LEADING OFF -- Washburn looks to continue its winning ways as it returns to the road for a three-game set at Northwest Missouri ... the series will begin on Thursday, Mar. 9 (2 p.m.) before moving to a 1 p.m. start on Friday ... the series is slated for Saturday but time and location have yet to be announced due to severe winter weather in the forecast.
NWMSU SCOUTING REPORT -- The Bearcats enter the week 10-6 overall and 2-4 in league play ... Northwest Missouri opened its home schedule with series win against Lindewood last week as it took the opener (8-7) and finale (10-0) ... led but a Luke Hassman (.340), the Bearcats have four batters hitting .300 or better ... Ozzie Adams paces the Bearcats with 22 hits while James Holler's 17 RBI is team-best ... the rotation is fronted by two-time All-MIAA selection Anthony Caenepeel (3-2; 2.31 ERA) who has 43 strikeouts this season including two outings with 12 ... collectively, NWMSU has .282 average at the plate while Bearcat pitchers limit opponents to a .234 average.
THE WEEK THAT WAS -- After getting swept to open conference play, WU closed out its homestand by sweeping Northeastern State ... the Ichabods claimed the series opener, 3-2, in 13 innings then followed with a 7-2 victory in game two and a 11-7 result in the finale.
SERIES HISTORY -- Prior to this weekend's showdown Washburn and NWMSU have met 115 times ... the Ichabods lead the all-time series 61-54 ... under head coach Harley Douglas, WU is 6-1 including a four-game road sweep in 2015 ... WU is 20-16 when playing in Maryville since 1998.
'BODS & ENDS -- Riley Krane tops the MIAA and is third in Division II with four triples (4) while Darian Abram's three triples have him listed second and eighth respectively ... Josh Crosby places eighth nationally in doubles (9) ... Marcus McKinney has the fourth-most saves (4) in Division II while Lance Barkley is sixth on the national charts in wins (4).
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 ... as a result of their early travels WU has logged approximately 2,736 miles while having ventured to three states.
CAUTION MILESTONES AHEAD -- Head coach Harley Douglas is 25 wins shy of No. 100 ... Marcus McKinney is two saves short of tying Lance Barkley's 2016 save total (7) ... Riley Krane is 10 runs and five hits shy of 10th all-time in program-history for each category.
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 seven former Ichabods who have played for an MLB club including Ken Berry, Rick DeHart, Jim Golden, Jerad Head, Davey Lopes, Jerry Robertson and Steve Simpson.
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.
WHERE THEY FROM -- The 2017 baseball team is comprised of 41 members hailing from 12 states. There are 22 players from Kansas, five from Colorado, four from Missouri, two from Illinois and one each representative from California, Iowa, Nebraska, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin.
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.
