SAU Invitational Outlook
For the second time in two weeks Washburn will head south for a tournament hosted by Southern Arkansas ... the Ichabods travel to the SAU Invitational at Walker Stadium in Magnolia, Ark. (home field of SAU) for a three-game, two-day event where Washburn will square off with Oklahoma Christian, Central Oklahoma and SAU ... The Ichabods will take on OCU on Saturday, Feb. 13 to open the event before a Valentine's Day doubleheader against UCO and SAU on Sunday, Feb. 14 ... OCU opened the season with a three-game series sweep at Texas A&M Kingsville before dropping its latest game, 14-13, against Southeastern Oklahoma State last Tuesday (Feb. 9) ... OCU's Jake Baxter leads the team with a .611 batting average (four doubles, one home run, four RBI) in four starts while three other Eagles are batting above .400 early on ... As a pitching staff, OCU holds a 5.45 ERA as Kyle Lacy and Jared Sterling each have nine strikeouts and are Nos. 1 and 2 in innings pitched for the Eagles ... UCO has played just once this season, a 9-7 win over Southwest Oklahoma State in its debut under new head coach John Martin ... UCO had nine hits in the game including four doubles, while four pitchers combined for 12 strikeouts and two walks ... though UCO is an MIAA opponent of Washburn's, the game will count as a non-conference matchup ... WU and UCO will play a three-game conference series late in the season (April 29-May 1) ... SAU and Washburn will square off for the third time already early in the early in the Invitational's finale, as SAU enters the event on a three-game winning streak ... the pair split the first two matchups last weekend at the SAU DII Classic in Prairie View, Texas ... as a team, SAU is hitting .257 on the year and holds a 2.80 ERA on the mound ... SAU  has hit just one home run as a team but has 12 combined doubles while they're struck out 52 times ... on the mound, SAU has 39 strikeouts as a team and 20 walks allowed over 45 total innings of play ... more information on opponents and series history can be found on page one of the game notes.

Last Time Out (Feb. 5-6)
The Ichabods went 2-2 in the opening weekend of play at the SAU DII Classic at the Ballpark at Grand Prairie, defeating East Central (12-9) and No. 14 Southern Arkansas (5-1) on the first day (Friday, Feb. 5) before dropping contests to Cameron (4-1) and SAU (4-3) on the final day (Saturday, Feb. 6) ... for the weekend, Wes Jones led the Ichabod offense with a .417 average (5-for-12) while David Gauntt was 5-for-13 (.385) with a double, a home run and five RBI in addition to catching three of the four baserunners who attempted to steal on the catcher ... Lance Barkley had two doubles over four games to go with three walks, while three Ichabods (Jones, Parker Gibson and Kyle Carnahan) all scored four runs ... on the mound, Nick Silva (0.00 ERA, 6.0 IP, 6 K), Jaren Kutzke (0.00 ERA, 4.0 IP, 7 K) and Jacob Head (0.00 ERA, 1-0, 3.0 IP) were strong in their Washburn debuts and senior Mike Hefferan earned the other win, tossing 5.0 innings against Southern Arkansas and allowing just one run (1.80 ERA) with five strikeouts ... as a team, Washburn tallied 28 strikeouts and walked just 13 batters while offensively, the Ichabods hit .231 as a team with nine extra base hits.

Ichabods Eighth in NCBWA Regional Poll
After receiving votes in the preseason version of the NCBWA Central Region Rankings, Washburn baseball moved into the No. 8 spot in the Feb. 8 version after going 2-2 at the SAU DII Classic last weekend with a win over nationally (and regionally) ranked Southern Arkansas ... from the MIAA, Emporia State (No. 3), Missouri Southern (No. 5), Northeastern State (No. 7) and Lindenwood (No. 9 ) joined WU in the rankings while Fort Hays State, Nebraska-Kearney and Central Oklahoma received votes ... national and regional rankings can be found on page five of the game notes.

Crowding the Plate
After breaking the school record last season with 90 hit-by-pitches, Washburn has already been plunked 10 times on the year through four games ... Kyle Carnahan was hit three times last weekend and Tanner Triggs earned two free passes after being hit at the plate ... the Ichabods ranked third nationally last season in hit by pitches ... individually, David Gauntt was 11th nationally with 18 hit-by-pitches while Connor Crimmins (current student assistant coach) was 14th (17) and Carnahan ranked 30th (14).

2016 Season Preview
The Ichabods enter 2016 poised for a postseason run under second year skipper, Harley Douglas ... WU returns return three All-MIAA Third Team picks in Kyle Carnahan, David Gauntt and Parker Gibson and have supplemented a roster that returns 22 letterwinners with 24 newcomers, including 17 new arms on the pitching staff ... The Ichabods return their top three hitters (sorted by average) in Carnahan (.371/.602/.462), Riley Krane (.355/.538/.407) and Gibson (.335/.398/.403), and the top two power threats in Gauntt (16 home runs, 53 RBI) and Carnahan (10 home runs, 53 RBI ... Also returning in the lineup is Payton Soicher, who started 44 games with a .299 average and Tanner Triggs, who hit six home runs with a .287 average and earned All-MIAA honorable mention honors while serving as the primary designated hitter ... On the bump, Maustin Otterstatter (4-2, 5.47 ERA, 28 strikeouts) and All-MIAA honorable mention pick Mike Hefferan (4-1, 2.31 ERA, 34 strikeouts) return as the most seasoned in a starting role, while Ryne Dowling (2-0, 3.06 ERA), Greg Mason (16 appearances, 4.84 ERA) and Dan Gabler (11 apperances, 32 strikeouts) return with the most experience out of the bullpen ... Newcomers Lance Barkley (Fort Scott CC), Quentin McGrath (East Central) and Nick Silva (Colby CC) transferred to Washburn for the 2015-16 school  year and are expected to contend immediately for starting roles.

