Leading off . . .
•    The Washburn Ichabods return to MIAA play opening their longest homestand of the season with six games beginning on Friday when they will play host to Lincoln in a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m.
•    Washburn will take on Lindenwood the following day starting at 1 p.m.
•    Washburn is 13-22 this season and 1-7 in the MIAA.
•    Lincoln is 2-16 and 0-2 in the MIAA this season. The Blue Tigers will host Drury on March 21 and William Jewell on March 23 before taking on the Ichabods on March 24.
•    Lindenwood is 9-9 this season and 0-2 in MIAA action and will face Emporia State on March 24 in Emporia before playing the Ichabods the following day.
•    Erica Harper has 11 multi-hit games to lead the team and Jordan Erickson has 10. Savannah Moore leads the Ichabods with three-hit games with three. Ashley Ruder and Taylor Kemp each have six multi-hit games.
•    Savannah Moore leads the ichabods with six multi-RBI games and Jordan Erickson has five. Erica Harper has a 5-RBI game earlier this season.
•    Erica Harper will carry the team's longest hitting streak of the season into the weekend with a nine-game streak. She has also reached base in nine-straight games and Jordan Erickson has reached base in eight-straight games.
•    Savannah Moore is tied for fifth in the MIAA in runs scored and Jordan Erickson is second in doubles with 10.
•    The three saves by Samantha Carson this season is the most by an Ichabod pitcher since 1997 when Kathy Mohler had three setting an Ichabod single season record. Carson now has five in her career which is a school record breaking the three Mohler had.
•    Samantha Carson has appeared in 135 games as an Ichabod making 111 career starts.
 
The Week that was . . .
•    Washburn was 2-4 last week last weekend at the Missouri Western Regional Crossover in St. Joseph, Mo.
•    Erica Harper led the Ichabods with a .474 batting average with a team-high nine hits.
•    Jordan Erickson recorded eight hits and drove in four.
•    Savannah Moore recorded six hits and two home runs while scoring five times and driving in a team-best eight runs.
•    Samantaha Carson had a 2.47 ERA in four appearances and Kelsee Henry was 2-1 with a 2.58 ERA with two complete games in 21 2/3 innings pitched.
 
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.
•    Live stats for certain game will be linked at www.sidearmstats.com/washburn/softball.
 
This week's opponents . . .
Lincoln
•    Lincoln is 2-16 and 0-2 in the MIAA this season. The Blue Tigers will host Drury on March 21 and William Jewell on March 23 before taking on the Ichabods on March 24.
•    The Blue Tigers are led by Sarah Westhoff with a .308 batting average as they enter the week with a .230 team batting average.
•    As a team, the Blue Tigers have an ERA of 8.40.
•    The two wins so far this season have come over NCAA Division I foe Grambling State in a 13-4 win and a 12-1 win over Langston.
•    Washburn leads the all-time series with Lincoln 27-6 and have won the last four.
•    Washburn won the first 16 in the series from 1990 to 2003.
•    Lincoln's last win was a doubleheader sweep on April 25, 2014.
 
Lindenwood
•    Lindenwood is 9-9 this season and 0-2 in MIAA action and will face Emporia State on March 24 in Emporia before playing the Ichabods the following day.
•    Faith Koffron leads the team with a .417 batting average for the Lions who overall are batting .302.
•    In the circle, Stormee Galka is 5-4 with a 3.70 ERA.
•    The Ichabods lead the all-time series 6-5, but the Lions have won the last three and five of the last six.
 
Last time out . . .
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- The Washburn Ichabods drew a split on the final day of the Missouri Western/Hy-Vee Regional Crossover on Sunday topping St. Cloud State 7-3 before losing the nightcap 9-3 to Upper Iowa to go 2-4 over the six games played. Washburn returns to MIAA play on Friday when they will play host to Lincoln at 2 p.m. at the Washburn Softball Complex.
Game 1 - Washburn 7, St. Cloud State 3
The Ichabods opened the scoring in the top of the third courtesy of a two-run blast by Jordan Erickson scoring Dakota Sanders who reached first after she was plunked by a pitch. After the Huskies scored two more in the bottom of the frame to tie the score, St. Cloud would take the lead in the bottom of the fifth on a home run going up 3-2.
Washburn came back in its next at bat scoring three times on RBI singles by Savannah Moore and an RBI by Lacie Myers. The Ichabods tacked on two more in the seventh on an RBI double by Moore scoring Erica Harper and then Moore scored on a double by Taylor Kemp.
Moore and Samantha Carson each had two hits for the Ichabods and Erickson drove in two with one hit.
Game 2 - Upper Iowa 9, Washburn 3
The Ichabods fell behind 3-0 after the Peacocks scored three in the top of the third, but Washburn came back with two in the bottom of the third as Megan Stegman and Jordan Erickson who both singled scored on a double by Samantha Carson.
However Upper Iowa came back with four in the top of the fourth to go up 7-2. Washburn scored a solo run in the fifth when Carson scored on an RBI single by Savannah Moore for Washburn's last run.
Ashley Wills took the loss allowing six earned runs with two strikeouts.
 
Head coach Brenda Holaday
•    is 13-22 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 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 1126-859-1 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 continue its homestand with two MIAA games against Emporia State on March 31 before facing the Hornets in a pair of road games on April 1. Washburn will then wrap up the home slate on April 7 and April 8 against Nebraska-Kearney and Fort Hays State before playing its final eight games on the road.