Warm ups . . . 

The Washburn Lady Blues will continue their 12-date, 24-game roadtrip this weekend when they will face Missouri Western on April 19 and Northwest Missouri on April 20. The Lady Blues are looking to snap a seven-game losing streak. Washburn is coming off a pair of one-run losses at Northwestern Oklahoma State in non-conference action on Tuesday.

Know the foes . . . 

• The Griffons are 29-11 and 13-5 in the MIAA and fell out of the top 25 this past week of the national poll.

• The Griffons have won five of their last six games entering Friday's game with the Lady Blues.

• The Lady Blues lead the all-time series with the Griffons 44-38, but have lost the last four meetings overall.

• Washburn's last win over the Griffons was on April 1, 2011 in a 4-2 win.

• The Bearcats are 22-12 and 10-8 in the MIAA entering a Friday doubleheader with Emporia State.

• The Lady Blues lead the series with the Bearcats 49-28.

• The two teams split an MIAA doubleheader last season in Maryville.

Blue Notes . . . 

• #3 Kristen Bell -- Started all 70 career games she has played in.

• #4 Katie Schroeder -- Has one of Washburn's two four-hit games this season.

• #5 Marina Quimby -- Started both games against Northwestern Oklahoma State last time out.

• #6 Lauren Byrn -- Has started nine games and was hit by a pitch at Northwestern Oklahoma last time out.

• #7 Amanda Kirkhart -- Her nine doubles leads the team and her 10 walks is second on the team.

• #8 Kayla Oldham -- Will miss the 2013 season with an injury.

• #9 Haylee Marsteller -- Had a triple and an RBI against Northwestern Oklahoma on Tuesday.

• #10 Deidra Jones -- Batting .489 in MIAA play scoring 16 runs collecting 22 hits with 13 RBI in conference action.

• #12 Tori Gloudeman -- Has made three starts collecting two hits.

• #13 Skyler Gentry -- Has started 35 games this season at three different positions.

• #15 Leah Garland -- Has three home runs and eight RBI in 19 games this season.

• #16 Lauren Thimmesch -- Leads the team with nine home runs and has seven of Washburn's nine wins pitching.

• #22 Shelby Erickson -- Fourth on the team with 32 hits while driving in 25 runs which is second on the team.

• #23 Alex Zordel -- Currently riding a nine-game hitting streak and has reached base in each of the last 11 games while batting .426 in MIAA play.

Rewind - stats and notes from the week which was

• Washburn was 0-6 last week going 0-4 in MIAA play.

• Katie Schroeder batted .500 last week going 9 for 18 including a 7 for 7 performance in the doubleheader against No. 8 Central Oklahoma.

• Alex Zordel was 7 for 15 with a .467 batting average with a team-high eight RBI.

Slap hits. . . 

• Katie Schroeder is the eighth-toughest player in the NCAA Division II to strike out in the latest rankings as she has only been called out on strikes three times in 114 at bats.

• Schroeder is also 14th in the nation in being hit by pitches with a team-high 10 times.

• Deidra Jones leads the Lady Blues with ten multi-hit games.

• Shelby Erickson, Alex Zordel and Haylee Marsteller have the only 4 RBI games this season for the Lady Blues. Zordel has three of the six the Lady Blues have recorded.

• Deidra Jones is batting .429 (9 of 21) with runner in scoring position which leads the team and she is 6 of 7 with a runner on third and less than two outs.

• Alex Zordel is batting 7 of 9 with a runner on third and less than two outs this season.

• Washburn has been outscored 47 to 10 in the sixth inning of games this season.

• Washburn is 0-16 when scoring fewer than three runs in games this season.

• The Lady Blues have hit 21 of their 37 home runs this season in home games at the Washburn Softball Complex.

Lady Blues head coach Vanessa Becerra 

• was named the Washburn Lady Blues head softball coach on Aug. 3, 2011 after spending four seasons at Metro State in Denver, Colo., with the final season coming as the head coach. 

• is 28-51 in her second season on the bench at Washburn and overall Becerra has recorded a 62-70 mark in her third year as a head coach.

• in her lone season as the head coach at Metro State, Becerra led the Roadrunners the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular season championship while advancing to the NCAA regional tournament for the third-straight season finishing with a 34-18 record. 

• has coached three Lady Blues to all-MIAA honors.

• has had 12 Lady Blues named to the MIAA's Academic Honor Roll.

Lady Blues softball history. . . 

• The Lady Blues are 1043-758-1 in their 44th year of softball. 

• The Lady Blues have made three NCAA Tournament appearances (1999, 2006, 2008). 

• Washburn won the 2002 regular season MIAA title.

Up Next . . . 

Washburn will travel to Bolivar, Mo., for a twinbill at Southwest Baptist on April 23 in a make up from a rain out earlier in the season. Washburn will then return home to wrap up the regular season on April 26 and April 27 when they will face Truman and Lindenwood in back-to-back dates. Washburn's lone senior Alex Zordel will be honored on Saturday between games.