Leading off
• The Washburn Ichabods are in Kansas City, Kan., this weekend at the CommunityAmerica Ballpark for the second weekend of MIAA Tournament play, held May 7-9.
• Washburn advanced in the tournament after an opening round series sweep of Missouri Western last weekend (April 30-May 1). WU took game one, 6-5, in comeback fashion before clinching the series with a 9-1 win.
• The Ichabods are in their second consecutive year of making the MIAA Tournament and are 18-23 all-time in 12 years at the tournament.
• WU ended the regular season tied for fourth in the MIAA standings, earning the fifth seed after a tiebreaker with Missouri Western and Nebraska-Kearney.
• Both the Ichabods and Lions have won nine of their last 10 games entering the weekend.
• Washburn ranks among the league leaders in several categories in the latest MIAA statistical reports. Offensively, the Ichabods sit eighth in batting average (.309), fifth in on base percentage (.410), fourth in runs scored (366), fifth in hits (484), fourth in runs batted in (325), second in hit by pitch (86) and tied for second in triples (16). On the mound, the Ichabods are fifth in ERA (4.94), fifth in opposing batting average (.288) and first in innings pitched (404.2). Defensively, Washburn is third in the league with a .964 combined fielding percentage.
• The Ichabods were ranked as high as sixth nationally in the NCBWA poll (Week 4) and 19th in the ABCA poll (Weeks 3 and 4), but fell out of the national rankins after Week 6. Regionally, WU fell out of the NCBWA Central Regional Poll on April 14 and has yet to be ranked in the NCAA Central Region rankings, which determine the teams in the postseason.
• Washburn has scored at least one run in every game this season, and has not been shutout since March 22, 2014 (a streak of 79 games).
• The Ichabods have outscored their opponents 366-279 over 50 games this season. WU is 19-4 in game where it scored in the first inning, and 20-4 in games where it scored first. WU has scored 63 first inning runs this season, compared to just 42 opponent first inning runs.
• Overall, WU is 25-0 when leading after six innings, 16-0 when leading after seven innings and 13-0 when leading after eight innings.
• Washburn has hit eight grand slam home runs this season, just one shy of the NCAA Division II single season record of nine, set by Armstrong in 1988 in 54 games played.
• Connor Crimmins is ninth in career at bats as an Ichabod with 560 ... No. 8 on the list (Brian Soderberg, 1986-89) has 573.
• David Gauntt's 14 home runs is the most by an Ichabod since 2012, when John Calhoun and Tyler Bean had nine ... He is now fifth all-time in career home runs at WU (23).
• Several Ichabods rank among leaders in MIAA offensive categories. Kyle Carnahan is sixth in runs batted in (53), seventh in batting average (.385), eighth in on base percentage (.474) and runs scored (53). David Gauntt is first in walks (34), tied for fourth after being hit by a pitch 17 times, is fifth in home runs (14) and eighth in runs batted in (50). Connor Crimmins is tied with Gauntt in hit-by-pitches and is seventh in runs batted in (51). Parker Gibson is third in stolen bases (22) and fifth in runs scored (55). Riley Krane is tied for second in triples (five).
• Tanner Kilmer is first in ERA (2.34), tied for third in wins (8), appearances (21) and relief appearances (20) in the MIAA pitching categories (minimum 1.0 IP/game).
Series history with Missouri Southern
• The Lions lead the all-time series, 47-33, and have won seven straight (and eight of the last 10 games). Earlier this season, WU was swept by MSSU in a four-game series in Joplin, Mo.
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 32-18 in his first season in the Washburn dugout going 22-14 in MIAA games, clinching the first 30-win season for the Ichabods since 2000.
• 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
(5/1/15) ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- The fifth-seeded Washburn baseball team rolled to a 9-1 win over fourth-seeded Missouri Western on Friday, May 1, advancing in the MIAA Tournament with a sweep in the best-of-three opening round series. The Ichabods won game one on Friday, 6-5, in extra innings.
WU struck early and often, racking up 15 hits in the game while limiting the Griffons to just two hits.
Parker Gibson led off the game with a single through the right side, moving to second on Riley Krane's sacrifice bunt. From there, Kyle Carnahan gave the Ichabods an early lead by driving Gibson with a single into left. Later in the inning, with runners on the corners and two outs, a failed pickoff attempt on David Gauntt (who was in a rundown between first and second) allowed Carnahan to dash home, making it 2-0.
A solo home run to start the bottom of the second for MWSU cut the Ichabods' lead to one (2-1), but a run for the Ichabods in the third pushed the advantage back to two (3-1). Carnahan led off the third with a double and took third off Gauntt's single to right field. Connor Crimmins's fly ball out went to the warning track in the next at-bat, deep enough to score Carnahan on the sacrifice.
A wild fourth with three MWSU errors and six Ichabod hits helped WU score five more runs. After Wes Jones reached on an infield single, Payton Soicher's bunt single was overthrown at first and both runners moved into scoring position. In Parker Gibson's at-bat, a pickoff attempt at second was tossed into center field, allowing Jones to score and Soicher to move up another 90 feet. Gibson then laid down a bunt towards first base, reaching safely and picking up the RBI as Soicher came home.
Riley Krane and Carnahan followed with back-to-back singles, though Carnahan's was mishandled in left field and scooted to the fence, pushing Gibson and Krane across the plate and Carnahan moved to third. The scoring burst came to a close as Carnahan came home on Gauntt's RBI groundout, making it 8-1.
The offensive output continued in the fifth for the Ichabods, scoring their ninth run of the night off a bases loaded, fielder's choice from Carnahan. With one out in the innng, Soicher singled, Gibson doubled and Krane walked before Carnahan produced his third RBI of the game, plating Soicher.
Mike Hefferan (4-1) was strong on the mound, earning the complete game win after giving up just two hits in the game. Hefferan threw just 75 total pitches, struck out five and besides a home run in the second, allowed just one Griffon baserunner past first.
Carnahan scored three runs, drove in three and was one of three Ichabods to have three hits, alongside Gibson and Soicher, who both added two runs scored as well.
Last meeting with Missouri Southern
(4/4/15) JOPLIN, Mo. -- The Washburn Ichabod baseball team lost its final game at Missouri Southern on Saturday afternoon falling 4-1 to No. 19 Missouri Southern. Washburn returns to action at Emporia State on Tuesday with a single non-conference nine inning game.
The Ichabods took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on a leadoff home run by David Gauntt on his 10th of the season.
The Ichabods held a 1-0 lead until the fourth when the Lions scored three in the inning to go up 3-1. Missouri Southern (26-6, 17-3 MIAA) scored a solo run in the sixth inning leading to the 4-1 win wrapping up the four-game sweep over the Ichabods.
Tanner Johnson had three of Washburn's four hits in the game. Maustin Otterstatter took the loss falling to 2-1 on the season.
On Deck
The winners of the Thursday's 11 a.m., quarterfinal will advance to Friday's semifinal at 11 a.m. The non-advancing team will take on either No. 2 seed Emporia State or No. 3 seed Central Missouri in an elimination game on Thursday evening at 6 p.m.
