Leading off
•     The No. 26 (ABCA)/No. 25 (NCBWA)-ranked Washburn Ichabod baseball team will open a five-game road trip starting on Thursday at former MIAA foe Truman with a 3 p.m. start for a single nine inning game. The following day the Ichabods will start a four-game set at Lindenwood in St. Charles, Mo. beginning with a single game on Friday starting at 4 p.m. A doubleheader will start at 1 p.m. on Saturday and the series will wrap up with a single game on Sunday at 12 p.m.
•    The Ichabods (18-5, 12-4 MIAA) enter the week in second place in the MIAA standings two games behind Missouri Southern and one game ahead of Missouri Western and Nebraska-Kearney.
•    Washburn is second in the latest MIAA statistical rankings in batting average with a .331 batting average while the Lions are fifth with a .319 batting average. 
•    The Ichabods are ranked sixth in the MIAA in ERA while the Lions are 11th with a 6.66 ERA.
•    The Ichabods split their last MIAA series going 2-2 against Missouri Western.
•    Lindenwood took 3 of 4 at Central Oklahoma last weekend.
•    The Ichabods fell from No. 19 to No. 26 in the ABCA rankings and went from No. 21 to No. 25 in the NCBWA Top 25 poll.
•    The Ichabods remained No. 4 in the NCBWA Central Regional Poll released on Monday … the NCAA regional rankings determine which teams go to the postseason.
•    The 18-5 start equals the best start for the Ichabods after 23 games since the 1994 season.
•    The Ichabods outscored their opponents 205 to 122 in 23 games this season and 39-19 in the first inning of games this year … Washburn is being outscored 15 to 11 in the seventh inning by opponents and 14 to 12 in the eighth inning … Washburn is outscoring opponents 11 to 5 in the ninth inning this season … overall the Ichabods are 9-0 when leading after eight innings, 11-0 after seven innings and 17-0 when leading after six innings.
•    Washburn is batting .331 as a team and has a 5.09 earned run average while opponents have recorded a .280 batting average and a 8.82 ERA.
•    In MIAA play, the Ichabods are batting .311 compared to .285 for their opponents holding a 5.57 ERA while foes have an 8.01 ERA.
•    Of Washburn's 24 home runs this season, four have been grand slams … the NCAA Division II record is nine by Armstrong set in 1988 in 54 games played.

Noting Truman
•    The Bulldogs (13-4, 6-2 GLVC) received votes in the latest NCBWA top 25 poll and are coming off a four game series split with McKendree. 
•    T.J. Wood, Brendan Trimble and Wyatt Fones all hit .500 for the four-game series against McKendree with Jarod Hahn providing the power … Hahn hit three home runs, giving his 10 for his Bulldog career, during the series and drove in seven runs in the process. … Paul Trenhaile crept closer to the all-time Truman hit record with a 5-for-16 (.313) performance and now sits just 13 shy of the record held by Devon Myers (197).
•    The Bulldogs were a founding member of the MIAA leaving the league after the 2013 season.

Series history with Truman
•    The Ichabods lead the all-time series with the Bulldogs 60-24 and the two teams have not met since taking two of three during the 2013 season in Topeka.
•    Washburn is making their first appearance in Kirksville since the 2012 season when the first day of action was delayed as the Ichabod bus had a turkey fly into the front of the bus shattering the passenger side window sending glass and feathers throughout the bus.

Noting Lindenwood
•    The Lions are 11-14 this seaosn and 5-7 in the MIAA after winning 3 of 4 at Central Oklahoma last weekend.
•    Wes Degener leads the team with a .396 batting average and Wade Rothermich is batting .368 with six home runs and a team high 29 RBI.
•    Devin Breilan is 3-1 on the mound in 11 appearance with one save.
•    As a team the Lions are hitting .319 and have an ERA of 6.66. 

Series history with Lindenwood
•    The Ichabods lead the all-time series 4-3 after the Lions joining the MIAA prior to the 2013 season.
•    Washburn won 3 of 4 meetings last season at Lindenwood in 2014.

