TOPEKA, Kan. --- Washburn baseball collected a pair of victories on Friday at Falley Field despite playing as the visiting team after its series with Northwest Missouri was relocated to Topeka due to inclement weather in Maryville, Missouri.
 
Game 1: Washburn 6, Northwest Missouri 2
 
Scoreless through two innings, the Ichabods (13-7, 5-4 MIAA) took the first lead of the afternoon with and RBI and run scored by Darian Abram.
 
 Washburn extended its advantage in the fourth with runs from Curtis Whitten while Cole Gardner crossed home for the second time in the game. Bowe Behymer was critical for both runs as his single drove in Whitten before some crafty base running drew the attention of the Bearcat infield allowing Gardner to race in from third to make it 4-0.
 
WU scored again in the fifth to stretch its margin to 5-0 until Northwest Missouri pushed across its first runner of the day in the bottom half of the inning to avoid a shutout. A quiet sixth for the Ichabods allowed the Bearcats to score once more to trim the lead to 5-2.
 
Josh Crosby helped Washburn regain a four-run lead in the seventh as his double down the left line permitted Riley Krane to score from second giving the game its eventual final of 6-2.
 
Lance Barkley gathered the win to improve to 5-0 as he pitched 6.2 innings with two runs on eight hits and six strikeouts. Jaren Kutzke tossed 2.1 scoreless innings of relief striking out three.
 
Game 2: Washburn 8, Northwest Missouri 2
 
After three scoreless innings Krane broke the deadlock with solo shot to right center to give WU a 1-0 lead.
 
With consecutive walks for Behymer and Zach Macke to start the fifth, the Ichabods most the opportunity as it opened a 3-0 margin. Behymer scores on an Abram RBI single while Macke scored on sacrifice fly from Krane.
 
In the seventh, Washburn blew the game open as it took an 8-0 lead thanks to five-run inning. Behymer and Macke opened by scoring on consecutive plays to make it 5-0 resulting in a NWMSU pitching change. Krane then turned on the first pitch belting it over the right field wall for a three-run shot and his sixth of the season.
 
An RBI single and solo homer by the Bearcats during the final two innings allowed them to sidestep a shutout but was not enough to threaten the Washburn stronghold.
 
WU starter Jacob Head (4-0) shined as he worked eight innings with seven scoreless allowing one run while scattering five hits. Head was efficient in his outing as tossed 103 pitches and sent 23 of the 31 batters faced back to their bench either by ground out or fly out. Braden Larkey worked the ninth.
 
The Ichabods return to Falley Field next weekend when they host Pittsburg State in a three-game series.