Ichabods on the road to face Wildcats and Bronchos this week ...
•    The Washburn Ichabod softball team returns to the field looking to continue its four-game winning streak starting on Thursday with a non-conference doubleheader at Wayne State (Neb.) on Thursday. Washburn will continue MIAA play on Saturday at Central Oklahoma in a rescheduled game from March 18.
•    The Ichabods swept MIAA doubleheaders at home wrapping up the schedule at the Washburn Softball Complex with two wins over Nebraska-Kearney and two over Fort Hays State  last weekend.
•    The Ichabods currently sit in sixth in the conference standings tied with Northwest Missouri with 12-8 records. Central Oklahoma is in tied for fourth entering play this weekend. The top eight teams in the final MIAA standings qualify for the conference tournament starting April 30 in Kansas City.

 Warm ups . . . 
•    The Ichabods are 4-1 in the last five games and have gone 6-4 in their last 10 games …Washburn is 24-17 overall this year and 12-8 in MIAA play having already improved on its 2014 win total of 20.
•    Lauren Thimmesch has 39 career home runs in her third season at Washburn which ranks third on the all-time Ichabod chart … she needs four more to move into second place all-time at Washburn.
•    In 41 games this season the Ichabods have hit 57 home runs … the school record is 59 set last season … the 57 round trippers the Ichabods have hit this season is second on the Ichabod single-season chart.
•    Marina Quimby is batting a team-high .391 also leading the team with 54 hits and her 35 runs scored is second on the team.
•    Cassidy Merriman is second on the team with a .381 up 25 points from last week and she is third on the team with nine home runs and leads the team with 42 runs scored … her 27 RBI is fourth on the team … her .690 slugging percentage is third in the MIAA. 
•    Lauren Thimmesch has the third-best ERA in the MIAA entering this week's action with a 2.19 ERA and her 17 wins are second in the MIAA … her 12 home runs leads the Ichabods … her 17 pitching wins are the most by an Ichabod pitcher since the 2008 season when Kelly Swygert recorded 18. 
•    The Ichabods are outscoring their opponents 54-34 in the first inning and 42-14 in the third inning and 50-35 in the fourth inning of games this season and 33-14 in the fifth inning … in the second inning the Ichabods are being outscored 36-24 and in the seventh inning the Ichabods are being outscored 18-12.
•    The Ichabods are tied for fourth in the MIAA in hitting with a .321 batting average as a team and they are eighth in the MIAA with a 3.59 ERA.

 Noting Wayne State. . . 
•    The Wildcats are 25-15 this season and 11-9 in the Northern Sun. 
•    The Ichabods fell 4-3 earlier this season to Wayne State in St. Joseph in the regional crossover on March 21.
•    The Ichabods lead the all-time series 15-10.
•     Lexi Loos leads the team with a .486 batting average with 71 hits scoring 44 runs.
•    Kelcie Bormann has 13 wins with a 2.87 ERA.

 Last meeting with Wayne State . . . 
March 21, 2015 -- The Washburn Ichabods took a 2-0 lead after their first at bat when Kristen Bell driving in one with a single as the Ichabods took advantage of a Wildcat error. Wayne State came back to tie the score at 2-2 with solo runs in the first and second innings. Megan Stegman's leadoff home run in the top of the fourth gave Washburn a 3-2 lead but the Wildcats came back with two runs in the bottom of the sixth going up 4-3. The Ichabods could not get any runners on base in the seventh as the Wildcats hung on for the win. Jordan Erickson and Stegman each had two hits.

 Noting Central Oklahoma . . . 
•    The Bronchos are 32-13 this season and 13-5 in MIAA play.
•    Kaylee Brunson leads the team with a .400 batting average and Nicole Brady is 12-7 in the circle with a 3.35 ERA with 11 complete games.
•    The Bronchos lead the all-time series 16-14 with the Ichabods after splitting a doubleheader last season in Topeka.

