Complete Game Notes (pdf)
Leading Off...
Washburn is playing its first games at Falley Field since March 20 after the last home stand was moved to three different ballparks in three different cities.
WU has had 8 games canceled due to snow including 5 MIAA games that can't be made up.
Taylor Gentry was the MIAA pitcher of the week 3/26 after going 5.2 scoreless innings against No. 3 UCM. Last week he threw a complete game two-hitter as he gave up 1 ER to NWMSU in a win.
Riley Price is 9th in the MIAA hitting .398 this year.
Connor Crimmins is 9th in the MIAA with 10 stolen bases. He's been thrown out once.
Washburn leads the MIAA with 13 triples.
Taylor Herrington leads the league with 5 triples.
Head coach Steve Anson coached his 1,600th career game on February 19 at Fort Hays State. He's gone 836-786-3 in 35 seasons with 34 at Washburn and one at Wayne State (Neb.).
FHSU leads the series with Washburn 96-67 after sweeping a pair of games earlier this year in Hays.
Washburn leads the series against Southwest Baptist 41-20. The Ichabods won all four last year and have won seven straight in the series.
Washburn's six wins have been spread between five pitchers.
Taylor Gentry is 2-0 with a 1.61 ERA in seven appearances and two starts.
John Stoothoff has started the last seven games and is batting . 417 in that stretch. These seven games were the freshman's first at Washburn.
Ichabods return home for first games at Falley Field since March 20
After wet weather moved the last home stand to three different ballparks in three different cities, the Ichabods will return to Falley Field this weekend to host six games.
Thursday Washburn and Fort Hays State will play a 2 p.m. doubleheader and then this weekend Washburn and Southwest Baptist will play a four-game series. They'll play a doubleheader Saturday at 2 p.m. and play another twin bill Sunday at 1 p.m.
The games Thursday were originally scheduled for Tuesday but severe weather has moved them back. The weekend series was scheduled to be three games but a fourth was added to make up for games lost earlier in the year.
Washburn went 1-4 last week with a split at Northwest Missouri and a sweep at Missouri Southern to fall to 6-23 overall and 6-22 in the MIAA.
Fort Hays State is 19-14 overall and 15-13 in the MIAA while SBU is 12-19 and 12-14 in the league. The Bearcats will host Evangel Wednesday before traveling to Topeka this weekend.
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 was rescheduled and 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. A non-conference game was added to the series with Southwest Baptist.
Of the 21 dates on the schedule so far this year, only three of them have had their games played at the originally-scheduled date, time and location.
Gentry continues to impress in starting role
Junior pitcher
Taylor Gentry has a 1.61 ERA in seven appearances with starts in his last two outings. He's thrown two straight complete games in those contests, getting a no decision against Nebraska-Kearney and a win against Northwest Missouri.
Gentry was named the MIAA pitcher of the week earlier this year after pitching over five innings of scoreless relief March 23 as Washburn came back from a 6-2 deficit to beat the third-ranked Mules.
Gentry gave up four earned runs in his second cutting of the year then went 13 2/3 innings without allowing an earned run.
He's struck out 22 while walking just eight and opponents are batting .152 against him this year.
Stoothoff enters Washburn lineup in outfield
Freshman outfielder
John Stoothoff made his first appearance in a game March 29 against Northeastern State with a start and he's started each of the last seven games.
He's batting .417 with a home run, two RBI and five runs scored. He's had a hit in all but one game and has had multiple hits in four games.
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 813-784-3 (.516) record.
Anson, the winningest coach in the MIAA, is 836-786-3 (.515) 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.
Last time out
JOPLIN, Mo. -- The Ichabods scored a run in the top of the ninth to tie their game at Missouri Southern but the Lions scored a run in the bottom of the 11th for a 2-1 win to sweep the three-game series.
Taylor Herrington drew a one-out walk and then moved to second when
Riley Price singled up the middle.
John Stoothoff then drove him in with a hit to left field to tie the score at 1-1. Washburn then lined into a double play with two on base to end the inning.
Brad Alberts started and worked through the ninth inning. He allowed one run off four hits with no runs while striking out five.
Greg Mason then entered for Washburn and recorded a 1-2-3 inning in the 10th before allowing an unearned run to the Lions in the 11th after they had a player reach on an error and later score.
Washburn was held hitless through the first five innings before
Richard Swan led off the sixth with an infield single. A double play negated that before Washburn was able to produce its first threat of the game when
Taylor Herrington led off the seventh with a double and moved to third on a single from Price. Herrington was then thrown out at the plate as he broke for home on a pickoff attempt at first. MSSU then threw a wild pitch that could have scored Herrington.
The Ichabods ended up with six hits while MSSU had five. Washburn had the only three errors of the game and left seven runners on base while the Lions stranded five.
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 be off during the midweek portion of next's week's schedule and then travel to Central Oklahoma for a three-game weekend series. The two will play a doubleheader on April 20 and then play a single game on April 21. This will be Washburn's first time facing the Bronchos since the 1997 season.
