Game Day Outlook
Washburn enters the final weekend (May 6-8) of regular season play in the hunt for its first ever MIAA Championship ... Central Missouri (31-12, 29-7 MIAA) comes to Falley Field three games ahead of the Ichabods in the conference standings, and if Washburn sweeps the weekend WU will tie for a conference title ... UCM is hitting .297 as a team for the season and has a combined 4.00 ERA ... Power hitters Bennett Oliver (.335, 7 2Bs) and Dylan Farrell (.318, 7 2Bs) lead the team with 19 and 10 home runs, respectively, while Jake Alexander is hitting a team-high .378 through 40 starts with 11 doubles ... top start Ethan Westphal has been named MIAA Pitcher of the Week three times, and is 7-2 with a 3.24 ERA through 10 starts, striking out 79 ... in relief, Grant Gavin (4-2, 2.86 ERA) has 19 appearances with 27 strikeouts ... UCM is coming off a weekend sweep of MIAA opponent Missouri Western, and the Mules are 8-2 over the previous 10 games ... in the last 5 games, UCM is 4-1 ... more information on opponents and series history can be found on page one of the game notes.

Last Week's Recap (April 26-30)
Washburn went 2-2 last week, playing four games over four days due to a rain-adjusted schedule ... the Ichabods dropped the first two games of the week, taking on Emporia State (L, 13-3) on the road and Central Oklahoma (L, 7-5) in the first game of a three-game series before rebounding to win two straight and secure a series win against UCO, taking the second game 8-6 and the finale, 7-6 ... WU hit .300 as a team and a 7.13 ERA, trailing its opponents over a weekly span in those categories for the first time in the month of April ... Parker Gibson (.471, double, RBI), Kyle Carnahan (.444, double, 2 RBI) and Riley Krane (.412, double, two HR, four RBI) were the only Ichabods to hit over the .300 mark for the week, and David Gauntt (.286) also hit two home runs for the week ... on the mound, Dan Gabler (5.0 IP, 2 R, 1 K) and Greg Mason (9.2 IP, 3 APP, 9 K's) had wins for the Ichabods while Nick Silva (1.69 ERA, 5.1 IP) started the opener against UCO, taking a no-decision.

Playoff Picture
With one week remaining in the regular season (and three total games), Washburn sits three games out of first place in the MIAA standings at 26-10 ... UCM currently leads the conference at 29-7, and Emporia State is third at 25-11 in conference play ... MWSU is three games behind WU at 23-13, but because WU won the head-to-head series with the Griffons, the Ichabods will finish no lower than a No. 3 seed for the MIAA Tournament ... the conference tournament is set for May 12-15, 2016 in St. Charles, Mo. ... six of the eight spots hae already been clinched, with NWMSU, UCO, SBU and UNK all within striking distance of a berth.

NCAA Tournament Hopes
Washburn is in the hunt for its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance with three games remaining in the regular season and a conference tournament to go ... the NCAA Central Region Tournament is held May 19-22 at a site determined later ... WU was tabbed fifth in the first set of NCAA Division II Central Region Rankings, released Wednesday, April 27 and eighth in the second release (May 4 ... the Central Region is made up of teams from the MIAA, the NSIC and the GAC ... Automatic bids are granted to the winners of the postseason conference tournaments, with the final five seeds handed out on an at-large basis ... the complete regional rankings are found on page five of the game notes

Running Wild
Washburn torched the basepaths in its three-game series at Lincoln (April 22-24), stealing 17 bases over games while totaling 93 total bases in the weekend ... Bowe Behymer was 4-for-4 on the basepaths while Parker Gibson and Kyle Carnahan each had three stolen bases.

Closing Time - Single Season Saves Rcd
Washburn's Lance Barkley has made himself known as a triple-threat on the Ichabods this season, with a .327 batting average, a .981 fielding percentage and a 2.13 ERA with 11 appearances on the mound ... the Ichabod utility player has established himself as WU's closer for the year, tying the school's single-season saves record (seven) in 2016 with three games to go in the regular season ... Barkley has thrown 12.2 innings with just three unearned runs allowed and only eight hits ... Barkley, a junior transfer, is within reach of WU's career saves record of 10, set by Don Huss (1987, 89).

Hit King
Washburn's win over Central Oklahoma on Sunday, April 30 proved to be a historic day for Ichabod centerfielder Parker Gibson, who tied the school's career hits record with a single in the first inning and broke it in the third, taking a 2-2 pitch into right field for his 230th hit in a Washburn uniform ... Gibson currently ranks 16th among active leaders in NCAA Division II.

200 Hit Club
Parker Gibson and Kyle Carnahan both joined the 200-hit club at Washburn this season and currently rank in the top 10 all-time at WU ... Parker Gibson's two-RBI single against Missouri Southern in the fourth inning on March 26 was his 200th career hit ... Carnahan joined the club with a two-run home run in the seventh inning at No. 19 Emporia State on April 13.

