Media Information
Date: Feb. 26 and 27
Time: 12 p.m. both days
Location: Springfield, Mo.
Field: Meador Park
Live Stats: www.drurypanthers.com

Complete weekly notes

Leading Off
    Washburn (0-0) will open the 2011 season with a three-game series at Drury (3-1). The series starts with a doubleheader at 12 p.m. on Saturday and concludes with a single nine-inning game on Sunday at noon.

The Series
    Washburn and Drury have met six times on the diamond with the Panthers holding a 4-2 edge. The teams split a doubleheader last season in Topeka. The Panthers had won four in-a-row before the Ichabods won the second game last year.

Washburn
    The Ichabods are coming off a 21-23 season in 2010, which saw them finish in a tie for sixth in the MIAA at 18-20, but miss out on the MIAA postsesaon tournament due to a tiebreaker. Six position starters and three starting pitchers return from that ballclub, led by all-MIAA pitcher Raul Guevara, who was 5-3 with a 2.84 ERA in 50.2 innings pitched. All-conference position players Andy Petz and Dane Simoneau also return. Petz hit .363 with nine doubles, two home runs and 34 RBIs, while Simoneau hit .304 with 15 doubles, three home runs and 34 runs batted in.
    Head coach Steve Anson is entering his 32nd year at the helm of the Ichabods and has led the team to 758 wins during that span.

Drury
    The Panthers opened their 2011 campaign last weekend taking three out of four games from Truman State in Springfield.
    Drury was 26-23 a season ago and finished 18-8 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, good enough for second place in the West Division. Drury is the co-favorite to win the GLVC West Division along with Rockhurst in the 2011 Preseason Coaches' Poll.
    The Panthers are led by their five returning seniors, including right-hander Kyle Dyer, who was 5-1 with a 3.07 earned run average and five saves last season. Offensively, DU will be led by R.J. Kneese, who hit .349 with three home runs, 48 RBIs, and had 12 stolen bases.
    Drury, which is located in Springfield, Mo. is led by fifth-year head coach Mark Stratton, who sports a 115-94 career record at Drury.

Worth Noting
• Washburn's first seven games of the 2011 season will be played in the state of Missouri.
• The Ichabods' first 11 games of the 2011 season are against teams hailing from the Show Me State.

Anson 10th on All-time wins list
    Steve Anson has 781 career wins in 32 seasons as a head coach, including 758 career wins in 31 seasons at Washburn. That victory total places him 10th on the all-time NCAA-II list. Anson has the most wins among active MIAA coaches.

Preseason Polls
    Washburn was picked to finish eighth in the MIAA Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Ichabods finished in a tie for sixth place last season and return six starters from last season's squad that finished 21-23 overall and 18-20 in MIAA play. Defending Champion Central Missouri was the unanimous pick to repeat this year.

2011 Season Preview
    The 2011 Washburn Ichabods enter the season with 17 returning letterwinners from a season ago and three players who earned All-MIAA honors.
    Add to that number a group of 15 talented newcomers and the Ichabods  have high hopes of improving on last season's 21-23 record and returning to the postseason for the first time in five years.

The Infielders
    The Ichabods return two All-conference selections and four starters on the infield in 2011.
    The left side of the infield returns intact from last season, shortstop Dane Simoneau earned honorable mention all-MIAA for the second straight year after hitting .304 with a team-high 15 doubles and 34 RBI.
    Brian Gomez returns after starting 39 games at third base. He hit .277 with a pair of home runs and 16 runs batted in last season.
    All-MIAA catcher Andy Petz returns after hitting .363 with nine doubles, a triple and two home runs. He tied Simoneau for the team-lead with 34 RBI.
    First baseman Matt Raabe, catcher Cameron Kasel and third baseman/DH David Wade also return after seeing significant time last season.
    Newcomers who could push for time include Boone Plager, Blake Hageman, Tyler Bean, Alex Mitts and Ben Wilson.

The Outfielders
    Travis Cruz and Blake Boling return to anchor the outfield, which loses second team all-MIAA leftfielder Thomas Holiday.
    Cruz hit .258 last season, while starting 42 games in centerfield. He also stole a team-leading 12 bases. Boling hit .228 with a pair of extra-base hits and drove in 13 runs, while playing in 24 games.
    Newcomers include Tyler Vessey, Marcus Peavler and Wyatt Hall.

The Pitchers
    The Ichabods return three starters from last year's squad, including second team all-MIAA pick Raul Guevara. Guevara led the team with five wins and a 2.84 ERA.
    Brett Ash and Daren Parker also return after starting nine and eight games last season, respectively.
    Relievers Alex Coons, Jeremy Heeke, Xavier Lewis, Mitch List and Drew Mikkelson also return giving Washburn good depth in the bullpen.
    Washburn welcomes five new arms to the pitching ranks that should provide good depth both in the rotation and out of the pen. Out of that group there are four right-handers and one lefty.
    Joey Hinckley, Kerry Schachenmeyer and Tyler Vessey all come to Washburn with junior college experience, while Derek Fogel and Eric Schmid give the Ichabods two arms from the high school ranks.

The Schedule
    Once again the Ichabods will have to navigate the extremely tough MIAA schedule in their bid to make the postseason.
    The season gets underway the weekend of February 26 with three games at Drury. The Ichabods are slated to play their first seven games away from Falley Field.
    MIAA play opens the following weekend with a scheduled trip to Kirksville, Mo. to take on Truman State.
    Southwest Baptist comes to town the following weekend for the first home series of the season.
    Other home dates include MIAA foes Missouri Western, a home-and-home with Fort Hays State, defending conference champion Central Missouri, Northwest Missouri State, Rockhurst, home-and-home with Emporia State and the season wraps up with a four-game series against Pittsburg State.
    Washburn will travel to Nebraska-Omaha, Missouri Southern, MIAA newcomer Lincoln, and a trip to Wichita to take on non-conference foe, Newman.
    The MIAA tournament returns to Community America Ballpark in Kansas City, Kan. for the fourth straight season. The top six teams in the final conference standings will advance to the tournament. Last year, Washburn finished in a tie for sixth, but missed out on the tournament because of tie-breakers.
    If the Ichabods hope to get back to the postseason for the first time since 2006, they'll need to blend the newcomers with the talented returners already in place and navigate an always tough MIAA schedule.