Leading off . . .
•  The Washburn Ichabods will wrap up the regular season facing Missouri Western and Northwest Missouri on Thursday and Friday in games which have been moved up one day to beat the weather forecast for the weekend.
•  Washburn has clinched at least a share of its first MIAA regular season championship since the 2002 season and can clinch it outright with one more win or a loss by Northwest Missouri or Central Missouri in the remaining four regular season games for those teams.
•  On Friday, the three Ichabod seniors - Kelsee Henry, Maddie Anderson and Alyssa Carney will be recognized between games of the doubleheader with Northwest Missouri.
•  For the second-straight week, the Ichabods received votes in the NFCA top 25 poll …they are the only MIAA team to receive votes.
•  The Ichabods enter the games with Missouri Western 36-9 and 20-2 in the MIAA.
•  The 20 MIAA wins is the most for an Ichabod team in program history as the Ichabods are off to their best in MIAA play since the 2002 season when they would finish the year 16-2 in league play winning 11 games in a row at one point en route to a 48-11 season.
•  The Ichabods had their 17 MIAA game winning streak snapped in the second game with Central Missouri.
•  The Ichabods, who have clinched at least a share of the MIAA title, are in first place in the MIAA race with the 20-2 record while Central Missouri and Northwest Missouri are both 16-6. •   The Ichabod magic number for an outright title is one entering the weekend.
•  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 and now 1-1 against MIAA teams in non-conference games after splitting with Emporia State earlier this season.
•  The 36 wins this season are 11 more than the Ichabods recorded in 2017.
•  The 36-9 start follows the 2002 team (37-8 through 45 games) and the 1986 teams (39-6 through 45 games) as the best starts in school history.
•  Washburn is 19-2 in games in which the Ichabods have hit a home run.
•  Emilee Baker has a .423 batting average to lead the team along with her 63 hits … her 38 runs scored is second on the team and her 25 RBI is third … her 19 multi-hit is tied for the team lead.
•  Brianna Francis is second on the team with a .421 batting average and is batting .446 in MIAA games.
•  Savannah Moore leads the team with 16 multi-RBI games has 17 multi-hit games …  she is fourth on the team with a .387 batting average while batting .387 in MIAA play … her 58 RBI this season is tops on the team and has already set the Ichabod high-water mark for a single season … her 15 doubles and 58 hits is third on the team.
•  Samantha Stallbaumer leads the team with 47 runs scored and 23 stolen bases … she is second on the team with 61 hits.
•  Megan Deiter has a team-best 1.77 earned run average going 16-0 in the circle. She has a better than 2 to 1 strikeout to walk ratio with 169 K's compared to 74 BB's and opponents are batting .190 against her … she already has snapped the Ichabod single-season strikeout record.
•  Kelsee Henry is 14-3 in the circle and has a 3.22 ERA.
•  The 62 stolen bases (in 70 attempts) this season for the Ichabods in 45 games has already passed the final season total dating back to every year since 1999 when the Ichabods swiped 74 bases for the entire season.
•  This season as a team the Ichabods are batting .316 compared to their .245 batting average from last season.
•  The Ichabod pitching staff has also lowered its ERA dropping to 2.66 in 2018 from 3.12 in 2017.
•  Defensively, the Ichabods lead the nation in fielding percentage committing only 22 errors through 45 games with a fielding percentage of .982 … in 2017, the Ichabods had 39 errors and a .950 fielding percentage.
•  Washburn is outscoring its opponents 46 to 10 in the first inning, 40 to 17 in the second inning, 35 to 15 in the third inning, 29 to 15 in the fourth inning, 52 to 30 in the fifth inning, 31 to 21 in the sixth inning and 17 to 13  in the seventh inning.
•  The Ichabods are 22-0 when scoring in the first innings of games this season and 30-4 this season when scoring first.
•  Washburn is 31-3 this season when leading after four innings.
•  Washburn opponents are 1-23 when scoring two runs or less.
•  Washburn is 30-1 this season when out hitting its opponents.
•  The Ichabods are hitting .319 as a team in MIAA play while holding opponents to a .216 batting average.
•  Washburn's pitching staff as a 1.85 earned run average in MIAA action compared to its opponents ERA of 4.96.
•  Washburn was picked 10th in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll.
•  The Ichabods returned 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.
 
