Leading off . . .
•    The Washburn Ichabod softball team will step out of invitational play this weekend with a pair of doubleheaders starting at MidAmerica Nazarene on Saturday in Olathe, Kan., followed by a trip to St. Louis to face Maryville University.
•    The Ichabods have won their last four games and seven of their last eight overall.
 
The Week that was . . .
•    Washburn went 5-1 at the 8-State Classic in Bentonville, Ark. last weekend.
•    Taylor Kemp hit .412 with a seven hits and a team-high 7 RBI.
•    Jordan Erickson led the team with eight hits and batted .400 recording three doubles.
•    Washburn pounded out 15 doubles during the six games and had a team fielding percentage of .984.
•    In the circle, Washburn had a team ERA of 1.87. Ashley Wills was 3-0 with a 1.00 earned run average, while Samantha Carson recorded a 1.45 ERA in three appearances. Kelsee Henry was 2-1 with a complete game shutout with a 2.62 ERA.
 
Bods and ends . . .
•    Taylor Kemp, Erica Harper and Ashley Ruder all have four multi-hit games this season to lead the team.
•    Savannah Moore and Jordan Erickson lead the team with three multi-RBI games.
•    Erica Harper will carry a four-game hitting streak into the upcoming weekend.
•    Savannah Moore has reached base in 10 straight games and Jordan Erickson has in eight and Taylor Kemp has reached safely in seven.
•    Through 17 games, the Ichabods have hit 27 doubles … at this pace they are on track to hit 87 this season … the school single season team record is 91.

Where to follow . . .
•    Fans can also follow the Ichabod softball team at @WashburnSB for updates as well at the athletic department twitter handle at @wusports.
 
This week's opponents . . .
MidAmerica Nazarene
•    The Pioneers have yet to play a game this season.
•    MNU is under first-year head coach Lee Dobbins.
•    The Ichabods and the Pioneers have not met since the Ichabods sweeping a doubleheader on April 21, 1987 winning 11-1 and 2-1.
•    Overall the Ichabods lead the all-time series 3-0.
 
Maryville
•    The Saints are 4-4 this season with an 8-0 win over MIAA foe Lincoln on Feb. 18.
•    The Saints will take on Lincoln in a doubleheader on Feb. 25 prior to facing the Ichabods the following day.
•    The Saints are under the direction of new head coach Stephanie Decker.
•    This weekend's games will be the first between the two schools.
 
Last time out . . .
BENTONVILLE, Ark. – The Washburn Ichabod softball team wrapped up a 5-1 weekend with a pair of wins at the 8-State Classic topping Rogers State 11-2 in five innings followed by a 6-0 win over host Arkansas-Monticello.
 
Game 1 – Washburn 11, Rogers State 2 (5 innings)
Washburn fell behind 2-0 after the Wildcats' first at bat and the lead would stand until the Ichabods scored five runs with three bases loaded walks drawn by Erica Harper, Taylor Kemp and Megan Stegman and a 2-RBI single by Samantha Carson.
Washburn scored another five runs in the fourth highlighted by a 2-RBI double by Carson scoring Kemp and Stegman. Savannah Moore also drove in a run with a double in the frame.
The Ichabods wrapped up the scoring on an RBI double by Harper scoring Jordan Erickson who led off the inning with a double.
Ashley Wills improved to 3-0 scattering five hits and two earned runs.
 
Game 2 – Washburn 6, Arkansas-Monticello 0
Kelsee Henry tossed a two-hit complete game shutout striking out three not allowing a hit until the sixth inning in a 6-0 Washburn win. Henry retired 15 of the first 16 batters she faced in the game.
Washburn (7-10) scored two in the first on a 2-RBI double by Taylor Kemp scoring Jordan Erickson and Savannah Moore who reached in the inning.
Neither team scored until the Ichabods platted four in the top of the seventh. After a single by Ashley Ruder and a double by Erickson, Savannah Moore drove in the pair with a double of her own and Erica Harper recorded a double and then scored on a sac fly by Kemp.
Megan Stegman was 3 for 4 and Kemp drove in three runs in the win and Moore had two hits with 2 RBI and two runs scored.
 
Head coach Brenda Holaday
•    is 7-10 in her first season as the Ichabod head softball coach.
•    coached the previous 19 seasons at Washburn Rural High School in Topeka compiling a 351-93 record.
•    led the Junior Blues to three 6A state championships as well as winning 14 league championships earning 16 6A state tournament berths, five second-place state finishes and three third-place state finishes.
•    was been named the Centennial League Coach of the Year and City Coach of the Year nine different times earning the Midwest Sectional Coach of the Year in 2011 and the 6A Kansas Coach of the year two times in 2008 and 2011 and was named the overall Kansas Coach of the Year in 2011.
•    while at Washburn Rural, she coached more than 40 players who have gone on to play college softball including three at the NCAA Division I level including for Ichabod head softball coach Lisa Carey, the winningest coach by wins in program history.
 
Washburn Ichabod softball history . . .
•    The Ichabods are 1120-846-1 in their 48th year of softball.
•    The Ichabods have made three NCAA Tournament appearances (1999, 2006, 2008).
•    Washburn won the 2002 regular season MIAA title.
 
Up Next . . .
•    Washburn will open MIAA play at Central Oklahoma on March 6 followed by another conference twinbill against Northeastern State on March 7. Washburn will open its home slate with weekend games against Missouri Southern on March 10 and Pittsburg State on March 11.