LEADING OFF — Washburn continues conference action against state rival Pittsburg State at Falley Field ... the Ichabods and Gorillas will square off in a three-game set beginning Friday, March 17 at 4 p.m. ... the balance of the series will be played on Saturday and Sunday with a 1 p.m. start for each.
PSU SCOUTING REPORT — Under new head coach Tom Myers, the Gorillas entered the week at 8-14 overall record and 2-7 mark in the MIAA ... despite its record, Pitt State has the ability to score big as it has seven games with 10+ runs including a 13-6 victory over nationally-ranked Central Missouri ... PSU has five hitters averaging .329 or higher with at least 70 at-bats and is led by the .440 average of Dallas Reed (37-for-84) ... Reed also leads or has a share of the team lead in runs (30), doubles (9), walks (14), on-base percentage (.552) and steals (3) while placing second in hits (37) ... reliever Cooper Gardner leads the pitching staff with three wins while starter Cody Whiting (2-3) has a team-best 33 strikeouts in 29 innings.
THE WEEK THAT WAS — The Ichabods knocked off Northwest Missouri to win their second MIAA series ... after dropping game one, WU rallied and sweep a doubleheader to pull off the series victory ... the series originated in Maryville, Mo. but due to inclement weather the teams were forced to do the icky shuffle and move the game to Topeka for the final two games with the Ichabods playing as the visiting.
SERIES HISTORY — Prior to this weekend's showdown Washburn and Pittsburg State have met 107 times ... the Ichabods lead the all-time series 56-51 ... under head coach Harley Douglas, WU is 6-1 including a four-game home sweep in 2015 ... since 2000, WU is 12-11 when facing PSU at home.
'BODS & ENDS — Riley Krane is among the league leaders in RBI (1st, 31); triples (t-1st, 4); runs (t-8th, 22) and home runs (t-4th, 6) ... Krane also cracks the top 40 nationally in RBI (13th), RBI per game (t-28th, 1.55); triples (7th) and home runs (38th) ... Darian Abram's three triples have him listed fourth in the MIAA and 15th in Division II ... Josh Crosby's 11 doubles is fifth-best in the Division II ranks ... Marcus McKinney is also fifth in Division II with five saves ... Lance Barkley and Jacob Head are both among the nation's leaders in wins with Barkley at third (5) while Head checks in at 17th (4) ... with an combined ERA of 3.57, the WU pitching staff is ranked 29th in Division II.
HOME SWEET HOME — Washburn is 5-3 this season when playing at Falley Field which includes a pair of wins while playing as the visiting team on the scoreboard during its series against NW Missouri on March 10.
FALLEY FIELD — The official home of Ichabod baseball since opening in 1990 ... Falley Field features a FieldTurf surface for the infield and grass for the outfield with dimensions of 330 feet to the left and right field and a distance of 400 feet to center ... in the previous 26 seasons, Washburn has put together an overall record of 363-251 including a 21-10 mark during the 2000 season ... with a listed capacity of 800, Falley Field has welcomed 20,771 cheering fans over the course of the last three seasons.
THE 'BODS ROADSHOW — The Ichabods closed their season opening 11-game road swing with a 8-3 record including a 4-1 tally in neutral venues ... this season WU is 8-3 when listed as the visiting team on the scoreboard ... as a result of their early travels WU has bussed approximately 2,854 miles and visited three states.
CAUTION MILESTONES AHEAD — Head coach Harley Douglas is 23 wins shy of No. 100 ... Marcus McKinney is two saves short of tying Lance Barkley's 2016 save total (7) ... Riley Krane is seven runs shy of becoming 10th on the WU all-time career list.
WHERE THEY RANK — Behind one first-place vote, the Ichabods open the season ranked fifth in the MIAA Preseason Coaches' Poll ... WU placed eighth in the NCBWA's Division II Preseason Regional Rankings ... the only recognition the team earned nationally was from Collegiate Baseball News where they were listed in the receiving votes category.
BIG LEAGUE 'BODS — Washburn baseball has been home to many talented alumni with some being able to take their talents to the Majors ... to date, their have been six former Ichabods who have played a regular-season or playoff game for an MLB club including George Darrow, Rick DeHart, Jerad Head, Davey Lopes, Jerry Robertson and Steve Simpson and has had eight players chosen in the MLB Amateur Draft.
UPDATES & MORE — Fans can fellow every pitch of the 2017 season via live stats available by visiting wusports.com/live ... for in-game updates, news and more be sure to also follow Washburn athletics on Twitter (@wusports) and Facebook.
70TH ANNIVERSARY -- The 2017 campaign marks the 70th anniversary of the first season of Ichabod baseball ... the program however took a six-year hiatus from 1951-56 due to world events ... the program returned in 1957 under the leadership of Washburn's first baseball coach, Marion McDonald.
