TOPEKA, Kan. – Washburn Baseball took a seven-run lead in the opening two innings and never looked back in an 11-3 victory over No. 19/21 Missouri Southern on Thursday, March 24.
WU (13-11, 8-6 MIAA) had three home runs in the game and racked up 12 hits on the offensive end, while combining for 11 strikeouts as a pitching staff.
Nick Silva (5-0) gave the Ichabods 5.2 quality innings in the win, allowing three runs (two earned) with seven strikeouts.
Greg Mason closed the sixth and pitched the seventh in scoreless fashion, striking out two before
Zach Linquist threw a shutout eighth with a strikeout.
Evan Payne tossed the ninth with a strikeout of his own.
Tanner Triggs lead the team with three hits on the day, including an RBI double while
Lance Barkley was 2-for-4 with two RBI and his first career home run at Washburn.
David Gauntt had a home run for the third game in a row with three RBI and two walks, while
Kyle Carnahan had the other home run for the Ichabods.
Washburn burst out to a 5-0 lead in the first on Missouri Southern, taking advantage of four hits and a three-run home run from Gauntt. With one out,
Riley Krane doubled to right center before
Kyle Carnahan worked a full-count walk. On the third pitch of his at-bat, Gauntt blasted his ninth home run of the season down the left field line, clearing the foul pole by just a few feet to make it 3-0.
From there, Barkley and Triggs hit back-to-back singles to continue the hit parade and
Wes Jones was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Payton Soicher picked up an RBI with a sacrifice fly to score Barkley and push Triggs to third, giving the Ichabod designed hitter the chance to come home on a wild pitch during
Zane Mapes' at-bat for WU's fifth run of the inning.
The long ball continued to work for the Ichabods in the second as
Kyle Carnahan and
Lance Barkley both had solo shots for WU to make it 7-0. WU did load the bases with two outs but couldn't extend its lead in the second.
MSSU got one back in the top of the third, but Silva got a line drive out in center field to get out of a bases loaded jam and limit the damage, up 7-1. The Ichabods' lead shrunk to four (7-3) in the fourth as MSSU struck with a two-out bases loaded single through the middle, but Washburn soon struck back with four more in the bottom of the fifth to go up 11-3.
Mapes was hit by a pitch to start the inning and took second as
Parker Gibson reached on a bunt single. Looking to sacrifice, Krane laid down a bunt back towards the pitcher but beat out an errant throw at first for a single, racing all the way to third to clear the bases and put back up six (9-3). Carnahan continued the rally as he was plunked by a pitch and stole second, and after Gauntt walked to load the bases, Barkley came through on a 0-2 pitch with a sacrifice fly to right. In the next at-bat,
Tanner Triggs stroked a double down the right field line into the corner, plating Carnahan to put WU ahead, 11-3.
The series continues on Friday, March 25 with a 4 p.m., first pitch from Falley Field.
