Leading off . . .
•     The Washburn Ichabod softball team will wrap up its longest homestand of the year with on Friday with Emporia State in a pair of MIAA games before traveling down the turnpike to face the Hornets again in a pair of non-conference tilts starting at 1 p.m.
•     The Ichabods and the Hornets are each riding four-game winning streaks after sweeping Lincoln and Lindenwood last weekend.
•     The four-game winning streak is the longest for the Ichabods this season.
•     Overall the Ichabods are 17-22 and 5-7 in the MIAA while the Hornets are 22-16 and 8-4 in conference play. ESU will face William Jewell on March 29 in a doubleheader before taking on the Ichabods this weekend.
•     Erica Harper leads the team with a .361 batting average with a team-high 43 hits and seven home runs and is tied for the team lead with 22 RBI.
•     Savannah Moore is batting .333 with 37 hits and nine doubles with 22 RBI and she is second on the team with six home runs … she leads the team in MIAA play with a .412 batting average.
•     Dakota Sanders is batting .304 with 24 hits and Jordan Erickson is batting .283 with a team-high 11 doubles.
•     Erica Harper has 13 multi-hit games to lead the team and Jordan Erickson has 12. Savannah Moore leads the Ichabods with four three-hit games. Ashley Ruder and Taylor Kemp and Dakota Sanders each have six multi-hit games.
•     Savannah Moore leads the Ichabods with seven multi-RBI games and Jordan Erickson has six. Erica Harper has a 5-RBI game earlier this season.
•     Savannah Moore has a seven-game hitting streak … the longest hitting streak by any Ichabod this season has been 11 by Erica Harper.
•     Jordan Erickson has reached base in 12-straight games … the longest streak has been 13 by Dakota Sanders this season.
•     The four 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 six in her career which is a school record breaking the three Mohler had.
•     Washburn has outscored its opponents 35 to 29 in the first inning, but have been outscored 22 to 5 in the second inning … from the second to the fifth innings, the Ichabods have been outscored 111 to 65.
•     Megan Stegman has started 12 games at second base, six in center field and 17 in right field this season.
 
The Week that was . . .
•     Washburn was 4-0 sweeping Lincoln and Lindenwood last weekend.
•     Savannah Moore recorded a .462 batting average with six hits and three runs scored.
•     Lexie Myers batted .455 with five hits and a team-high four RBI during the week.
•     Dakota Sanders and Jordan Erickson each had five hits as well batting .417 during the week.
•     As a team the Ichabods batted .318 holding opponents to a .124 batting average.
•     Kelsee Henry was 2-0 with a 0.50 ERA with two complete games and one complete game shutout allowing only six hits during the week.
•     Ashley Wills was 2-0 with a 1.85 ERA with a complete game win allowing five hits.
•     Samantha Carson had a 0.00 ERA with a save in 2 2/3 innings pitched and three strikeouts.
 
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 . . .
Emporia State
•     The Hornets are 22-16 and 8-4 in the MIAA entering a non-conference doubleheader with William Jewell on Wednesday.
•     Vaitlin VanVleck leads the team with a .393 batting average with a team-high 42 hits.
•     As a team, the Hornets are batting .296 and have swiped 73 of 95 stolen base attempts with McKenna Davis going 17 of 23.
•     In the circle, Eryn Stockman leads the team with a 14-7 record and a 1.81 ERA in 139 innings pitched.
 
Last time out . . .
TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn Ichabod softball team swept its second-straight doubleheader topping Lindenwood 3-1 and 5-4 in an MIAA doubleheader which was moved to Washburn Rural High School after the field on the Washburn campus was unplayable.
Game 1 - Washburn 3, Lindenwood 1
The Lions scored first in the top of the third going up 1-0 over the Ichabods, but the lead was short-lived as Megan Stegman's third home run of the season leading off the bottom of the third tied the score at 1-1.
The Ichabods broke the deadlock in the bottom of the of the sixth after Lexie Myers singled and then Taylor Kemp walked. After an error by the Lions, Dakota Sanders drove in Britnee Douglas who entered as a pinch runner and then Kemp scored on a sac fly by Stegman stretching the Ichabod lead to 3-1.
Kelsee Henry put the Lions down in order in the top of the seventh en route to the win improving to 8-10 on the season allowing only one earned run with four strikeouts scattering five hits in the win.
Sanders led the Ichabods with two hits and Stegman drove in two in the win.
Game 2 - Washburn 5, Lindenwood 4
The Lions (9-13, 0-6 MIAA) took a 1-0 lead in their first at bat, but the Ichabods came back with three of their own in the bottom of the first on a three-run homer by Taylor Kemp which scored Lexie Myers who walked and Savannah Moore who singled to left.
The Lions scored two unearned runs in the top of the second to tie the score at 3-3.
Washburn snapped the tie in the fourth inning when Samantha Carson scored on a single to right by Maddie Anderson who would score on a sac fly by Lexie Myers as Washburn took a 5-3 lead into the fifth inning.
In the fifth, a solo home run by the Lions cut the lead in half at 5-4, but Carson entered the game in relief of Ashley Wills pitching the final 2 2/3 innings for her fourth save of the season as Ashley Wills improved to 8-5 on the season. Carson allowed only one hit in relief with three strikeouts.
Taylor Kemp drove in three in the win and Sanders and Stegman each had two hits to lead Washburn who outhit the Lions 8 to 4 in the game.
 
Head coach Brenda Holaday
•     is 17-22 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 1130-859-1 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 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.