Midweek Outlook
Washburn hits the road for four games next week, beginning with the second of three midweek conference games against Fort Hays State this season ... WU dropped the first matchup between the teams, 8-1, last week at Falley Field and travels to Larks Park in Hays on Wednesday, March 30 for a 4 p.m., first pitch ... FHSU (13-14, 7-9 MIAA) enters the contest on a four-game winning streak after beating the Ichabods and sweeping a three-game series at Lincoln over the weekend ... FHSU is hitting .323 as a team this season and has a 7.30 combined ERA through 27 games ... Alex Weiss (.430) leads the team in batting average and has started all 27 games while Austin Unrein has a team-high nine doubles, seven home runs and 35 RBI ... D.J. Carr is the Tigers' top starter with a 5.29 ERA in eight starts, going 2-3 ... Carr was strong in the matchup with WU last week, tossing a complete game with four strikeouts and only one run allowed (a solo home run from David Gauntt) while not walking an Ichabod ... more information on opponents and series history can be found on page one of the game notes.

Weekend Recap
Washburn picked up a key MIAA series win this week, 2-1, over nationally ranked Missouri Southern ... the Ichabods outscored MSSU, 26-16, over the three games after winning the opener 11-3 and the second game, 9-6 ... WU fell in the series finale, 7-6 ... for the series, Washburn hit .343 as a team and posted a 4.67 ERA while holding the Lions to a .238 BA and 9.00 team ERA ... Riley Krane hit .583 over the three games with two doubles, while David Gauntt (four hits, one home run, five RBI, five walks) and Tanner Triggs (five hits, one double, three walks) each hit .500 ... Kyle Carnahan had two home runs for the weekend ... on the mound, Jaren Kutzke pitched two innings of shutout ball in rleief while Nick Silva (6-0) and Mike Hefferan (3-2) both had wins as starters ... Silva went 5.2 innings and gave up three runs with seven strikeouts while Hefferance allowed four runs with three strikeouts over five innings ... Greg Mason made three appearances in all three games in relief.

Active NCAA Career Leaderboard - HR
With 34 career home runs (and nine this season), David Gauntt is current tied for second among active NCAA Division II leaders in home runs ... No. 1 on the list is Mike McClellan of Columbus State with 37 and Gauntt is tied with Will Albertson (Catawba) ... among all divisions (DI, II and III) Gauntt is currently tied for fourth.

Active NCAA Career Leaderboard - HBP
Kyle Carnahan and David Gauntt both rank in the Top 3 among active Division II members in career hit-by-pitches and are top 15 among all divisions ... Carnahan is second in DII and ninth in all division swith 45 career HBP while Gauntt has been hit 42 times, which is third in DII and 12th in all divisions.

Going With Greg
When Washburn has made a call to the bullpen this season (and in the past four years), a majority of the calls have been to senior right hander Greg Mason, who has 62 relief appearances in four seasons (including 15 this season) ... Mason ranks 13th among active NCAA Division II pitchers in career relief appearances, and is now tied for first all-time on Washburn's career record list for appearances ... this season, Mason currently ranks third in the MIAA in appearances and 16th nationally in DII ... a quick glance at the MIAA record book has Mason 18 appearances away from the conference career record of 80 with 22 games remaining in the regular season.

Mr. 200
Parker Gibson's two-RBI single against Missouri Southern in the fourth inning on March 26 was his 200th career hit and moved him into fifth all-time on Washburn's career hit list ... Gibson is the active team leader in career hits and is second on the team this season with 32 hits ... among NCAA Division II active leaders he is 20th.

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.

No Hit Bid
Mike Hefferan was dominant in his Saturday start against Northwest Missouri in the weekend series finale, going 7.2 innings while taking no-hit bid into the sixth inning for his second win of the season as Washburn won, 9-2 ... Hefferan scattered three hits and did not allow a run, striking out four Bearcats on the afternoon.

Double Um Up
With 28 double plays on the defensive end, Washburn is averaging 1.08 double plays per game and ranks among the nation's best in that defensive category through 26 games ... Washburn is 11th in NCAA Division II and second in the conference in double plays turned, and sixth nationally (and second in the MIAA) in double plays per game.

Swiping Bases
Washburn has swiped 64 bases this season and 2.46 per game, which ranks 8th nationally (in both categories) while leading the conference ... 10 Ichabods have swiped at least one base this season, and Kyle Carnahan leads the team (and conference) with 20, while Parker Gibson has has swiped 10 ... Carnahan has stolen three bases in a game twice this season, and is currently ninth in NCAA Division II in stolen bases (and eighth with 0.83 stolen bases per game) ... both Carnahan and Gibson rank among the Top 10 in WU's career record list.

Plate Vision
Payton Soicher has worked 26 walks this season (1.00 per game) and ranks among the best nationally and in the conference in those categories ... Soicher is ninth nationally (and second in the MIAA) in walks per game and is 12th in NCAA Division II (and second in the conference) in total walks.

Scoring Frenzy
Washburn has scored in double-digits in nine games this season and has been held to less than five runs in only seven games ... When scoring 10 or more runs, WU is 8-1 on the year (only loss came with 10 runs) ... The Ichabods are is 14-6 in games it scores over the five run mark and 1-6 in games it hasn't reached five runs.

Crowding the Plate
After breaking the school record last season with 90 hit-by-pitches, Washburn has already been plunked 53 times on the year through 26 games which ranks sixth nationally and first in the MIAA ... Kyle Carnahan has been hit 13 times already this season to lead the team and ranks sixth nationally (and first in the MIAA), while ranking fifth in the nation with a 0.54 hit-by-pitch per game average ... David Gauntt has been hit 12 times (8th) nationally and second in the MIAA) while five other Ichabods have been hit at least three times ... 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).

Home Run Record List
David Gauntt leads the team with nine home runs this season (including two, two-home run performances) to move into second place on Washburn's career home run record list with 34, passing Scott Gregor, who had 28 from 198-87) ... Gauntt 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 At-Bat Record Within Reach
Senior outfielder Parker Gibson is set to claim the career at-bats record at Washburn this week, as he currently sits just four at-bats away from tying the record with four games on tap this week ... a look at the career record chart is available in the game notes.

Career RBI Record Watch List
Kyle Carnahan and David Gauntt entered the 2016 season just outside of the Top 15 on Washburn's career RBI record list and have joined the list through 15 games this season ... Parker Gibson is coming up on career RBI 100 and could enter the record list later this season.

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.

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.

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.