Live stats for both doubleheaders

 Ichabods return to MIAA play hosting Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State ...
•    The Washburn Ichabods return to MIAA play when they will entertain Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State this weekend at the Washburn Softball Complex starting Friday with the Lions.
•    The Ichabods went 6-2 last week including an MIAA doubleheader sweep over Northeastern State on March 17 in Tahlequah.
•    The Ichabods (17-10, 5-3 MIAA) were 4-2 at the Missouri Western Regional Crossover including a 5-0 win over then No. 14-ranked Winona State.
•    Missouri Southern is 5-19 this season and 1-3 in MIAA play while the Gorillas received votes in the latest NFCA top 25 poll and enter the weekend with a 14-4 record and a 6-0 mark before facing Emporia State on Friday.

 Warm ups . . . 
•    The Ichabods have won six of their last 10 games and are three wins shy of their 2014 win total of 20.
•    Lauren Thimmesch has 36 career home runs in her third season at Washburn which ranks fourth on the all-time Ichabod chart … she needs three more to move into third pace and eight more to move into second place all-time at Washburn.
 •    In 27 games this season the Ichabods have hit 41 home runs … the school record is 59 set last season … the 41 round trippers the Ichabods have hit this season is already ninth on the Ichabod single-season chart.
•    Cassidy Merriman leads the team with a .381 batting average is second on the team with seven home runs … her 22 RBI is third on the team.
•    Marina Quimby is batting .371 this season which is second on the team and her 33 hits lead the team.
•    Lauren Thimmesch has the best ERA in the MIAA entering this week's action with the 1.71 ERA and her 11 wins are also best in the league …her nine home runs leads the Ichabods.
•    The Ichabods are scoring their opponents 34-7 in the third inning and 37-19 in the fourth inning of games this season … in the seventh inning the Ichabods are being outscored 11-4.
•    The Ichabods are third in the MIAA in hitting with a .327 batting average as a team and Pitt State is second with a .328 batting average. Missouri Southern is last in the MIAA in batting with a .238 batting average.
•    Ichabod head coach Vanessa Becerra won her 100th career game against Northern State in a 10-1 win in the opening game of the MWSU Regional Crossover.

 Scouting the opponents . . . 
Missouri Southern
•    The Lions are 5-19 overall and 1-3 in the MIAA.
•    The Ichabods defeated the Lions 3-0 on March 21 in St. Joseph in the regional crossover.
•    The Lions lead the all-time series 39-38 … the teams split an MIAA doubleheader last season in Joplin.
•    Abi Corbett leads the team with a .308 batting average and Ashley Lutz has four wins in the circle going 4-7 with a 3.14 ERA.
Pittsburg State
•    The Gorillas are 16-8 overall and 6-0 in the MIAA before facing Emporia State on Friday.
•    They received votes in the latest NFCA top 25 coaches poll.
•    The Gorillas are second in the MIAA in batting average with a .328 clip and have the third-lowest ERA in the league.
•    Kylie Guthier leads the team with a .398 batting average …following her is Cheslyn Mitchell with a .395 and McKenzie Rynard has a .394 average.

 WU Bod Notes . . . 
#1 • Courtney Todd • IF/OF • Fr. • Has played in one game this season.
#2 • Alex Sweeney • OF • So. • Has scored one run and recorded a putout in four games.
#3 • Kristen Bell • C • Jr. • Has 10 multi-hit games which is second on the team.
#4 • Megan Stegman • C/UT • So. • Has four multi-hit games this season.
#5 • Marina Quimby • P/IF • Jr. • Leads the team with 12 multi-hit games.
#6 • Brianna White • IF • Fr. • Has not appeared in any games this season.
#7 • Savannah Moore • 3B • Fr. • Has four multi-hit games this season.
#8 • Jordan Erickson • OF • So. • Leads the team with eight multi-hit games.
#9 • Haylee Marsteller • OF • Jr. • Has reached base in each of the last 14 games …the longest streak of her Ichabod career.
#10 • Kimberly Euler • P/OF • Fr. • Picked up her first collegiate win against Missouri Southern on March 21 pitching four innings in the combined shutout.
#11 • Samantha Carson • P/IF • So. • Recorded her first career save against Missouri Southern on March 21 pitching three innings allowing one hit striking out four.
#14 • Taylor Kemp • P • Jr. • Picked up her first win against Northern State at the MWSU Regional Crossover.
#15 • Berkley White • C • Fr. • Has not appeared in any games this season.
#16 • Lauren Thimmesch • P/IF • Sr. • Has recorded hits in eight of last 10 games.
#17 • Cassidy Merriman • 3B/SS • Fr. • Batting a team-high .536 in MIAA play with 15 hits in 28 at bats scoring 11 runs.
#18 • Maddie Abbs • IF/OF • Fr. • Has played in seven games recording three hits.
#20 • Taylor Zimmerman • IF • Jr. • Has a team-high 3 RBI in eight MIAA games.
#21 • Lindsey Marcus • IF/P • Fr. • Has made four pitching appearance this season allowing three earned runs.
#22 • Sierra Kemp • IF • Jr. • Batting .214 with three hits and a double appearing in eight games.

 Last time out for the Ichabods . . . 
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- The Washburn Ichabod softball team went 1-1 on the second day of the MWSU Regional Invite going 4-2 over the weekend. The Ichabods will return to MIAA play next weekend hosting Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State in Topeka.
Game 1 - #24 Augustana 12, Washburn 2 (5 innings)
The No. 24-ranked Augustana Vikings scored three in the first, two in the second and seven in the fourth inning rolling to a 12-2 win over the Ichabods. Washburn scored its two runs in the fourth inning taking advantage of a Viking error as Lauren Thimmesch and Kristen Bell each scored for the Ichabods. Cassidy Merriman and Thimmesch had the two hits for the Ichabods. Thimmesch took the loss allowing five earned runs striking out three.
Game 2 - Washburn 3, Concordia-St. Paul 0
Thimmesch came back in the second game and pitched a four-hit shutout and Merriman drove in all three runs hitting two home runs as the Ichabods won 3-0. Washburn scored all three runs in the first two innings with two coming in the first inning when Marina Quimby led off the game with a single and scored on Merriman's 2-run homer. Merriman added a solo home run putting Washburn up 3-0 over the Golden Bears. Thimmesch recorded five strikeouts and walked three improving to 11-2 scattering four hits improving to 11-2 on the season. Quimby and Merriman had two hits each.

 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 71-90 in her fourth season on the bench at Washburn and overall Becerra has recorded a 105-108 mark in her fifth 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 12 Ichabods to all-MIAA honors.
• has had 38 Ichabods named to the MIAA's Academic Honor Roll.

 Ichabod softball history. . . 
• The Ichabods are 1084-797 in their 46th 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 host Arkansas Tech on April 1 before traveling to face Central Missouri and Southwest Baptist in back to back MIAA doubleheaders on April 3 and April 4 before returning home on April 7 to host Rockhurst and then return to MIAA play on April 10 to face Nebraska-Kearney and Fort Hays State on April 11.