Leading off . . .
• The Washburn Ichabods will return to action on Friday at Emporia State in a four-game series … the series will wrap up on Saturday in Topeka in a twin bill starting at 1 p.m.
• The two games in Emporia on Friday will be the doubleheader which will count in the MIAA standings while the two in Topeka will go down as non-conference match-ups.
• Saturday will also be Ichabod/Lady Blues Alumni day as many former Washburn softball players will be returning to campus and will be recognized between games.
• The Ichabods are coming off a 4-0 weekend sweeping a pair of MIAA twin bills topping Lincoln and Lindenwood.
• In non-conference play, the Ichabods have gone 4-1 against teams from the NSIC, 5-2 against the Heartland Conference, 3-2 against the GLVC and 3-1 against teams from the GAC this year.
• The Ichabods are off to their best in MIAA play since the 2003 season when they would begin the year 11-3 in league play.
• The Ichabods are in first place in the MIAA race with the 9-1 record while Central Missouri is 8-2 and Northwest Missouri and Missouri Western are all tied for third at 7-3.
• The 24 wins this season is one shy of the 25 the Ichabods all of the 2017 season.
• The 24-7 start is the best by an Ichabod team through 31 games since going 21-10 to start the 2003 season.
• Washburn is 14-1 in games in which the Ichabods have hit a home run.
• Emilee Baker leads the team with a .440 batting average with 44 hits scoring 27 runs which is second on the team … her 14 multi hit games also lead the team and she enters the RiverHawk doubleheader riding a 12-game hitting streak.
• Savannah Moore leads the team with 13 multi-RBI games and her 42 RBI is tops on the team as are her eight doubles.
• Samantha Stallbaumer leads the team with 29 runs scored and 13 stolen bases … she is third on the team with 38 hits.
• Megan Deiter has a team-best 2.02 earned run average going 10-0 in the circle. She has a 2 to 1 strikeout to walk ratio with 113 K's compared to 53 BB's and opponents are batting .181 against her.
• Kelsee Henry is 11-3 in the circle and has a 3.15 ERA.
• The 40 stolen bases this season for the Ichabods in 31 games has already passed the final season total dating back to every year until 2001 when the Ichabods swiped 42 bases.
• This season as a team the Ichabods are batting .315 compared to their .245 batting average from last season.
• The Ichabod pitching staff has also lowered its ERA dropping from 2.85 in 2018 to 3.12 in 2017.
• Washburn is outscoring its opponents 23 to 8 in the first inning, 23 to 14 in the third inning, 26 to 11 in the fourth inning, 38 to 20 in the fifth inning and 20 to 15 in the sixth inning.
• The Ichabods are 12-0 when scoring in the first innings of games this season.
• Washburn is 21-3 this season when leading after four innings and 13-0 when scoring at least six runs.
• Washburn opponents are 0-16 when scoring two runs or less.
• The Ichabods are hitting .330 as a team in MIAA play while holding opponents to a .197 batting average.
• Washburn's pitching staff as a 1.72 earned run average in MIAA action compared to its opponents ERA of 5.47.
• Washburn was picked 10th in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll.
• 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.

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.

About the Hornets . . .
• The Hornets are 13-21 overall and 5-7 in MIAA play after splitting a doubleheader with Northeastern State on Wednesday.
• Kelsey Phillips leads the team with a .389 batting average.
• Montana Mesler leads the pitching staff with six wins and a 4.24 earned run average … as a team the pitching staff has a 5.03 ERA.

Last time out . . .
ST. CHARLES, Mo. – The Washburn Ichabods moved to 24-7 and 9-1 in the MIAA after sweeping Lindenwood winning 9-1 and 8-2 on Sunday. The start to conference play is the best for the Ichabods since starting 11-1 in 2003 en route to a 13-5 league mark. Washburn is back in action on Tuesday when the Ichabods return to the Washburn Softball Complex playing host to Northeastern State.
Game 1 – Washburn 9, Lindenwood 1 (5 innings)
Savannah Moore had three hits and Samantha Stallbaumer drove in four while Megan Deiter struck out seven in the first game of the doubleheader.
The Ichabods scored four in the second inning as Stallbaumer and Moore each recorded RBI as the Ichabods took 4-0 lead. The Lions got one back in the bottom of the inning but the Ichabods came back with two in the fourth and three more in the fifth leading to the run-rul win.
In the fourth, Morgan Henry led off the inning with a double and she scored on an RBI by Emilee Baker and then Moore's solo home run pushed Washburn to a 6-1 lead.
The Ichabods sent eight to the plate in the fifth when Brianna Francis singled and would later score as would Alyssa Carney and Morgan Henry on a bases-loaded triple by Stallbaumer clearing the bases moving Washburn to a 9-1 lead.
Deiter moved her record to 10-0 this season in the win striking out seven allowing two hits and one earned run.
Game 2 – WU 8, LWU 2
The Ichabods broke a scoreless tie with five runs in the fourth inning as Ashley Ruder, Savannah Moore and Brianna Francis each had RBI as the Ichabods took advantage of one of three Lion errors. In the fifth, the Ichabods added three more with Alyssa Carney collecting a 2 RBI single with an RBI single by Maddie Anderson as Washburn went up 8-1.
The Lions added a solo run in the sixth but that would be it.
Kelsee Henry improved to 11-3 in the circle scattering two hits with seven strikeouts and no walks. Lexi Crabtree pitched the final inning.
Francis and Carney each had two hits while Carney drove in two in the game.

Head coach Brenda Holaday
• is 49-37 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 t 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 former Ichabod head softball coach Lisa Carey, the winningest coach by wins in program history.

Washburn Ichabod softball history . . .
• The Ichabods are 1116-864-1 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 face Northeastern State in a doubleheader on Tuesday, April 3 in a rescheduled MIAA twin bill from March 27 in Topeka.