Washburn Ichabods Week 11 Game Notes
Record: 23-21 (19-17 MIAA)

Game Notes

at Emporia State Hornets (25-18, 19-15 MIAA)
Emporia, Kan. • Glennen Field

Friday	05/04	at	Emporia State	7 inn.	3:00 p.m.	Live Stats
Friday	05/04	at	Emporia State	9 inn.	5:00 p.m.	Live Stats

vs Emporia State Hornets
Topeka, Kan. • Falley Field

Saturday	05/05	vs	Emporia State	7 inn.	3:00 p.m.	Live Stats
Saturday	05/05	vs	Emporia State	9 inn.	5:00 p.m.	Live Stats

Leading Off
The Ichabods will enter the final week of the regular season looking to lock up a spot in the MIAA tournament as they play four against Emporia State this weekend. With a chance to finish as high as third in the standings, Washburn will play a doubleheader at ESU Friday at 3 p.m. and the two will travel to Topeka Saturday to play a pair at 3 p.m. at Falley Field.

The Ichabods need at least three wins to secure one of the six spots in the MIAA Centennial Baseball Championship. Four wins against the Hornets would give them a chance to jump third-place ESU and fourth-place Fort Hays State. Washburn is tied for fifth with Missouri Southern but holds a tie-breaker over the Lions if they remain tied.

Seventh-place Pittsburg State can still catch Washburn or MSSU. Three Gorilla wins against Central Missouri would force Washburn to need at least two wins to clinch a spot.

Washburn took three of four last weekend at Northwest Missouri State to jump to 23-21 overall and 19-17 in the MIAA. The Hornets lost twice to Central Missouri to fall to 25-18 and 19-15 in the league. The other two scheduled games against the Mules were cancelled due to rain.

Senior Day and Washburn 150 event scheduled for between games Saturday
Washburn will honor its nine seniors Saturday between games with Emporia State and then celebrate its sesquicentennial with various festivities throughout the second game. Former Ichabod outfielder Charlie Lord (1974-77) will throw out the first pitch before the second game and at the start of the second game, 150 Washburn baseball throw-back t-shirts will be given out to fans. Raffle and trivia prizes will also be given out during the second game. The Washburn Alumni Association will be hosting a bar-be-que tailgate and the cost for that is five dollars for non-dues paying members.

Washburn is beginning the celebration of its 150th anniversary. The University was founded in 1865 as Lincoln College and renamed Washburn after Ichabod Washburn pledged a large amount of money in the school's early years. Washburn will officially turn 150 in 2015 and baseball was one of the first sports to form an organized team on campus.

The Series Records
Emporia State leads the all-time series against Washburn 139-60 in a series that goes back to 1949.
The two teams have split their four-game MIAA series between Topeka and Emporia recently and Washburn is 6-4 at home since 2007 and the Hornets have gone 16-0 on their field since 2003. Washburn last won in Emporia in 2002.

Head Coach Steve Anson gets his 800th win at Washburn
Washburn head coach Steve Anson reached a career milestone with his 800th win as the Ichabods coach on April 14 against Lincoln in a 2-1, extra inning victory. He coached his 1500th game at Washburn in the season finale last year and now in 2012, his 33rd season at Washburn, he reached the milestone. Anson, the winningest coach in the MIAA, is 803-738-3 (.517) in 33 seasons at Washburn and 826-760-3 (.521) in 34 seasons overall as a head coach.

Anson entered 2012 with the 10th highest win total among active NCAA Division II coaches with 803. That's the highest among MIAA coaches. Among coaches all-time, he's 27th in career wins.

Last Time Out For Washburn
MARYVILLE, Mo. -- Washburn gave up a six-run seventh inning in the opener at Northwest Missouri but Richard Swan drove in a season-high five runs in the second game to give Washburn a split in their doubleheader Monday at Northwest Missouri. The Bearcats took the first game 9-8 and Washburn held on in the second game for a 7-5 win.

Swan went 3 for 4 in the second game and he produced his five runs with two doubles. He drove in two with a shot to left field in the second and another double in the eighth drove in three more.

Tyler Bean led off the second with a walk and moved to second on a single from Marcus Peavler and then to third on a hit by Blaine Matthews. He then scored on a fielder's choice grounder by Blake Hageman. Peavler and Hageman then scored on Swan's double to give Washburn a 3-0 lead.

Washburn starter Trent Speaker kept the Bearcats hitless until the fourth but a double play by the Washburn infield erased that single. The Bearcats did break through with two runs in the fifth on four hits and then they got one more in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game. Washburn scored in the top of the seventh on a sacrifice fly from Connor Crimmins to put Washburn back on top but the Bearcats tied it again in the bottom of the inning with a run.

Swan's three-run double in the eighth broke the tie and made the difference. Bean singled with one out and then he and Peavler were safe on a Northwest Missouri error. Hageman was later hit by a pitch to lead the bases for Swan.

