LEADING OFF — Beginning Friday, Washburn welcomes Nebraska-Kearney to Falley Field for a three-game set ... first pitch for the series opener is slated for 4 p.m. ... the series will then resume Saturday at 1 p.m. before a noon start Sunday for the series finale.
UNK SCOUTING REPORT — The Lopers come to Topeka at 8-19 overall with a 1-13 record in MIAA action and will be looking to snap a six-game losing streak ... UNK is batting .279 as a team with five starters averaging .300 or better at the plate ... catcher Dallas Schramm leads the Lopers in most major offensive categories including average (.375), hits (39), runs (17), home runs (4) and RBI (28) ... Mitchell Robinson leads the UNK pitching staff in earned run average (4.98), wins (3) and innings pitched (47.0) while Bradley Brown paces the Loper hurlers with 37 strikeouts ... defensively UNK has a .964 fielding percentage with 34 errors on the seasons with the second-most double-plays (24) in the MIAA.
SERIES HISTORY — The weekend set will feature game Nos. 24, 25 and 26 in the series' history despite beginning during the early 1960's ... the teams met eight times between 1962-67 before an 18-year hiatus ... the teams then met once in 1989 and 2004 before becoming regular fixtures in each team's respective schedule in 2013 ... the Ichabods have won six of the last seven meetings including a three-game sweep last season ... Neb.-Kearney leads the all-time series 13-10.
RECAP REWIND — The Ichabods claimed their third series of the 2017 campaign on Tuesday when they knocked in-state conference rival Fort Hays, 10-5. Quentin McGrath worked seven innings en route to earning credit for the win ... Riley Krane became a home run co-leader in the MIAA with his 10th blast of the season ... Kasey Clark led the effort as he went 4-for-5 at the dish with five RBI and finished a double shy of the cycle.
'BODS & ENDS — Riley Krane is among the league leaders in RBI (t-1st, 41); triples (t-1st, 5); runs (5th, 33) ... Krane also cracks the top 40 nationally in home runs (26th), RBI and triples (12th) ... Darian Abram's three triples have him tied for seventh in the MIAA and places him 35th in Division II ... Josh Crosby's 11 doubles is tied for seventh in MIAA standings while placing him 32nd-overall in the Division II ranks ... Marcus McKinney is in a four-way tie for the most saves (6) in the MIAA while also sharing ninth in Division II ... Lance Barkley and Jacob Head are both among the nation's leaders in wins with Barkley at 25th (5) while Head and his four victories check in at 72nd ... with a 4.54 ERA the WU pitching staff entered the week ranked fifth in the MIAA and 84th nationally.
Raking bods — Since Spring Break (Mar. 17-28) six different Ichabods have gone deep nine times raising Washburn's home run total to 17 ... prior to the recent stretch, WU had only homered eight times in 20 games ... Krane's 10 home runs (four in the last five games) is season-best for the senior shortstop surpassing his previous mark of eight set last season ... Abram hit a three-run blast on March 21 against Fort Hays for his first homer as an Ichabod ... freshman Dylan Lonteen recorded his first collegiate home run (a three-run blast) on March 21 ... on March 24, Josh Crosby got his first homer as a 'Bod ... that same day Krane belted two against Missouri while Tanner Triggs went deep with a grand slam.
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.
'BODS ROADSHOW — The Ichabods opened their season with an 11-game road swing ... during that stretch WU went 8-3 overall with a 4-1 mark in neutral site venues ... this season WU is 10-5 when listed as the visiting team on the scoreboard ... currently WU has bussed approximately 3,652 miles round trip or the nearly same distance from Topeka to Panama City, Panama (3,682 mi).
MILESTONES AHEAD — Head coach Harley Douglas is 19 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 three hits shy 200 for his career and four RBI short of surpassing Pat Colley (1998-2001) for 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.
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.
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.
