Leading off . . .
•  The Washburn Ichabods return to the road for the next 14 games as they continue MIAA play with doubleheaders at Missouri Southern on Friday and at Pittsburg State on Saturday.
•  The Ichabods are coming off a 5-1 week after sweeping doubleheaders with Newman and Rockhurst before splitting their MIAA-opening twin bill with Central Oklahoma last time out on March 3.
•  The Ichabods enter the weekend with a 13-6 record and 1-1 in the MIAA.
•  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.
•  Washburn is 6-1 in games in which the Ichabods have hit a home run.
•  Emilee Baker leads the team with a .424 batting average with 25 hits scoring 12 runs … her nine multi hit games also lead the team.
•  Savannah Moore leads the team with eight multi-RBI games and her 21 RBI is tops on the team as are her five doubles.
•  Samantha Stallbaumer has reached base in 16-straight games and is riding an eight-game hitting streak and leads the team with 14 runs scored.
•  Megan Deiter has a team-best 2.38 going 5-0 in the circle. She has a 2 to 1 strikeout to walk ratio with 69 K's compared to 36 BB's and opponents are batting .160 against her.
 
 
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 opponents . . .
Missouri Southern
•  The Lions are 8-11 this season and have won their last four games.
•  Abi Corbett leads the team with a .412 batting average and has swiped 12 of 13 stolen base attempts.
•  Erika Lutgen leads the team with 10 RBI.
•  Natalie Hamm has a 2.92 ERA to lead the pitching staff in 24 innings pitched.
•  As a team the Lions are batting .270 and have a team ERA of 3.87.
•  The Ichabods trail the all-time series with the Lions 41-42 and the two teams split their MIAA doubleheader in Topeka last season on March 10 with the Ichabods falling 3-2 in the first game before winning the second game 8-6.
 
Pittsburg State
•  The Gorillas are 8-14 this season and will face Emporia Stte on March 9 before facing the Ichabods the following day.
•  Emily Clark leads the team with a .364 batting average and Kala Holder is batting .317 with 19 hits, eight home runs and 13 RBI.
•  Brittany Beaudet leads the team with a 2.04 ERA.
•  Overall the Gorillas are batting .247 and have a team ERA of 4.37.
•  The Ichabods lead the all-time series 64-57, but will be looking to snap a seven-game losing streak to Pittsburg State.
•  The Ichabods' last win over the Gorillas came on Feb. 5, 2014 when the Ichabods won the second game of a doubleheader.
 
Last time out . . .
TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn softball team moved to 13-6 on the season after splitting a doubleheader with Central Oklahoma Saturday. The Ichabods are also 1-1 in MIAA action after today's doubleheader, being the first two games of conference play. The Ichabods will be back on the road Friday, as they take on Missouri Southern in a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m.
Game one:
The Ichabods handed the Bronchos their first MIAA loss of the season in a comeback, walk-off 4-3 victory.
After a scoreless first inning, the Bronchos took a 2-0 lead after scoring one run each in the second and third. The Ichabods responded with their first run of the game in the bottom of the third with an RBI double from Savannah Moore. Moore was a catalyst for the offense, going 3-4 with three RBI.
After the Bronchos scored for the third consecutive inning, the Ichabods found themselves down 3-1 after four. Moore's single scored Samantha Stallbaumer to bring the game back to a one-run deficit.
Lexi Crabtree provided 3.2 solid innings in relief for starting pitcher Megan Deiter. She gave up just one hit in the fifth inning, and did not let a runner on base in the sixth and seventh. 
In the bottom of the seventh, with the Ichabods down 3-2, Moore tied the game with an RBI single down the left field line. With Emilee Baker and Stallbaumer at second and third, respectively, that left the bases loaded for Taylor Kirk. She drew a walk on a full count that sent Stallbaumer in for the winning run.
Game two:
The Ichabods ran into a buzzsaw in Bronchos' pitcher Lauren Gibson in the latter half of the doubleheader. While walking four, she gave up just three hits in a complete-game shutout.
The Bronchos did most of their damage early on, scoring three runs in the second and another in the third. Starting pitcher Kelsee Henry gave up a two-run homer in the second to Tori Ritz, who ended up with three RBI in total for game two. 
After the four earned runs given up in those two innings, Henry powered through the rest of the game, giving up just two more hits and no more runs. The Ichabods offense, however, never had enough momentum to send a runner in to score. Their best chance to put a run on board came in the sixth inning, when Kirk doubled to center and advanced Baker to third. But Alyssa Carney grounded out to end the inning directly afterwards, stranding both runners in scoring position. 
The 4-0 loss ended the Ichabods five-game winning streak, and brought their MIAA record to 1-1 while improving the Bronchos' record to 13-5, 3-1 in the MIAA.
 
Head coach Brenda Holaday
•  is 38-36 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 1109-863-1 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 head back out on the road for their next scheduled 10 games and will return home March 27 against Northeastern State.