 Last meeting with Central Oklahoma . . . 
(April 12, 2014) TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabod softball split an MIAA doubleheader with No. 22 Central Oklahoma falling 4-0 in the opener before coming back for a 5-3 win in the second game. 
Game 1 – UCO 4, WU 0
Central Oklahoma's Kalynn Schrock struck out eight Ichabods en route to a perfect game facing 21 batters in the Bronchos 4-0 win. UCO scored two runs in the first inning off starter Marina Quimby (1-5) who struck out six in the complete game. Quimby gave up three earned runs in the loss. UCO added two more in the fifth inning stretching its lead to 4-0.
Game 2 – WU 5, UCO 3
The Ichabods (20-19, 12-10 MIAA) scored four runs in the bottom of the first taking advantage of a hit by pitch by Katie Schroeder to lead off the game and a walk by Quimby. Lauren Thimmesch singled to left field scoring Schroeder. Shelby Erickson then singled to left scoring Quimby and Thimmesch came around to score after a throwing error by the Bronchos (35-11, 19-3 MIAA). Washburn added an unearned run in the second inning. Schroeder singled followed by singles by Quimby and Thimmesch. Schroeder scored on Thimmesch's single on a throwing error by UCO. Washburn starting pitcher Samantha Carson had a no hitter until the a lead off homer by the Bronchos in the top of the fifth. UCO would go on to score three runs in the frame cutting Washburn's lead to 5-3. Thimmesch replaced Carson in the circle and retired the side with three straight ground outs. Thimmesch allowed just one base runner in the sixth. In the seventh, UCO had its first two batter reach base on back to back singles. A fielder's choice gave the Ichabods one out and then Devyn Frazier lined out to left fielder Jordan Erickson who fired the ball to Schroeder for the double play ending the game. Seniors Schroeder and Skyler Gentry as well as Thimmesch each had two hits. Schroeder scored a pair of runs.

 WU Bod Notes . . . 
#1 • Courtney Todd • IF/OF • Fr. • Has played in one game this season.
#2 • Alex Sweeney • OF • So. • Has scored four times making one start appearing in nine games.
#3 • Kristen Bell • C • Jr. • Currently riding a three-game hitting streak entering play this week.
#4 • Megan Stegman • C/UT • So. • Has six multi-hit games this season.
#5 • Marina Quimby • P/IF • Jr. • Leads team with 20 multi-hit games this season with 15 2-hit games and five 3-hit games.
#6 • Brianna White • IF • Fr. • Has not appeared in any games this season.
#7 • Savannah Moore • 3B • Fr. • Has three multi-RBI games this season.
#8 • Jordan Erickson • OF • So. • Tied for team lead with nine multi-RBI games this season.
#9 • Haylee Marsteller • OF • Jr. • Recorded first triple of the season last time out against Fort Hays State.
#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. • Pitched 5-inning shutout against Nebraska-Kearney in an 8-0 win on Friday scattering four hits.
#15 • Berkley White • C • Fr. • Has not appeared in any games this season.
#16 • Lauren Thimmesch • P/IF • Sr. • Has reached base in each of the last 10 games.
#17 • Cassidy Merriman • 3B/SS • Fr. • Batting .455 in MIAA play this season which leads the team collecting 30 hits and 10 RBI.
#18 • Maddie Abbs • IF/OF • Fr. • Has two assists and seven putouts this season in 10 games.
#20 • Taylor Zimmerman • IF • Jr. • Her 21 RBI in MIAA play leads the team while batting .300.
#21 • Lindsey Marcus • IF/P • Fr. • Has made six pitching appearance this season allowing five earned runs.
#22 • Sierra Kemp • IF • Jr. • Has six hits and six RBI in 32 at bats this season.

 Last time out for the Ichabods . . . 
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. 
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 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.

 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 76-97 in her fourth season on the bench at Washburn and overall Becerra has recorded a 110-115 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 1091-804-1 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 wrap up the regular season on Friday, April 24 at Missouri Western and at Northwest Missouri the following day. The MIAA Tournament begins on April 30 for the top eight teams in the final regular season standings.