Leading off . . .
•  The MIAA Regular Season Champion Washburn Ichabod softball team has earned an at-large selection to the NCAA National Tournament for the first time since the 2008 season and their fourth in program history.
•  The Ichabods will travel to Magnolia, Ark. for the Central Regional starting May 10 and wrapping up on May 12.
•  The Ichabods will open the regional facing Augustana at 3 p.m. on Thursday at Dawson Field on the Southern Arkansas campus.
•  The other teams in Central Regional #2 are host Southern Arkansas and Minnesota State, who will take on each other at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.
•  The Ichabods clinched their first MIAA regular season title since the 2002 season in head coach Brenda Holaday's second year in the Washburn dugout.
•  The Ichabods enter the NCAA Tournament with a 39-12 while finishing the conference season with a 23-3 mark, the most for an Ichabod team in MIAA play in program history.
• The Ichabods have been off from games since the opening day of the MIAA Tournament on April 27.
•  Washburn is in search of its first 40-win season since the 2002 campaign when the Ichabods finished the season 48-11.
•  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 39 wins this season are 14 more than the Ichabods recorded in 2017.
•  Washburn is 20-2 in games in which the Ichabods have hit a home run.
•  Emilee Baker has a .401 batting average to lead the team and her 67 hits are second on the squad … her 41 runs scored is second on the team and her 28 RBI is tied for second … her 19 multi-hit is tied for second on the team lead.
•  Brianna Francis is tied for second on the team with a .389 batting average and is batted .415 in MIAA games this season.
•  Savannah Moore leads the team with 17 multi-RBI games has 19 multi-hit games …  she is fourth on the team with a .374 batting average while batting .371 in MIAA play … her 61 RBI this season is tops on the team and is ranked fifth in the NCAA Division II ranks … she has already set the Ichabod high-water mark for a single season … her 15 doubles lead the team and her 64 hits is third on the team.
•  Samantha Stallbaumer leads the team with 51 runs scored, 29 stolen bases, and her 67 hits is second on the team.
•  Megan Deiter has a team-best 2.06 earned run average going 17-2 in the circle. She has a better than 2 to 1 strikeout to walk ratio with 179 K's compared to 86 BB's and opponents are batting .192 against her … she already has snapped the Ichabod single-season strikeout record … she is a finalist for the NFCA D2 National Player of the Year.
•  Kelsee Henry is 16-3 in the circle and has a 3.11 ERA.
•  The 73 stolen bases (in 81 attempts) this season for the Ichabods in 51  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 .314 compared to their .245 batting average from last season.
•  The Ichabod pitching staff has also lowered its ERA dropping to 2.74 in 2018 from 3.12 in 2017.
•  Defensively, the Ichabods lead the nation in fielding percentage committing only 27 errors through 51 games with a fielding percentage of .980 …  in 2017, the Ichabods had 39 errors and a .950 fielding percentage.
•  Washburn is outscoring its opponents 52 to 14 in the first inning, 41 to 20 in the second inning, 41 to 15 in the third inning, 29 to 16 in the fourth inning, 53 to 36 in the fifth inning, 38 to 24 in the sixth inning and 17 to 17 tying in scoring in the seventh inning.
•  The Ichabods are 24-1 when scoring in the first innings of games this season and 32-5 this season when scoring first.
•  Washburn is 33-5 this season when leading after four innings.
•  Washburn opponents are 1-25 when scoring two runs or less.
•  Washburn is 35-3 this season when out hitting its opponents.
•  Washburn was picked 10th in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll.
 
NCAA Tournament opening game opponent . . .
Augustana Vikings
• Washburn's opening round opponent in Augustana (S.D.).
•  The Vikings enter the tournament with a 41-13 overall record, finishing second in both the NSIC regular and postseason to regional top-seed Winona State, which hosts the other central regional tournament.
•  The Vikings lead the all-time series with the Ichabods 13-6 and have won the last three meetings.
•  Washburn's last win came on March 14, 2008 in a 9-1 win.
 
Possible opponents
Southern Arkansas
•  Tournament host Southern Arkansas won the Great American Conference regular season title, but fell in the conference tournament and was awarded with an at-large bid entering the weekend with a 52-9 record.
•  The Ichabods are 1-3 all-time against the Muleriders.
•  SAU has won the last three including a 3-2 win last season on Feb. 3.
•  Washburn's only win came on Feb. 22, 2002 in a 6-1 win.
 
Minnesota State
•  Defending national champion Minnesota State dropped its only two games in the NSIC Tournament, but earned an at-large bid with a 33-17 record making its 17th NCAA postseason appearance.
•  The Ichabods lead the all-time series 10-8, but have dropped the last five meetings in the series.
•  Washburn's last win came on March 29, 2008 in a 6-5 win.
 
Record watching . . .
•  Lexi Crabtree has seven saves this season which broke the Ichabod single-season record set by Samantha Carson in 2016.
•  Savannah Moore has 61 RBI this season breaking the Ichabod single season record of 56 set by Tish Williams in 2007.
•  Megan Deiter has 179 strikeouts this year and passing Amy Heiman's mark of 161 set in 1999.
•  The Ichabod single season record for runs scored in a season is 58 and Samantha Stallbaumer enters the tournament with 51.
•  The Ichabod single season record for stolen bases in a season is 33 and Samantha Stallbaumer enters the tournament with 29.
 
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.
 
