Warm ups . . . 

• After having their first eight games canceled or postponed due to weather, Washburn will look to take the field on Saturday when they will face Southwest Baptist at 1 p.m. at the Washburn Softball Complex. 

• The Ichabods are coming off a 13-33 season from last season. 

• The Ichabods were picked 11th in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll.

• Saturday's game will be the first time in the program's history the first games of the season will also be conference games.

• Washburn is the last team in the MIAA to have played a game this season.

 Knowing the foe . . . 

Southwest Baptist

• The Bearcats enter the doubleheader having played eight games this season going 1-7. 

• SBU's lone win came in a 7-3 win over Oklahoma Panhandle.

• The Bearcats are hitting .239 as a team and have a combined 7.35 earned run average.

• Raigan Ratliff leads the team with a .435 batting average and Kyra Parker has a 7.36 ERA.

 WU Bod Notes . . . 

#2 • Alex Sweeney • Named first team all-league and all-district at third base as a senior at St. Pius X High School.

#3 • Kristen Bell • Has made 70 career starts all at catcher recording a .224 batting average with 44 hits and 21 RBI at Washburn.

#4 • Katie Schroeder • Has made 130 starts appearing in 132 games with 123 hits, 15 doubles and six triples while driving in 52 runs and scoring 82 … she has been hit by a pitch 26 times in her career which is more than any Washburn player since joining the NCAA ranks.

#5 • Marina Quimby • Has appeared in 26 games as pitcher and has nine additional starts in the field entering her sophomore season.

#6 • Kaylee Erickson • Named first team all-state and first team all-league as a pitcher her senior season at Sacred Heart High School in Salina.

#8 • Jordan Erickson • Named first team all-league and second all-state in softball at Perry-Lecompton High School.

#9 • Haylee Marsteller • Has a .205 batting average entering her sophomore season after collecting 17 hits while scoring 13 runs with nine RBI and three home runs appearing in 34 games making 33 starts.

#10 • Deidra Jones • Enters junior season with a career .417 batting average after one season at Washburn riding a five-game hitting streak.

#11 • Samantha Carson • As a senior at Washburn Rural she was 5-0 with a 0.54 earned run average and batted .488 with 41 hits and 43 RBI scoring 31 runs leading the Junior Blues to a second place state finish.

#13 • Skyler Gentry • Started 45 of 46 games playing catcher, shortstop and in the outfield … recorded 17 hits with a double and a home run driving in six with 13 runs scored.

#15 • Leah Garland • Has appeared in 43 games making 37 starts adding 19 hits with six home runs and 16 RBI while scoring 12 runs.

#16 • Lauren Thimmesch • Led the team with 12 home runs as a sophomore in 2013 finishing third with 30 RBI while batting .250 in 140 at bats.

#21 • Bre Hixon • Was a second team all-league pick after recording a .402 batting average with 33 hits, six home runs, seven doubles scoring 33 runs while driving in 26 as a senior at Dakota Ridge High School in Lettleton, Colo.

#22 • Shelby Erickson • Has recorded a .290 career average starting 133 of 135 games with 118 hits, 11 home runs and 63 RBI while scoring 53 runs entering her senior season.

 What's in a name . . . 

• Starting the 2013-14 school year, all of the women's athletic teams will be called Ichabods.

• All women's teams prior to the 2013-14 school year can and will be referenced to as Lady Blues.

• Name change was made to have a unified athletic department and to have a graphical representation of the sports teams at Washburn.

• 'Bods is allowable on second reference

• Lady Ichabods or Lady 'Bods should never be used.

 Ichabod head coach Vanessa Becerra . . . 

• was named the Washburn Ichabod 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 32-57 in her third season on the bench at Washburn and overall Becerra has recorded a 66-75 mark in her fourth 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 six Ichabods to all-MIAA honors.

• has had 25 Ichabods named to the MIAA's Academic Honor Roll.

 Ichabod softball history. . . 

• The Ichabods are 1047-764-1 in their 45th year of softball. 

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

• Washburn won the 2002 regular season MIAA title.

 Up next . . . 

• The Ichabods will take the field next on Feb. 26 when they will face Ottawa in a rescheduled doubleheader from Feb. 12 at the Washburn Softball Complex.