LEADING OFF — Washburn continues its MIAA road swing this weekend with a trip to Joplin as it faces Missouri Southern ... the three-game series begins Friday at 5 p.m. before 1 p.m. starts on Saturday and Sunday.

MSSU SCOUTING REPORT — Missouri Southern opens the weekend with a five-game win streak as it stands 17-10 overall and 9-4 in conference play ... in spite of leaving 229 runners stranded (30 more than its opponents), the Lions' 235 runs is second-most in the MIAA, while the team paces the conference in hits (305), total RBI (216), walks (138) and home runs (43) ... with seven everyday starters batting .313 or better, MSSU has a team average of .325 ... Max Hogan's .450 average is fourth in conference ... Hogan also leads the team in runs (35), hits (45), doubles (11), home runs (10), RBI (35), slugging percentage (.920) and walks (27) ... reliever Cody Smith has a team-best five wins in 13 appearances ... starter Dan Hawk (1-1) leads the pitching in strikeouts (29), walks (22) while working 43.2 innings and holding a 5.56 ERA.

THE WEEK..err, DAy THAT WAS — WU bats were swinging on Tuesday as the Ichabods used the long ball and 15 hits to roll past Fort Hays in a 12-8 victory ... Quentin McGrath was credited with the win ... Darian Abram and Dylan Lonteen each tagged their first career home runs while Riley Krane opened the scoring with his seventh of the season.

SERIES HISTORY — Prior to the weekend-long affair, the Ichabods trail Missouri Southern in the all-time series, 49-35 ... WU  claimed the three-game set last season and snapped a previous eight-game losing to the Lions with a 11-3 tally in the series opener.

'BODS & ENDS —  Riley Krane is among the league leaders in RBI (2nd, 34); triples (t-1st, 4); runs (t-8th, 22) and home runs (t-4th, 7) ... Krane also cracks the top 40 nationally in RBI (29th) and triples (9th) ... Darian Abram's three triples have him tied for fifth in the MIAA and places him 25th in Division II ... Josh Crosby's 11 doubles is 15th-best in the Division II ranks ... Marcus McKinney tops the MIAA and is fifth in Division  II with six saves ... Lance Barkley and Jacob Head are both among the nation's leaders in wins with Barkley at 13th (5) while Head checks in at 36th (4) ... with a 3.84 ERA the WU pitching staff entered the week third in the MIAA and was ranked 41st nationally. 

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 9-3 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 21 wins shy of No. 100 ... with six saves on the season Marcus McKinney is now four shy of the WU all-time record held by Don Huss ... Riley Krane is 12 hits shy seventh on the WU all-time career list and 11 RBI short of ninth in program-history.

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.