmo (1 IP, 3 Ks), has been solid but vulnerable — the Wildcats allowed 14 runs to Alabama State on May 10.

The winner moves on in the double-elimination tournament. The loser drops into the consolation bracket.