Gibson sets Career ABs record
Senior outfielder Parker Gibson claimed the school record for career at-bats last weekend in game one against Nebraska-Kearney on April 1, 2016 ... the senior entered the weekend with 662 career at-bats, tied for first all-time alongside Sam Sissom and now has 731 for his career with six regular season games remaining ... he is currently eighth all-time among active players in NCAA Division II.

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 78 relief appearances in four seasons (including 32 this season) ... Mason ranks fourth among active NCAA Division II pitchers in career relief appearances (and seventh in total appearances), and is now first all-time on Washburn's career record list for appearances ... this season, Mason leads the nation and conference in appearances  ... a quick glance at the MIAA record book has Mason four appearances away from tying the conference career record of 82 (set by current Pitt State pitcher Ryan McKay) with three games remaining in the regular season and a MIAA Tournament bid in store for the Ichabods (guaranteed two games)

Three-Headed Monster
Parker Gibson, Kyle Carnahan and David Gauntt are three seniors who will exit their Washburn careers as some of the most successful Ichabods in school history ... they rank among career leaders in several offensive categories and continue to climb record charts as their final season at WU crawls past the midway point ... those record lists where at least two of the three are listed in the Top 10 are below.

Active NCAA Career Leaderboard - HR
With 42 career home runs (and 17 this season), David Gauntt is currently third among active NCAA Division II leaders in home runs ... No. 1 on the list Alex Wojciechowski of Minnesota-Duluth with 50, and Mike McClellan of Columbus State has 47.

Active NCAA Career Leaderboard - HBP
Kyle Carnahan and David Gauntt both rank in the Top 5 among active Division II members in career hit-by-pitches and are top 15 among all divisions ... Carnahan is third in DII and 11th in all division with 49 career HBP while Gauntt has been hit 48 times, which is fifth in DII and 15thh in all divisions

Gone From Gauntt
42 times over the last four years (and 33 times in the last two) Washburn has  seen David Gauntt hit a home run when he steps to the plate ... this season, with 17, Gauntt is 15th in the nation and fifth in the conference ... last year with 16, Gauntt ranked 16th in the nation and had 0.3 home runs per game.

Steady Silva
Nick Silva (8-0, 2.43 ERA) leads the team in wins, innings pitched and strikeouts this season on the hill and has been consistent throughout his 12 starts ... the junior transfer has 53 strikeouts in 70.1 innings pitched on the year, allowing just 19 earned runs (and 24 total runs) ... Silva has gone at least five innings in nine of his 12 starts and had shutout opponents twice ... six times he has struck out at least five opponents ... in the MIAA, Silva is tied for first in wins, ERA and earned runs allowed.

Late Innings Trend
When leading after the seventh inning, Washburn has established itself as a team that can close out a win with a 27-2 record in those situations ... when trailing after the seventh, however, the Ichabods are just 1-11 (with the only win coming April 16 vs LWU) ... in looking towards the end of the middle innings (sixth), WU is 28-6 when leading and 2-8 when trailing, picking up its first win in that situation on April 13 at Emporia State.

Double Um Up
With 49 double plays on the defensive end, Washburn is averaging 1.07 double plays per game and ranks among the nation's best in that defensive category through 46 games ... Washburn is third in NCAA Division II and first in the conference in double plays turned, and second nationally (and first in the MIAA) in double plays per game.

Swiping Bases
Washburn has swiped 122 bases this season and 2.65 per game, which ranks fifth nationally in total stolen bases and fourth in stolen bases per game while leading the conference in both ... in looking at the conference statistic report, Washburn has swiped nearly 50 more bases (48) more than the second place team (ESU) ... 12 Ichabods have swiped at least one base this season, and Kyle Carnahan leads the team (and conference) with 33 ... Parker Gibson has has swiped 25, which is second in the conference ... Carnahan has stolen three bases in a game twice this season, and is currently fifth in NCAA Division II in stolen bases (and sixth with 0.75 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 39 walks this season (0.85 per game) and ranks among the best nationally and in the conference in those categories ... Soicher is 20th nationally (and second in the MIAA) in walks per game and is 19th in NCAA Division II (and second in the conference) in total walks.

Scoring Frenzy
Washburn has scored in double-digits in 16 games this season and has been held to less than five runs in only nine games ... When scoring 10 or more runs, WU is 15-1 on the year (only loss came with 10 runs) ... The Ichabods are 22-6 in games it scores over the five-run mark and 4-8in games it hasn't reached five runs.

Crowding the Plate
After breaking the school record last season with 90 hit-by-pitches, Washburn has been plunked 79 times on the year through 46 games which ranks eighth nationally and first in the MIAA ... David Gauntt has been hit 18 times (ranking 10th nationally) and Kyle Carnahan has been hit 17 times this season to lead the team, which is 17th nationally ... Gauntt and Carnahan are Nos. 1 and 2 in the MIAA ... Zane Mapes has been hit 10 times and is one of nine other Ichabods to 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).

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.

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.