2015 In Review
Washburn Baseball went 33-20 last season in the first season under head coach Harley Douglas ... The Ichabods reached the 30-win mark for the first time since the 2000 season, and finished as one of the final three teams in the MIAA Postseason Tournament after earning the fifth seed ... Washburn opened the year with a 14-game win streak and was ranked as high as No. 6 in the NCBWA national poll and No. 19 in the ABCA poll early in the year ... The 2015 season was dedictated to former head coach Steve Anson, who passed away in a tragic accident after the 2014 season, his 35th at Washburn ... Douglas was named the full-time head coach on Aug. 22, 2014 after serving in the interim role over the summer ... Washburn had eight All-MIAA selections at the conclusion of the 2015 season ... David Gauntt, Kyle Carnahan and Parker Gibson were picked to the All-MIAA third team while Mike Hefferan, Tanner Kilmer, Riley Krane, Connor Crimmins and Tanner Triggs were named honorable mention.
 
Receiving Votes in Preseason Polls
Washburn baseball received votes in the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Division II Preseason Poll, released Dec. 22 and in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America (NCBWA) Central Region Preseason Poll, released Jan. 26 ... in the ABCA poll, WU is joined by four other MIAA schools ... Missouri Southern was picked 24th while Emporia State was 38th ... Central Missouri and Nebraska-Kearney were also in the receiving votes section ... in the NCBWA Preseason Poll, ESU, MSSU and UCM were listed in the Top 10.

Home Run Record List
David Gauntt's home run against Southern Arkansas in the second game of the season was not only his first of 2016, but also moved him into sole possession of the third spot on Washburn's career home run record list ... Gauntt has 26 home runs in his career and ended the 2015 tied for third with Terry Middendorf (1984-85, 87-88) and Jesse Schmidt (2002-06) ... his now just two short of No. 2 (Scott Greger), who had 28 home runs from 1985-87 ...   No. 1 on the list is J.P. Wright, who played at Washburn from 1986-88 and hit 64 home runs ... Gauntt has led the Ichabods in home runs in both of the previous two seasons with 16 in 2015 and eight in 2014.

Career RBI Record Watch List
Kyle Carnahan, David Gauntt and Parker Gibson enter ed the 2016 season just outside of the Top 15 on Washburn's career RBI record list ... four games in, Kyle Carnahan has joined the Top 15 while Gauntt and Gibson are inching closer ... 
 

Career RBI List
Rank	Name	RBI
10	Dylan Smith	115
	Wes Joy	115
	Steve Johnson	115
13	Billy Crooks	109
14	Brian Arnold	108
15	Kyle Carnahan	106
	David Gauntt	99
	Parker Gibson	81

Career Record Watch List - Parker Gibson
Senior outfielder Parker Gibson already ranks in the Top 15 of several career record lists as the 2016 season is in its early stages ...
 

Career Steals List
Rank	Name	Steals
2	Sam Sissom	90
3	Harley Douglas	75
4	Carvel Reynoldson	73
5	Brian Sodderberg	71
6	Parker Gibson	64
Career At Bats List
Rank	Name	At Bats
6	Ben Rutherford	583
7	Dylan Smith	581
8	Connor Crimmins	575
9	Brian Sodderberg	573
10	Parker Gibson	567
Career Runs List
Rank	Name	Runs
7	Steve Johnson	139
8	Harley Douglas	136
9	Jesse Schmidt	129
T10.	Aaron Waltrip	126
T10.	Parker Gibson	126

Upperclassman dominate starting lineup
Of the 10 offensive positions in WU's projected lineup for 2016, nine are held by either juniors or seniors ... Tanner Triggs (designated hitter) is the lone sophomore in the lineup ... at the three positions currently marked as preseason battles, second base is between a junior and senior while first base and right field are between two juniors ... aside from the position battles, four seniors are listed as projected offensive starters with one junior, Riley Krane, already locked in at shortstop.

Best College for Baseball
Washburn baseball received national recognition in September after NCSA Athletic Recruiting named the program the No. 1 "Best College for Baseball in 2015" in NCAA Division II on its website.
  
Gauntt named Perfect Game Summer College All-American
Washburn's David Gauntt was named a 2015 Second Team Summer Collegiate All-American by Perfect Game for his play with the Xenia Scouts of the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League over the summer ... Announced Aug. 19, the All-American honors came in addition to Gauntt earning First Team All-League honors and being picked to the All-Star Team earlier in the summer ... Gauntt finished the summer with a .322 batting average while slugging .587 and posting a .430 on base percentage ... Gauntt's seven home runs ranked fourth in the GLSCL and came alongside 13 doubles, two triples and 39 runs batted in.
  
Three Ichabods named GLSCL All-League, All-Stars
Washburn's David Gauntt, Kyle Carnahan and Quentin McGrath played together on the Xenia Scouts of the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League over the summer and were all named to the All-League and All-Star teams ... Gauntt hit .322 for the summer with 46 hits, 13 doubles, seven home runs and 39 RBI ... Carnahan played in 40 games, hitting .299 with 46 hits, 12 doubles, seven home runs and 27 RBI ... McGrath went 6-0 on the hill, putting together a 3.58 ERA over 47.2 innings with 19 earned runs allowed, 38 strikeouts (team-high).