Ichabods in the NCAA Tournament . . .
• The Washburn Ichabods are 0-6 all-time in the NCAA Playoffs after making their only three appearances during the 1999,  2006 and 2008 seasons.
•  In the South Central Regional Tournament in Kearney, Neb., in 1999 Washburn entered the four-team tourney as the No. 4 seed and fell to Nebraska-Kearney 4-0 … in the second game, the Lady Blues fell to No. 2 seeded Truman State 6-3.
•  In the 2006 Central Regional in Emporia, Kan. The Lady Blues were the No. 8 seed in the eight-team tournament and fell to top-seeded Emporia State 9-0 and the No. 4 seed Northwest Missouri 11-5.
•  In 2008, the Lady Blues fell to the top-seeded Hornets 5-3 and the lost to Minnesota State 4-2 the following day.
 
Records vs NCAA Opponents . . .
•  The Ichabods have only faced Minnesota State in NCAA Postseason action going 0-1 against the Mavericks.
•  The Ichabods have not faced Southern Arkansas or Augustana in NCAA play.
 
Last time out . . .
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – The Washburn Ichabods were eliminated after a pair of losses at the MIAA Tournament at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium. The Ichabods had their record drop to 39-12.
In the opening game, the Ichabods fell 3-0 to Emporia State after the Hornets scored all three of their runs in the opening inning. The Ichabods were limited to three hits with one each coming from Samantha Stallbaumer, Alyssa Carney and Lexie Myers and Washburn stranded five runners overall.
Megan Deiter took the loss scattering five hits falling to 17-2 on the season while ESU's Kelsey Phillips moved to 9-9 on the season.
Facing elimination, the Ichabods moved to the loser's bracket and dropped an 5-4 decision in eight innings to Missouri Western. The Ichabods took a 1-0 lead after the top of the first inning on an RBI single by Halle England scoring Savannah Moore who reached on a fielder's choice.
Washburn added to its lead adding a solo run in the fifth inning on an RBI single to left by Moore scoring Ashley Ruder who singled to lead-off the inning.
Washburn stretched the lead to 4-0 after scoring two runs in the top of the sixth on a 2 RBI double by Lexie Myers scoring both Brianna Francis and Maddie Anderson. However in the bottom of the seventh, the Griffons rallied scoring a run with one out and then adding three more to tie the score all coming with two outs sending the game to extra innings.
The Ichabods moved runners to second and third with one out in the top of the eighth, but could not chase any across and the Griffons scored the winning run on a single by Shelby Uhl.
Kelsee Henry pitched six innings scattering three hits holding the Griffons to only one hit in the first six innings before giving away to Lexi Crabtree in the seventh as she dropped to 6-7 on the season.
Samantha Stallbaumer, Savannah Moore, Maddie Anderson and Ashley Ruder all hits two hits for the Ichabods.
The Ichabods had nine stranded base runners after out hitting the Griffons 14 to 7.
 
Head coach Brenda Holaday
•  is 64-42 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.

Ichabods on all-MIAA teams . . .
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – The 2018 MIAA regular season champion Washburn Ichabod softball team placed eight on the all-conference team as well as the MIAA Pitcher of the Year, MIAA Coach of the Year and MIAA Freshman of the Year which were announced prior to the start of the conference tournament Thursday night.
Washburn junior pitcher Megan Deiter was selected the MIAA Pitcher of the Year and first team all-MIAA after going 17-1 this season for the Ichabods with a 2.01 earned run average with nine complete games, four shutouts and a school-record 177 strikeouts. She leads the MIAA in wins (17) and is second in earned run average and strikeouts. This season opponents are batting .191 against her in 132 1/3 innings pitched. She is the first Ichabod pitcher to earn MIAA Pitcher of the Year Honors.
Ichabod catcher Brianna Francis became the third Washburn player to be named the MIAA Freshman of the Year joining Tish Williams (2007) and Katie Gregg (2002) to earn the award. Francis was second on the team this season with a .400 batting average recording a .612 slugging percentage. In MIAA play this season she recorded a .415 batting average. Francis was also selected to the second team this season.
Ichabod head coach Brenda Holaday was named the MIAA Coach of the Year after leading the squad to its first MIAA Championship since 2002 after being picked 10th in the preseason coaches poll. She joins Kim Newman as the second coach to earn MIAA Coach of the Year Honors in 2002.
Junior third baseman Savannah Moore was a first team selection after leading the MIAA in RBI with 60 setting an Ichabod single season record while batting .378 this season and committing only two errors in 118 chances starting all 49 games.
Junior outfielder Samantha Stallbaumer earned first team all-MIAA honors leading the Ichabods with 67 hits, 51 runs scored and 28 stolen bases batting .390 this season.
Junior outfielder Emilee Baker was a second team pick leading the Ichabods with a .407 batting average collecting 66 hits scoring 41 runs and stealing 14 bases.
Junior Taylor Kirk was selected as a utility/non-pitcher slot on the all-MIAA second team. Kirk's 12 home runs led the Ichabods and her 41 RBI was second on the squad adding 31 runs scored with 39 hits overall. Her 81 total bases finished second on the team in the regular season.
Senior pitcher Kelsee Henry was an honorable mention pick going 16-3 in the circle with a 3.15 earned run average tossing six complete games with two shutouts.
Senior designated player Alyssa Carney was honorable mention all-MIAA after recording a .301 batting average  in 49 games collecting 44 hits with 10 doubles, which was second on the team adding 28 RBI and four triples.
 
Washburn Ichabod softball history . . .
• The Ichabods are 1133-869-1 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 NCAA Super Regional will run May 17-18 and the College World Series will run May 24-28 in Salem, Virginia.