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TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn Ichabods split an MIAA doubleheader with Pittsburg State on Saturday afternoon at Falley Field. The Ichabods won the opener 3-2 in 11 innings before falling 9-3 in the nightcap. The series concludes Sunday at noon with Washburn's seniors being honored between games.

The Gorillas (18-30, 14-29 MIAA) jumped in front 2-0 in the fifth inning of game one. A pair of RBI singles were aided by a Washburn throwing error to give Pitt State a two-run lead.

Washburn (22-25, 20-21 MIAA) tied the game in the bottom of the sixth to force extra innings. Dane Simoneau drove in Marcus Peavler with a double and later scored on a Tyler Bean double to left center.

The game remained scoreless until the 11th when Travis Cruz led off and scored the winning run on a wild finish. Cruz roped one down the left field line for a triple, the relay throw got away from the Gorillas and when the catcher fell trying to run down the loose ball Cruz trotted home with the winning run.

Brett Ash (7-4) tossed a complete-game throwing just 119 pitches over the 11 innings. He allowed two runs, one earned, on six hits while tying his career-high with nine K's. The 11 innings pitched are the most by a Washburn pitcher in records dating back through 1999.

Caleb Gress (1-4) took the loss for Pitt State after allowing the one run on two hits in one inning of relief. PSU starter Alex Schell tossed nine innings allowing two runs on eight hits with 10 strikeouts.

The second game was all Pittsburg State as the Gorillas scored two runs in the first and three in the second to take a 5-0 lead. They were aided by three Washburn errors in the two innings.

The Ichabods got one run back in the fourth when Travis Cruz drove in Dane Simoneau, but the Gorillas responded with two more in the fifth, one in the sixth and one in the seventh. Washburn did get a single run in the fifth on a Simoneau RBI single and one in the seventh on a Tyler Bean RBI single, but it wasn't enough.

Derek Fogel (5-5) took the loss after giving up seven runs, only three earned, on five hits in five innings. He walked four and fanned two.

Tyler Link (2-2) got the win for Pitt State tossing 4.1 innings giving up two runs on six hits. Ryan Bartling allowed just one run on two hits in 2.2 innings of relief.

Washburn enters the final doubleheader of the regular season with a one game lead over Missouri Southern for the sixth and final spot in the MIAA postseason tournament. To secure the sixth seed the Ichabods need to win one game against PSU on Sunday or have Missouri Southern lose to Fort Hays State.