In the dugout
•     Washburn is led by first-year head coach Harley Douglas. He served as an assistant to former coach Steve Anson for three years and he's a 2002 Washburn graduate. He played at WU from 1997-00.
•    He is 18-5 in his first season in the Washburn dugout going 12-4 in MIAA games.
•    Douglas played for the Ichabods from 1997-2000. 
•    He was an all-MIAA second team selection as an outfielder his senior year at Washburn. 
•    He finished with a .363 career batting average, the 13th highest in school history. 
•    He's second in school history with 11 triples and eighth with 136 runs scored … third with 75 career stolen bases. 
•    Douglas graduated in 2002 from Washburn with an exercise physiology degree and in 2004 with an education degree. He earned a master's degree in adaptive special education from Emporia State in 2010.

Last time out
March 22 - TOPEKA, Kan. -- The No. 19/21-ranked Washburn Ichabods wrapped up the four game series with Missouri Western winning 12-5 to earn a split in the series.  
Washburn (18-5, 12-4 MIAA) broke open a scoreless game with five runs in the third inning on a three-run homer by Riley Krane on an opposite field shot and after David Gauntt drew a walk, Connor Crimmins hit the first of his two home runs on the day with a two run homer to left staking the Ichabods to a 5-0 lead. The Griffons (16-9, 11-5 MIAA) came back with two in the top of the fourth cutting the lead to 5-2 and in the fifth the Griffons added another trimming the lead to 5-3 before the Ichabods came back with three runs in the bottom of the fifth going up 8-3. 
Crimmins hit his second home run after the Griffons gave up a double to Kyle Carnahan and then intentionally walked Gauntt to face Crimmins. Crimmins hit an 0-2 pitch over the left field fence. The Griffons came back with a solo run in the sixth but then Washburn added four more in the seventh inning to go up 12-4. 
Washburn scored all four of its runs with two outs after Gauntt drew a walk and Crimmins was hit by a pitch. Tanner Triggs was walked and Corey Gragg drove in two with a single to left and Tanner Johnson cleared the bases with a triple to right field.
Eric Schmid pitched five innings striking out three improving to 4-0 on the season. Tanner Kilmer pitched four innings allowing three hits and an unearned run picking up his second save of the season.
Both teams finished with 12 hits as Parker Gibson, Krane, Crimmins and Triggs all had two hits and Crimmins drove in five runs and Krane finished with three.

Last meeting with Lindenwood
(2/22/14) ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Washburn won on a sacrifice fly in the opener Saturday at Lindenwood and then won the second game with 12 runs in the final two innings. The doubleheader sweep gave the Ichabods a win in the season-opening series that also opened MIAA play for both teams.
Washburn won the opener 4-3 and the second game 14-4. The Ichabods improved to 3-1 and 3-1 in the league and will play their home opener Tuesday at Falley Field at 3 p.m. against Rockhurst.
The opener was tied at 3-3 before Washburn got two sacrifice hits to win in walk-off fashion. Riley Price led off the bottom of the seventh with a single. Tyler Bailey pinch ran for him and moved to third on a wild pitch and a sacrifice bunt from Taylor Herrington. He then scored the winning run on a sacrifice fly to center field by Parker Gibson.
The Ichabods trailed 4-2 going into the bottom of the seventh of game two before they plated five to take the lead and then seven in the eighth to invoke the 10-run rule.
Payton Soicher drove in the first three runs of the seventh inning with a triple after Washburn loaded the bases on two hit batters and a walk. David Gauntt later drove in a run on a triple and Kyle Carnahan drove one in with a single to put Washburn up 7-4.
After a scoreless top of the seventh, the Ichabods kept up the offense with seven runs off five hits. Tanner Johnson led of the inning with a walk and later scored. He then ended the game with a three-run triple that put Washburn up by 10.
Parker Gibson batted 3 for 4 in the game with four runs scored. Soicher, Jackson and Gauntt each had two hits and Soicher had four RBI.
Mark Biesma started on the mound in the second game for Washburn and gave up two runs off four hits through six innings. He struck out five. Greg Mason pitched the last two innings and earned the win as he kept LU hitless and scoreless.
Eric Schmid started the opener and went the first six innings. He gave up three runs off six hits with six strikeouts. Samuel Jones got the win as he pitched the seventh inning and allowed just a hit.
Washburn's starters recorded a 1.96 ERA with 25 strikeouts and six walks in their combined 23 innings pitched.

On Deck
Washburn's next game will be on March 31 against Newman at 5 p.m. in a single game against the Jets. The Ichabods will then start another five-game road trip starting with a four-game series against Missouri Southern April 2-4 in Joplin. Washburn will have a single nine inning game at Emporia State before coming back to Falley Field for a four-game series against Central Missouri starting April 10.