Weekend Outlook
Washburn opens the month of March with an MIAA series at Northeastern State, who last week dropped their MIAA opening weekend, 1-2, at Northwest Missouri State ... The RiverHawks are 7-6 on the year and opened with four straight wins, but have since dropped 6 of 9 ... NSU is hitting .276 as a team and has posted a 2.87 combined ERA as a team, limiting opponents to just 34 earned runs on the year ... Eric Kirkpatrick (two home runs, 16 RBI, .438 BA) and Shane Bridges (.405 BA, 10 RBI, 5-5 SB) are both hitting over .400 and have started all 13 games for the RiverHawks ... Thomas Murray has a 1.38 ERA through eight appearances, striking out 12 with four saves for the year ... Zach Parish (who shared MIAA Pitcher of the Week honors with WU's Nick Silva) is 2-0 on the year in five appearances and has a 2.49 ERA with a team-high 29 strikeouts ...  WU didn't face NSU last year in Harley Douglas' first season at the helm, and all-time in the series Washburn trails the RiverHawks, 9-4 ... more information on opponents and series history can be found on page one of the game notes.

Last Week's Recap
Washburn went 2-2 last week and won its MIAA opening series at Missouri Western, 2-1 over the weekend ... the Ichabods were dealt a disappointing 15-5 loss against Newman on Tuesday, Feb. 23 in its home opener before traveling to St. Joseph, Mo., for three games ... Washburn took the first two games, 6-3 (10 innings) and 11-2 on Friday and Saturday before falling in the series finale, 10-9, after an ninth-inning comeback ... Kyle Carnahan led the team in average (.500), hits (8), doubles (2), triples (1) and stolen bases (7) last week, while five other Ichabods hit over .300 ... David Gauntt has first inning home runs in the opening two games of the series and hit two in the 11-2 win on Saturday, moving into 2nd all-time on WU's career home run record list ... Lance Barkley had five RBI and six hits on the weekend, while WU had five home runs as a team and 16 total extra base hits ... on the mound, Washburn had a 7.18 team ERA over the four games, but saw Nick Sliva pick up a complete game win in game two of the weekend series with four strikeouts and just one earned run allowed ... Jaren Kutzke had two relief appearances, striking out four with a 1.93 ERA.

Silva Picks Up Weekly Honor
Washburn's Nick Silva was named the MIAA/AstroTurf Baseball Co-Pitcher of the Week on March 1, announced by the conference office ... Silva  threw all nine innings in a 11-2 win over Missouri Western last Saturday, Feb. 27, allowing two runs (one earned) with only one walk allowed and four strikeouts ... Working efficiently, the right-hander from Littleton, Colo., threw 99 pitches and faced just five over the minimum with five 1-2-3 innings for his first complete game at Washburn.

Clutch To Open The Season
Riley Krane has fired out of the gate with a hot start this season, hitting .311 through 11 games with three doubles, two triples, two home runs ana a team-high 15 RBI ... in the field, Krane has 23 putouts and 28 assists from the six-hole, committing just one error in 52 chances so far ... both of Krane's home runs have been three-run shots.

Swiping Bases
Washburn has swiped 27 bases this season and 2.45 per game, which ranks 19th and 13th nationally (respectively) ... 10 Ichabods have swiped at least one base this season, and Kyle Carnahan leads the team with 9, as he also stole three bases in one game against Missouri Western on Feb. 28 ... Carnahan also ranks 15th nationally in stolen bases among NCAA Division II and is first in the MIAA  ... Parker Gibson is a perfect 5-for-5 on stolen base attempts as well this year.

Offensive Frenzy
After stumbling in the SAU Invitational opener against Oklahoma Christian, Washburn erupted for 29 combined runs over two games on the final day of the SAU Invitational, defeating Central Oklahoma 16-5 and No. 14/19 Southern Arkansas, 13-5 ... WU had just 24 hits on the day but used 12 walks, seven hit-by-pitches and seven opponent errors to extend innings and score runs ... Parker Gibson was 6-for-10 and Kasey Clark had five hits over the two games, while Riley Krane drove in seven runs, scored five runs and had three hits, matching Kyle Carnahan and Tanner Triggs.

Ichabods in the NCBWA Regional Poll
Washburn has been listed in every NCBWA Regional poll this season, including this week's rankings (March 2) where they received votes ... WU received votes in the preseason poll, and has been ranked eighth and ninth in the two weeks leading up to this week's rankings ... the Ichabods have wins over regionally ranked (when played) teams Southern Arkansas (two wins) and Missouri Western (two wins) ... 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 26 times on the year through 11 games  which ranks seventh nationally this season ... Kyle Carnahan has been hit seven times already this season to lead the team ... David Gauntt has been hit five times while Parker Gibson has earned three free passes ... the Ichabods ranked third in NCAA Division II 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.
 
Bods Receive 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 was 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.

Career Record Watch List - Parker Gibson
Senior outfielder Parker Gibson already ranks in the Top 10 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	68
Career At Bats List
Rank	Name	At Bats
1	Sam Sissom	662
2	Dane Simoneau	612
3	Jesse Schmidt	598
4	Pat Colley	597
5	Parker Gibson	596
Career Runs List
Rank	Name	Runs
4	Michael Brock	174
5	Pat Colley	156
6	Scott Greger	144
7	Steve Johnson	139
8	Parker Gibson	138

Home Run Record List
David Gauntt had three home runs last week to move into second place on Washburn's career home run record list with 29, passing Scott Gregor, who had 28 from 198-87) ... Gauntt has four home runs this season and ended 2015 tied for third alongside Terry Middendorf (1984-85, 87-88) and Jesse Schmidt (2002-06) with 25 ...   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 entered the 2016 season just outside of the Top 15 on Washburn's career RBI record list ... 11 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	Kyle Carnahan	112
14	Billy Crooks	109
15	Brian Arnold	108
	David Gauntt	107
	Parker Gibson	84

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 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).

MIAA Preseason Poll
Missouri Southern earned 11 first place votes and was picked by the coaches to win the MIAA in baseball ... The Lions earned the top spot in the poll after winning the MIAA regular season and post-season title in 2015 ... Emporia State, the other MIAA school in the NCAA Tournament last season, earned the second spot with one first place vote ... Central Missouri who earned two first place votes, was picked third by the coaches. Lindenwood earned 122 points to take the fourth spot in the poll, coming in just two points ahead of Missouri Western (picked fifth) ... Washburn was six points behind MWSU with 114 votes while Nebraska-Kearney (97), Central Oklahoma (87), Fort Hays State (64) and Northeastern State (60) closed the Top 10 ... The final four spots in the rankings went to Southwest Baptist, Northwest Missouri, Pittsburg State and Lincoln.