Leading off . . .
•                 The Washburn Ichabod softball team will open the 2018 season on the road starting at the Southeastern Oklahoma State Regional Invitational in Durant, Okla., starting Feb. 2 with six games on the schedule.
•                 Washburn is under the second year of leadership under head coach Brenda Holaday who led the Ichabods to a 25-30 record and ninth place finish in the MIAA standings.
•                 Washburn finished the season 25-21 after starting the 2017 campaign on a nine-game losing streak.
•                 Washburn was picked 10th in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll which was released on Tuesday by the conference office.
•                 The Ichabods return seven letterwinners off last season's squad which went 25-30 finishing ninth in the MIAA race. Of the seven returnees, two were honorable mention all-MIAA selections in junior third baseman Savannah Moore senior pitcher Kelsee Henry. 
•                 Washburn will open the season with Oklahoma Christian on Friday at 9:30 a.m., and Newman at noon.
•                 On Saturday, the Ichabods will face Oklahoma Baptist at 9:30 am. and host Southeastern Oklahoma State at noon.
•                 Sunday will will wrap up play with Rockhurst at 9:30 a.m. and Cameron at noon.
•                 To start the season, Washburn will play its first 17 games on the road before opening the home slate on Feb. 28 against Newman.
 
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 . . .
Oklahoma Christian
•                 In the preseason poll of Heartland coaches and sports information directors, OC was one of three teams to receive first-place votes, picking up two.
•                 The Lady Eagles finished third in the poll with 71 points, behind Lubbock Christian (Texas) with 88 points and St. Mary's (Texas) with 84 points. Both those teams received six first-place votes. St. Mary's has won 17 of the last 18 Heartland titles.
•                 OC finished third in the Heartland last season, going 33-23 overall and 13-8 in league play. The Lady Eagles return eight starters from that squad.
 
Newman
•                 The Jets, who finished the 2017 season 17-35 overall and 10-9 in conference play, picked up 33 points in the poll of the league's head coaches and sports information directors placing sixth in the preseason Heartland Conference poll.
 
Oklahoma Baptist
•                 Picked ninth last season in the GAC preseason poll, the Lady Bison finished 10th before finishing the year with six consecutive postseason wins to claim the NCCAA national championship.
•                 This season the the Lady Bison are playing a full NCAA Division II schedule and return three pitchers, three starting infielders and two starting outfielders from last year's 28-29 squad.
 
Southeastern Oklahoma State
•                 Southeastern softball will head into the 2018 season picked to finish tied for eighth with Ouachita Baptist according to the league's preseason poll released on Tuesday. 
•                 The Savage Storm is coming off an 18-34 season and a 12-30 GAC performance in 2017, but returns its top two hitters as well as both All-GAC selections from a year ago.
•                 In all the team brings back six of its eight regular position starters and two of its starting pitchers.
 
Rockhurst
•                 The Hawks are under the leadership of new head coach Bailey Wittenauer, who joined Rockhurst coming from an assistant coaching position at Truman.
•                 Rockhurst was 31-22 last season going 19-7 in the GLVC.
 
Cameron
•                 The Aggies were 33-20 last season with a 20-8 record in the Lone Star Conference in 2017.
•                 The Aggies reached the NCAA Regional going 0-2.
 
Last time out . . .
(April 22, 2017) -- MARYVILLE, Mo. -- The Washburn Ichabod softball team wrapped up the regular season with a doubleheader sweep at Northwest Missouri winning 3-1 and 1-0. Washburn finishes the regular season with a 25-30 record going 12-14 in MIAA play. 
Game 1 - Washburn 3, Northwest Missouri 1
After Northwest Missouri took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, but the Ichabods came back to tie the score in the fourth inning when Savannah Moore single to center scored Jordan Erickson after leading off the inning with a single.
In the fifth inning, Lacie Myers started things with a single to right. After another single by Samantha Carson, Maddie Anderson's RBI groundout scored Chantal Prester who entered as a pinch running putting Washburn up 3-1.
Lexi Crabtree improved to 5-6 retiring 12 of the last 14 Bearcat batters while striking out four for the win.
Erickson had three of the Ichabods' nine hits in the game with Megan Stegman and Moore picking up two each.
Game 2 - WU 1, NWMSU 0
The Ichabods scored the lone run of the game on an RBI single scoring Savannah Moore who reached in a double in a 1-0 win.
Kelsee Henry struck out one Bearcat while scattering seven hits. The Bearcats outhit the Ichabods 7 to 4 in the second game and stranded 14 batters in the game. Henry improved to 11-14 on the season throwing 136 pitches..
 
Head coach Brenda Holaday
•                 is 25-30 in her second 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 1098-858-1 in their 49th 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 Ichabods will be back in action on the road at the Central Oklahoma/Oklahoma Christian Festival Feb. 9-12 in Edmond, Okla.