Record watching . . .
•  Lexi Crabtree has four saves this season which ties the Ichabod single-season record set by Samantha Carson last season.
•  Savannah Moore has 58 RBI this season and breaking the Ichabod single season record of 56 set by Tish Williams in 2007.
•  Megan Deiter has 169 strikeouts this year and passing Amy Heiman's mark of 161 set in 1999.
 
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 Griffons . . .
•  The Griffons are 23-24 this season and 14-8 in the MIAA.
•  UCM is batting .296 as a team and they are led by Shelby Uhl's .361 batting average … she leads the team with 41 runs, 57 hits, 40 RBI and eight home runs.
•  In the circle, Kenzie Hilzer has a 12-11 record and Kailli Hinds leads the team with a 3.99 ERA with three shutouts.
 
About the Bearcats . . .
•  The Bearcats are 25-13 overall and 16-6 in MIAA play and have won four games in a row entering Thursday's doubleheader at Emporia State.
•  The Bearcats trail the Ichabods by four games in the conference race with four games to go.
•  Kaitlyn Weis leads the team with a .395 batting average adding 13 home runs.
•  Rachel Smith is 11-4 in the circle with a 2.28 ERA.
 
Last time out . . .
TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabod softball team swept Southwest Baptist winning 8-0 behind a one-hit shutout by Megan Deiter in five innings in the opener and out-lasted the Bearcats in eight innings in the nightcap as Taylor Kirk's walk-off, lead-off home run in the bottom of the eighth sent Washburn home with a pair of wins completing the rally in the second game. 
Game 1 – Washburn 8, Southwest Baptist 0 (5 innings)
Deiter improved to 16-0 in the circle with six strikeouts in the game and Washburn scored four runs in the second to cruise to the win. After a lead-off single by Brianna Francis and a walk by Kirk (who walked three times in the game), Maddie Anderson drew a free pass and after Ashley Ruder was hit by a pitch sending Francis home, Lexie Myers singled scoring Kirk. An RBI single by Emilee Baker scored Ruder and Savannah Moore also drew a bases-loaded walk scoring Lexie Myers.
In the fourth, the Ichabods scored once on a double steal with Samantha Stallbaumer coming home as Baker took second to put Washburn up 5-0.
In the fifth, Lenae Salinas singled and then moved to second on Kirk's third walk of the day. Anderson singled and then Lexie Myers double down the left field line scored both Kirk and Anderson putting runners on first and third. Southwest Baptist then used seven infielders leaving only outfielders in right center and left center and Stallbaumer lifted a ball into left field gap for a single sending the game-winning run clinching the 8-0 win over the Bearcats.
Game 2 – Washburn 4, Southwest Baptist 3 (8 innings)
Taylor Kirk's lead-off home run in the eighth was the difference as the ball cleared the center field fence despite 25-30 mph winds coming in from right field to left field to wrap up the day for the Ichabods who trailed 3-1 entering the bottom of the sixth inning.
The Bearcats (15-30, 5-15 MIAA) scored in their first at bat taking a 1-0 lead, but Washburn came back with a run to tie the score on a single up the middle by Alyssa Carney sending Emilee Baker home in the bottom of the first.
The Bearcats scored two runs taking advantage of an Ichabod fielding error going up 3-1 and the Ichabods would not score until sending eight batters to the pate in the sixth inning. Savannah Moore walked to lead off the inning and Carney's single moved her to third after a wild pitch. A single by Kirk scored Moore and then Carney would come around to score on a fielder's choice by Salinas tying the score.
Lexi Crabtree came in a tossed the final 4 1/3 innings not allowing a Bearcat runner to reach base minus an error in the fourth as she retired the final 13 batters she faced for the win striking out four setting the table for Kirk's heroics to end the game.
Kirk finished the second game with two hits scoring once and driving in two.
 
Head coach Brenda Holaday
•  is 61-39 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 1130-866-1 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 MIAA Championship Tournament is set to start on Thursday, April 26 in Oklahoma City at the ASA Hall of Fame Complex. Stay tuned to wusports.com for updated schedules once brackets are released by the MIAA office following completion of the regular season.