Leading off . . .
•     The Washburn Ichabods softball team will wrap up the regular season this weekend with a pair of doubleheaders starting on Friday at Missouri Western followed by two more at Northwest Missouri.
•     The Ichabods are 23-28 overall and 10-12 in the MIAA sitting in 10th in the MIAA standings.
•     Missouri Western is 31-15 and 11-9 in the MIAA and will face Lincoln on April 17 before playing the Ichabods on Friday. The Griffons enter the week in seventh in the MIAA standings.
•     Northwest Missouri is 24-16 entering the final week and 13-7 in MIAA play. The Bearcats are facing Lindenwood on Monday this week and will host Emporia State on Friday before playing the Ichabods the following day. Northwest is in third in the MIAA race entering play this week.
•     The top eight teams in the MIAA standings qualify for the MIAA Tournament April 27-29 in Oklahoma City, Okla.
•     Erica Harper leads the team with a .357 batting average with a team-high 56 hits and 10 home runs and is tied for the team lead with 27 RBI.
•     Savannah Moore is batting .296 with 45 hits and 11 doubles with 27 RBI and she is second on the team with seven home runs … she is tied for the team in MIAA play with a .294 batting average with Erica Harper.
•     Taylor Kemp is batting .279 with 38 hits and Jordan Erickson is batting .254 with 43 hits tying for the team lead with 11 doubles while driving in 20 this season.
•     Erica Harper has 15 multi-hit games to lead the team and Jordan Erickson has 14. Savannah Moore leads the Ichabods with four three-hit games. Taylor Kemp has nine multi-hit games and Ashley Ruder and Megan Stegman each have seven multi-hit games.
•     Savannah Moore leads the Ichabods with seven multi-RBI games and Jordan Erickson and Taylor Kemp has six. Erica Harper has a 5-RBI game earlier this season.
•     Savannah Moore is riding a nine-game hitting streak … the longest hitting streak by any Ichabod this season has been 11 by Erica Harper.
•     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 36 to 32 in the first inning, but have been outscored 25 to 8 in the second inning … from the second to the fifth innings, the Ichabods have been outscored  130 to 85.
                                                                                         
The Week that was . . .
•     Washburn 2-4 last week after splitting doubleheaders at Southwest Baptist and Central Missouri and being swept by Emporia State.
•     Megan Stegman led the Ichabods with a .333 batting average going 6 for 18 with two home runs and a .722 slugging percentage with 3 RBI.
•     Erica Harper was 6 of 20 for a .300 batting average and recorded six hits.
•     Lexi Crabtree was 1-2 with a 2.04 ERA with two complete games and Kelsee Henry was 1-2 with a 3.50 ERA and one complete game.
 
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.
 
This week's opponents . . .
Missouri Western
•     Missouri Western is 31-15 and 11-9 in the MIAA and will face Lincoln on April 17 before playing the Ichabods on Friday. The Griffons enter the week in seventh in the MIAA standings.
 
Northwest Missouri
•     Northwest Missouri is 24-16 entering the final week and 13-7 in MIAA play. The Bearcats are facing Lindenwood on Monday this week and will host Emporia State on Friday before playing the Ichabods the following day. Northwest is in third in the MIAA race entering play this week.
 
Last time out . . .
BOLIVAR, Mo. -- The Washburn Ichabods split a doubleheader at Southwest Baptist in a pair of close games falling 2-0 and winning the nightcap 1-0 in eight innings. Washburn will wrap up the regular season next weekend with twinbills at Missouri Western and Northwest Missouri.
Game 1 - SBU 2, WU 0
The Bearcats scored one in the first and one in the fourth leading to the 2-0 win in the opener.
Washburn was limited to two hits in the game, both by Ashley Ruder coming in the fifth and seventh innings.
Lexi Crabtree scattered eight hits in the loss with three strikeouts and a walk.
Game 2 - WU 1, SBU 0
Megan Stegman broke a scoreless tie in the top of the eighth with one out with a solo home run to left field for the game-winning run.
Kelsee Henry tossed a two-hit shutout striking out four pitching a complete game shutout. 
SBU loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh, but could not scratch across the winning run.
Stegman had two of the three hits for the Ichabods and Erica Harper recorded the other.
 
Head coach Brenda Holaday
•     is 23-28 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 1136-865-1 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 . . .
•     The MIAA Tournament starts April 27 in Oklahoma City for the top eight teams in the final MIAA standings.