Leading off . . .
•  The Washburn Ichabod softball team will begin its longest homestand of the season starting a 10-game schedule to finish off the regular season starting with Northeastern State on April 10 in Topeka.
•  The doubleheader with the RiverHawks has been rescheduled twice from March 27 to April 3 to April 10. 
•  Following the games with the RiverHawks, the Ichabods will wrap up the regular season with eight games at home.
•  The Ichabods enter the doubleheader with the RiverHawks 31-8 and 15-1 in the MIAA.
•  Washburn is off to its 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 are in first place in the MIAA race with the 15-1 record while Central Missouri is 13-3 and Central Oklahoma is 12-4. Northwest Missouri is 11-5 in fourth and Missouri Western is 10-6 followed by Northeastern State in sixth at 11-7 … the Ichabods will face everyone by Central Oklahoma in the final two weeks of the season.
•  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 last weekend.
•  The 31 wins this season are six more than the Ichabods recorded in 2017.
•  The 31-8 start follows the 2002 team (31-8 through 39 games) and the 1986 teams (36-3 through 39 games) as the best starts in school history.
•  Washburn is 17-2 in games in which the Ichabods have hit a home run.
•  Brianna Francis leads the team with a .483 batting average and is batting .553 in the last 16 MIAA games she has played in … she also is on a 14-game hitting streak.
•  Emilee Baker has a .438 batting average and leads the team lead with 57 hits scoring 37 runs which is second on the team … her 18 multi hit also leads the team.
•  Savannah Moore leads the team with 15 multi-RBI games and has 17 multi-hit games …  she is third on the team with a .417 batting average while batting .456 in MIAA play … her 54  RBI is tops on the team as are her 14 doubles and her 55 hits is for the team lead.
•  Samantha Stallbaumer  leads the team with 41 runs scored and 19 stolen bases … she is third on the team with 53 hits.
•  Megan Deiter has a team-best 2.03 earned run average going 13-0 in the circle. She has a better than 2 to 1 strikeout to walk ratio with 144 K's compared to 66 BB's and opponents are batting .196 against her.
•  Kelsee Henry is 13-3 in the circle and has a 3.50 ERA.
•  The 55 stolen bases this season for the Ichabods in 39 games has already passed the final season total dating back to every year until 2000 when the Ichabods swiped 58 bases.
•  This season as a team the Ichabods are batting .324 compared to their .245 batting average from last season.
•  The Ichabod pitching staff has also lowered its ERA dropping to 2.93 in 2018 from 3.12 in 2017.
•  Washburn is outscoring its opponents 37 to 9 in the first inning, 33 to 17 in the second inning, 29 to 15 in the third inning, 28 to 12 in the fourth inning, 45 to 30 in the fifth inning, 9 to 20 in the sixth inning and 17 to 13  in the seventh inning.
•  The Ichabods are 18-0 when scoring in the first innings of games this season.
•  Washburn is 27-3 this season when leading after four innings.
•  Washburn opponents are 0-19 when scoring two runs or less.
•  The Ichabods are hitting .336 as a team in MIAA play while holding opponents to a .278 batting average.
•  Washburn's pitching staff as a 1.51 earned run average in MIAA action compared to its opponents ERA of 4.94.
•  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.
 
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 54 RBI this season and the Ichabod single season record is 56 set by Tish Williams in 2007.
•  Megan Deiter has 144 strikeouts this year and the current leader is 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 RiverHawks . . .
•  The RiverHawks are 23-18 and 11-7  and has a non-conference DH against Central Baptist on April 9 before facing the Ichabods the following day.
•  Jessica Boone leads the team with a .375 batting average as the team overall has a .279 batting average.
•  Gail Young leads the team with a 2.29 ERA collecting nine 11 in 140 1/3 innings pitched.
•  The RiverHawks lead the all-time series with the Ichabods 14-12 and have won the last four overall.
 
Last time out . . .
HAYS, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabod softball put in extra work in each game of a doubleheader sweep against Fort Hays State winning game one 4-3 in 10 innings before winning the nightcap 7-6 in eight innings. The wins moved the Ichabods to 31-8 overall and 15-1 in the MIAA. 
Game 1 – Washburn 4, Fort Hays State 3, 10 innings
The Ichabods recorded a season-high 18 hits en route to a 4-3, extra inning win over the Tigers. Washburn scored the go-ahead run in the top of the 10th after Maddie Anderson led off the inning with a single then moved to second on a sac bunt and would score on an error by the Tigers giving the Ichabods the 4-3 lead. In the bottom of the 10th, Lexi Crabtree allowed a single, but recorded outs on the next two batters to record the win.
Washburn started the scoring with two runs in the top of the first on RBI by Savannah Moore and Alyssa Carney. Washburn added another run in the top of the third on another RBI by Carney scoring Brianna Francis who tripled.
Neither team would score until the Tigers got on the board with a solo run in the bottom of the fifth and then they would tie the score in the bottom of the seventh scoring a pair of runs sending the game to extra innings.
Of the season-high 18 hits for Washburn, Stallbaumer and Anderson each had four for the Ichabods and Emilee Baker had three. Carney led the Ichabods with 2 RBI.
In the circle, Crabtree picked up what would be the first of her two wins on the afternoon tossing 3 1/3 innings allowing two hits. She came in the game relieving starter Megan Deiter who followed her 14-strikeout appearance a day before with 10 against the Tigers scattering five this in the no decision.
Game 2 – Washburn 7, Fort Hays State 6, 8 innings
For the second game in a row, the Ichabods jumped out to the early lead scoring three runs in the top of the first after an RBI single by Maddie Anderson, a sac fly by Savannah Moore and an RBI double by Alyssa Carney putting the Ichabods out to a 3-0 lead.
Washburn added a solo run in the top of the fourth on a lead-off home run by Taylor Kirk and then the Ichabods added two more in the fifth with a sac fly from Carney and a two-out RBI double by Maddie Anderson as Washburn would be up 6-0.
After the Tigers came back and cut the lead to one after scoring five in the bottom of the fifth. The Tigers scored the tying run in the sixth and tried to go up one, but Stallbaumer threw out a Tiger runner at home.
The Ichabods and the Tigers both came up scoreless in the seventh innings, but in the eighth Taylor Kirk hit her second home run of the game putting the Ichabods up 7-6.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Tigers had a pair of singles putting runners on first and second, but Lexi Crabtree struck out the next two batters including the last one looking to seal the win for Washburn as the Ichabods won their 14th-straight MIAA game.
Crabtree earned her second win of the afternoon pitching 3 1/3 innings allowing one earned run.
Kirk had three hits to lead the Ichabods as Carney, Anderson and Kirk each drove in two.
 
Head coach Brenda Holaday
•  is 56-38 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 1123-865-1 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 . . .
•  Following the games with the RiverHawks, the Ichabods will wrap up the regular season with eight games at home starting with Central Missouri on April 13 and Southwest Baptist on April 14.