Richard Mais earned the win (3-0) as he pitched the seventh and the eighth and Brad Alberts pitched the ninth to get his first save of the year.

Washburn led for most of the first game until Northwest Missouri rallied in the seventh and final inning. The Bearcats trailed 8-3 when they started the seventh. With one out, Bean, Washburn's starter in the opener, gave up four hits and hit a batter to let two Northwest Missouri runners in. He was pulled with the bases loaded and reliever Joey Hinckley gave up a grand slam to Jake Kretzer to give the Bearcats the walk-off win.

Bean gave up the first eight runs, all of them earned, off 11 hits. Hinckley was responsible for just the winning run, giving him his first loss of the year (0-1).

The Ichabods led the entire way after scoring in the second and they built a five-run cushion with three runs in the top of the seventh. Alberts doubled Boone Plager in and then David Lammers' single drove in Alberts and Peavler.

The Ichabods opened scoring in the second on RBI singles from Hageman and Connor Crimmins and a sacrifice fly from Swan. After the Bearcats got two in the third, Washburn added two more in the sixth on a sacrifice bunt from Hageman that scored Lammers and then Matthews scored from third when Crimmins grounded into a double play.

Washburn had 11 hits and the Bearcats had 12, getting five of them in the seventh and final inning.  

Ichabods tied for fifth in MIAA with chance to move up
The Ichabods' final standing in the MIAA will be determined by how they do in their four games with Emporia State, a team two games ahead of them in the loss column. Washburn is tied for fifth with Missouri Southern at 19-17 and Emporia State is third at 19-15. Fort Hays State is fourth at 19-16 making four teams in the conference standings tied with 19 wins each. Because of rain-outs, teams will play an uneven amount of games, making winning percentage the deciding factor in the standings.

Washburn took three of four against Missouri Southern earlier and would be seeded higher if the two teams remain tied at the end of the year.

The Ichabods can finish as high as third in the conference and No. 9 Pittsburg State can still catch Washburn and MSSU and knock them out of contention for one of the eight spots in the MIAA tournament.

The MIAA Centennial Baseball Championship will take place May 10-13 at CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas City, Kan. The top two teams will get a bye and Nos. 3 through 6 will play one-game play-ins according to seed May 10 to advance to the four-team, double-elimination tournament the rest of the weekend.

Washburn looking for highest MIAA finish since 2001
The Ichabods can climb as high as third in the MIAA standings as the regular season wraps up this weekend. Washburn last finished that high in 2001 and finished fourth in 2006.

Since joining the MIAA in 1990, Washburn has finished as high as first in the North Division when the conference was divided into two divisions. A second-place finish in 2000 was the highest since dropping the divisional formation in 1997.

Ash throwing strong in junior year as Ichabods top starter
Junior pitcher Brett Ash has been Washburn's starter in game one of every four-game series this year but one. He's 5-4 overall with two shutouts and eight complete games in nine starts. His complete game total is tied for second in the nation. He has a 3.23 ERA and has allowed 23 earned runs off 66 hits in 64 innings. He's struck out 54 while walking just 15.

Ash had gone 4-1 in four straight starts with a 1.50 ERA before facing Central Missouri on April 21. He had struck out 33 and walked just three in those five starts. He was named the MIAA pitcher of the week after he threw a shutout March 16 at Truman. He gave up six hits with eight strikeouts in the nine-inning game.

Ash bounced back after the UCM loss by winning game one at Northwest Missouri State on April 28. He threw all seven innings in Washburn's 6-5 win and gave up two earned runs off nine hits.

Calhoun stays right at .400, in contention for MIAA batting title
Senior John Calhoun will enter the final weekend of the regular season batting .400, fifth best in the MIAA. Central Missouri's Ben Cox leads the conference with a .411 average. Calhoun is third in the league with a .671 slugging percentage and eighth with a .470 on-base percentage. He's tied for the MIAA lead with 68 hits and 17 doubles and he's in the top 10 in runs scored, RBI, home runs and total bases.

Calhoun leads Washburn with 23 multi-hit games and he's tied for the team lead with nine multi-RBI games. He also had a team-high 12-game hitting streak that started the second game of the year and saw his average climb as high as .533 and end at .490.

Journeyman Calhoun makes Washburn last stop on 4-team college career
Kansas City, Mo., native John Calhoun graduated from Rockhurst High School in 2008 and went on the play a year at Central Missouri in 2009. He then went to Johnson County CC and then on to Cleveland State last year as a junior. Cleveland State dropped its baseball program and he transferred to Washburn this year to play his senior year.

Calhoun batted .219 with 16 hits in 73 at-bats as a freshman at UCM. He had 12 RBI and a home run. He hit .368 with seven homers at JCCC and then hit .254 at Cleveland State and finished third in the Horizon League with 20 stolen bases.

Ichabods showing power at the plate
Washburn has 32 home runs through 44 games this year. Last year the Ichabods hit 24 homers in 50 games. Washburn has a .453 slugging percentage this year after slugging .375 last year.

