Complete game notes (pdf)
Leading Off...
The Ichabods have had eight games canceled due to snow including five MIAA games that cannot be made up. The game against Rockhurst is a makeup game of one of three postponed with RU.
Washburn leads the MIAA with 11 triples but is last with two home runs.
Washburn broke a five-game losing streak with a win Monday at Emporia State.
Head coach Steve Anson just coached his 1,600th career game on February 19 at Fort Hays State. He's gone 834-774-3 in 35 seasons with 34 at Washburn and one at Wayne State (Neb.).
Rockhurst leads the all-time series with Washburn 33-30 after sweeping the two games last year. The two have played at least once every year since 1999.
Central Missouri leads Washburn 72-19 in the all-time series after a four-game sweep last year. The Mules have won seven straight in the series and has won the season series every year since 1999.
Riley Price leads the Ichabods batting .429 (18 of 42) with 12 RBI this year.
Dakota Kell is batting .365 (13 of 33) with 12 RBI and six doubles.
Despite going just 1-4 last week, WU put up some big offensive numbers. They averaged 7.6 runs a game. Kell drove in 8 & Crimmins and Price each drove in 7. Crimmins & Kell each slugged .684.
Defensively, Washburn allowed 12.2 runs a game last week.
Washburn's four wins have been spread between four pitchers.
Drew Ridley leads the starters with a 4.67 ERA and he's struck out 13 in 17 1/3 innings.
Mark Biesma leads with 17 K in 13 1/3 innings.
Makeup game with Rockhurst and trip to No. 3 UCM fill out Washburn's week
The Ichabods started the week Monday by breaking a five-game losing streak with a win at Emporia State. They'll finish the week by hosting Rockhurst with a 4 p.m. game Wednesday at Falley Field and then with a three-game series at Central Missouri. Saturday they'll play the No. 3 Mules at 2 p.m. in a doubleheader and Sunday they'll play a single game at 1 p.m.
The Rockhurst game moved from a 5 p.m. start to a 4 p.m. start Wednesday to avoid potential wet weather.
Washburn (4-11, 4-11 MIAA) won 6-4 on Monday against ESU but the Hornets took two from Washburn Saturday in Topeka. The Ichabods also suffered a doubleheader sweep Thursday against Missouri Western.
The Hawks are 6-5 after splitting a four-game series with Southern Indiana over the weekend. Central Missouri is 13-2 (10-1 MIAA) after taking three of four against Nebraska-Kearney.
Washburn averaged 7.6 runs in its five games last week and batted .324 but allowed 12.2 runs a game last week with a .384 batting average.
Keeping up with the changes
The Ichabods have had eight games canceled this year due to snow and at one point went 15 days without being able to play. One game from the Rockhurst series has been rescheduled for Wednesday Falley Field. The other two games in that original series may be made up if an open date can be found. The MIAA games against Lincoln and Nebraska-Kearney cannot be made up due to MIAA rules.
Head Coach Steve Anson beginning his 34th season at Washburn
Washburn head coach Steve Anson reached a career milestone with his 800th win as the Ichabods coach last year and he's in his 34th season at Washburn with an 811-752-3 (.519) record.
Anson, the winningest coach in the MIAA, is 834-774-3 (.519) in 35 seasons overall as a head coach after coaching the 1979 season at Wayne State (Neb.) and then starting at Washburn in 1980.
He was born in Mishawaka, Indiana, and is a 1976 graduate of Kansas State where he still holds the Wildcats' career record with 19 triples.
Alberts named to NCBWA preseason all-region team
Senior first baseman
Brad Alberts was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association preseason all-Central Region second team announced in the preseason.
Alberts earned second team all-MIAA last year as he finished second on the team hitting .377 and was third with eight home runs. He finished with 41 RBI, 16 doubles and 37 hits, all second best on the team. He will be Washburn's leading returner in all of those categories.
Alberts is currently batting .278 with 10 RBI and four runs scored.
Last time out
TOPEKA, Kan. –
Connor Crimmins drove in Washburn's first two runs and finished with four RBI as the Ichabods defeated Emporia State 6-4 Monday afternoon to complete the three-game series.
Crimmins' RBI double in the eighth inning ended up being the difference as it put Washburn up 5-2. The Hornets scored twice in the bottom of the eighth to get within one and then Washburn added an insurance run in the ninth.
Mark Biesma improved to 1-1 with the win as he went seven innings and allowed two runs off six hits. He struck out six and walked two.
AJ Green got all three outs in the eighth and pitched the ninth to pick up his first save.
Riley Price and
Brad Alberts put together two-out singles in the first inning and then Crimmins drove them in with a double.
No one scored again until the sixth inning. Crimmins had an RBI triple that drove in
Dakota Kell in the top of the sixth and then the Hornets added two runs in the bottom of the sixth as Washburn had three errors.
Biesma worked a scoreless seventh and then Green entered with no outs and the bases loaded in the eighth. He retired three straight, giving up just a sacrifice fly to score one.
Taylor Herrington led off the ninth with a double and scored on a groundout from Price to put Washburn back up by two.
Crimmins batted 3 for 4 at the plate and was a home run short of hitting for the cycle. Kell had two hits and scored twice. Overall, Washburn had 11 hits while the Hornets had six.
Ichabods return three all-MIAA selections from last year
Senior pitcher
Brett Ash and senior first baseman
Brad Alberts earned all-MIAA second team honors last year and sophomore catcher
Richard Swan earned honorable mention.
Ash went 7-4 last year with a 2.81 ERA. He tied for the NCAA Division II lead with 10 complete games. Alberts was second on the team batting .377. Swan batted .243 and he threw out 18 would-be base stealers.
Washburn lost all-MIAA first-teamer and All-American
John Calhoun, who batted .398 with 43 RBI. The Ichabods also lose second-teamer
Tyler Bean and honorable mention players
Kerry Schachenmeyer and
Marcus Peavler.
MIAA coaches pick Ichabods seventh in preseason poll
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Ichabods were picked seventh in the MIAA preseason baseball coaches poll released January 23.
Washburn went 27-24 overall last year and finished fourth in the MIAA at 22-18. The Ichabods advanced to their second straight MIAA tournament as the No. 4 seed and won a first round game before falling twice on the second day.
The Ichabods totaled 118 points in the voting, 10 points above No. 8 Lindenwood, one of four MIAA newcomers. Missouri Southern was sixth with 135 points. Three-time defending champion Central Missouri was the unanimous choice at No. 1, followed by Missouri Western at No. 2, Emporia State at No. 3, Central Oklahoma at No. 4 and Fort Hays State at No. 5.
With the addition of four new schools (LWU, UCO, No. 9 Northeastern State and No. 10 Nebraska-Kearney) pushing MIAA baseball to a 15-team sport, the conference tournament will expand to an eight-team event. The top four teams will host Nos. 5 through 8 in an on-campus, best of three round and then the tournament will shift to a neutral site for the final four teams.
Coming Up Next
Washburn will play five home games next week with a doubleheader against Nebraska-Kearney on Tuesday and a three-game series with Northeastern State on Friday and Saturday.
Those will be the first games against the RiverHawks since 2003 and the two have played just six times.
