TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn Ichabod softball team won its fourth game in a row sweeping Fort Hays State on senior day on Saturday at the Washburn Softball Complex. Washburn will return to action on Thursday at Wayne State in non-MIAA action.

Game 1 - Washburn 6, Fort Hays State 2
Lauren Thimmesch (16-6) threw a complete game on Senior Day, striking out four while keeping the Tigers scoreless through six innings.
 
Cassidy Merriman finished 2-for-4 with a solo home run in the game, while Marina Quimby, Kristen Bell and Taylor Zimmerman each went 2-for-3 with RBIs, and Megan Stegman had two RBI in the game.
 
Merriman's solo blast in the first started things for the Ichabods, as the freshman took an 0-2 pitch over the left field fence for her ninth home run of the season.
 
The Ichabods extended the lead to 4-0 in the second, using a two-out single from Megan Stegman to plate Bell and Zimmerman, followed by Quimby's RBI triple that scored Stegman.
 
Thimmesch reached on an error to start the third, moving to second on the overthrow.  With two outs, Bell picked up an RBI on senior day with a single up the middle, scoring Thimmesch and making it 5-0.
 
Zimmerman blasted WU's second home run of the day in the sixth, making it 6-0 after her solo shot cleared the left center wall. 
 
The Tigers added two in the seventh to nix the shutout, but Thimmesch and the Ichabod defense buckled down to close out the win.

Game 2 - Washburn 8, Fort Hays State 0 (5 innings)
The Ichabods scored three runs in the first inning and never looked back as they completed the sweep over the Tigers in five innings winning 8-0. In the first, Haylee Marsteller's triple scored Merriman and Thimmesch who both singled staking the Ichabods to the 3-0 lead as Bell's RBI single scored Marsteller one batter later.

In the fourth, Washburn added five more putting the Ichabods up 8-0 leading to the run-rule win. After Sierra Kemp led off with a single, Quimby scored her with a home run to left stretching the lead to 5-0. Merriman walked and then moved up on a single by Thimmesch. An RBI single by Marsteller scored Merriman and she would score later in the inning after back to back errors by the Tigers.

Thimmesch picked up wins in both games games improving to 17-6 allowing only one hit by the Tigers in the nightcap throwing 55 pitches striking out one.

The Ichabods improved to 24-17 and 12-8 in the MIAA on the season while the Tigers fell to 21-20 overall and 12-12 in conference play.