LEADING OFF
• Washburn baseball begins a four-game road stretch Friday beginning with three-games in Bolivar as it takes on Southwest Baptist.
• With wins in their last two outings, the Ichabods look to continue their good fortune with the potential to climb the MIAA standings.
• The series is slated to open Friday from Dodson Field with games two and three to follow on Saturday and Sunday. Start times for each game is scheduled for 2 pm.
WHERE TO FOLLOW
• Fans can fellow every pitch of the 2018 season via live stats available by visiting wusports.com/live or the team's schedule page ... for occasional in-game updates, news and more be sure to follow Washburn Athletics on Twitter (@wusports) and Facebook ... fans should also be on the look out for all new baseball/softball coaches' show featuring head coach Harley Douglas.
ICHABOD NOTABLES
• At the plate, the Washburn hitters' have combined for 69 doubles this season, while listed fourth in hit by pitch (47).
• Collectively, WU is hitting .260 on the year, and .259 against MIAA.
• Once on the base path, the Ichabods are seventh among the MIAA in stolen base percentage (.736), while named fifth in stolen bases (64) and third-most in stolen base attempts (87).
• On the mound, the WU pitching staff has a collective 6.15 ERA with 263 strikeouts ... three shutout wins this season are the most amongst the MIAA, while its 334.2 innings are eighth-most.
• The Washburn defense is second in the MIAA caught stolen bases (24), while ranking third in double plays turned (32) and third in assists (433).
• Josh Crosby is among the MIAA's top 10 hitters this season as he's third in doubles (17), fifth in home runs (11), ninth in RBI (37) and slugging percentage (.631) ... has notched an extra base hit in each of the last five games.
• Darian Abram is among the top MIAA hitters to reach base via as he's third in hit by pitch (13) and sixth in walks (28), as a result his .488 on-base percentage is fifth among league leaders.
• With 18 stolen bases this season, Javis Larson is tied third among the conference's leaders, while his 25 attempts is second-most.
• Josh Ramirez is among the top 10 arms in the MIAA in terms of ERA (8th/3.55), innings pitched (7th/66.0), and opponent batting average (9th/.253).
THE SKIPPER
• Harley Douglas is in his fourth season as the Ichabods' head coach.
• Douglas' career record to begin the year was 88-68.
• Douglas notched his 100th career victory on Apr. 15 with a 12-11 win over Nebraska-Kearney.
• Lead Washburn to consecutive (2015 & 2016) 30-wins seasons for the first time nearly three decades.
• Coached Miami Marlins' draft pick David Gauntt (2016, Rd. 18)
• Had the MIAA Pitcher and Player of the Year in 2016.
• Douglas is the first former Ichabod baseball player to be named head coach of the program ... he played under predecessor Steve Anson from 1997-2000.
• Set the single-season hits record in 2000 (88) en route to earning MIAA honors.
• Former member of the New York Mets minor league system.
SCOUTING SOUTHWEST BAPTIST
• The Bearcats are 15-25 on the year are just ahead of the Ichabods at 11th in the MIAA standings at 9-17.
• SBU is 10-12 this season when playing at Dodson Field.
• Southwest Baptist has an MIAA-best 17 triples this season, while its .289 batting average, 273 runs and 399 hits are each sixth among league leaders.
• The pitching staff owns a collective 6.32 ERA while allowing a league-worst 5.53 walks per nine innings with the MIAA's 11th-best strikeout-to-walk ratio (1.44).
SERIES HISTORY
• Since 1984, Washburn and SBU have met 72 times with the Ichabods leading the all-time series, 49-23.
• WU has won 18 of the last 26 meetings dating back to 2010.
• The last time the Ichabods visited Bolivar was 2016 when they won the series 2-1.
• Washburn was swept during the series in 2017.
FALLEY FIELD
• The 2018 season marks the 29th season the Ichabods have called Falley Field home since it first opened prior to the 1990 campaign.
• Entering the year, the Ichabods are 370-262 (.591) at Falley Field.
PRO 'BODS UPDATE
• Former Washburn hurler Brett Ash (2010-12, 14) continues his baseball career as a member of the Seattle Mariners' organization ... Ash is currently participating in extended spring training but is set to join Double-A affiliate, Arkansas Travelers.
• Former Ichabod slugger Riley Krane (2014-17) returns to action with the Windy City Thunder Bolts in 2018 ... Krane signed with the Frontier League club in 2017 and batted .321 with 22 runs, 15 extra base hits and 26 RBI in 42 appearances. The season opener for Krane and the Thunder Bolts is May 10.
WASHBURN BASEBALL HISTORY
• The Washburn baseball program began in 1947.
• There was no Ichabod baseball from 1951-56 ... the program returned in 1957 under the direction of Marion McDonald.
• In 1985, head coach Steve Anson recorded the program's first 30-win season as went 33-20.
• Washburn baseball has been home to many talented alumni with some being able to take their talents to the Majors ... to date, their have been six former Ichabods who have played a regular-season or playoff game for an MLB club including George Darrow, Rick DeHart, Jerad Head, Davey Lopes, Jerry Robertson and Steve Simpson.
• Six Ichabods have been chosen in the MLB Amateur Draft with catcher David Gauntt being selected most recently (Miami Marlins, 2016, Rd. 18).