John Calhoun leads Washburn with nine home runs. He's slugging .671 on the year. Tyler Bean is second with seven home runs and Brad Alberts is second with a .581 slugging percentage.

Calhoun and Ichabods running wild on the base path
When John Calhoun isn't driving himself in with home runs, he's getting on base and then putting himself into scoring position with stolen bases. He has 21 steals this year and has been caught stealing five times. He has three games this year with two steals. He's second in the MIAA in steals and steal attempts. He already has the most steals as an Ichabod since Kyle Peter stole 27 in 2007.

As a team, Washburn is 61 of 76 stealing bases. The Ichabods have stolen safely in 24 of their last 28 attempts dating back to their series at Missouri Western starting March 31. Blaine Matthews, Marcus Peavler and Boone Plager are a combined 20 of 22 on the base paths.

Washburn catcher Richard Swan has thrown out 17 would-be base stealers in 46 stolen base attempts and the Washburn catchers are allowing opponents just 66 percent success on the base paths while Washburn is 80 percent on the bags.

Ichabods picked sixth in MIAA preseason poll
The Ichabods were picked to finish sixth in the MIAA preseason coaches poll released Thursday by the conference office. Washburn finished sixth in last year's conference standings to earn a trip to the postseason tournament.

The Ichabods went 22-28 last year and 20-23 in the conference. Central Missouri and Emporia State shared the MIAA regular season title with 37-7 records and UCM was picked first this year with 99 points and nine first-place votes. ESU got two first-place votes and 92 points. The Ichabods earned 56 points and trailed No. 5 Missouri Southern (63 points), No. 4 Fort Hays State (73 points) and No. 3 Missouri Western (74 points).

About the Emporia State Hornets
Emporia State is 25-18 overall and third in the MIAA at 19-15. The Hornets lost both games in their series with Central Missouri last weekend and rain cancelled the remaining two games. The Hornets are 15-12 at home this year. Eric Dawson leads the team with a .399 batting average while Joe Kornburst is right behind him with a .377 mark. Joe Vaskas is hitting .374 with a team-high nine home runs and 46 RBI. Derek Brooks leads the pitching staff with a 3.88 among the starters and Brandon Faulkner leads with seven wins.

Season Flashbacks: Don't Forget...
Done in a jiffy: The Ichabods set a school record since single-game statistics were first archived in 1999 by playing a 57-minute game April 6 against Missouri Southern. WU starter Brett Ash threw 58 pitches and gave up three hits and no walks in the 3-0 win. MSSU starter Cody Griebling threw 58 pitches in the loss. Both threw complete games. There were three double plays and only three runners left on base between the two teams.
Ichabods get first four-game sweep since 2009: The Ichabods took all four games March 24-25 against Southwest Baptist for their first four-game sweep since 2009. The Ichabods also went on a six-game winning streak and it was their biggest streak since winning seven straight in 2006. Washburn's last four-game sweep was March 20 and 21 at home against Northwest Missouri.
Schachenmeyer earns MIAA pitcher of the week honor: Washburn senior pitcher Kerry Schachenmeyer was named the MIAA pitcher of the week after throwing a shutout March 24 against SBU. Schachenmeyer shared the pitching award with Fort Hays State's Shawn Lewick. Schachenmeyer pitched a com­plete-game shutout as Washburn won 11-0 against Southwest Baptist as part of a four-game sweep. He allowed just three hits and struck out four. In the fourth inning, he allowed a single and then walked two to load the bases. He got the next batter to fly out to end the inning and leave all three on base. He allowed just one batter the final three innings with a hit-by-pitch.
Shutout leads Ash to MIAA pitcher of the week honor: Junior pitcher Brett Ash threw a complete game shutout March 16 in Washburn's series opener at Truman to earn him MIAA pitcher of the week honor. Ash went nine innings against the Bulldogs and allowed six hits and a walk while striking out eight. He pitched out of a two-hit inning in the second and then in the fourth he allowed the bases to get loaded and got out of the inning with a strikeout. He pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to earn the complete game and shutout.
Ichabods update record books with offensive explosion: The Ichabods scored 17 runs and had 21 hits March 12 in the third game of their series at Pittsburg State. Since single-game records were kept in 1999, that's the sixth-highest hit total and the second-highest in an MIAA game. The Ichabods had 24 hits at Southwest Baptist on April 14, 2000. The six home runs Washburn hit was tied for the highest in school history. Washburn also hit six homers at SBU on April 14, 2006. John Calhoun had six hits, tied for the second most in school history. He and Richard Swan became the first pair of Ichabods to each hit two homers in the same game since single-game records were kept in 1999.

Up Next For The Ichabods
The Ichabods will look to lock up a spot in the MIAA Centennial Baseball Championship and play a first round game on Thursday, May 10. They would then play one of two teams with a first round bye. Central Missouri locked up the No. 1 spot and either Missouri Western or Emporia State will get the No. 2 spot.