Leading off . . .
• After having its six-game schedule wiped out from the Eight-State Classic in Bentonville, Ark., the Ichabod softball team will return to action on Saturday in Conway, Arkansas with six games including three games against MIAA foes.
• ? The Ichabods went were 0-4 last weekend at the Edmond Regional Festival falling twice by a single run and one other loss via a three-run deficit.
?• Washburn is scheduled to have its first 23 games of the season on the road not playing a home game in Topeka until March 8 when they will open MIAA play against Lincoln followed by a twin bill with Lindenwood the following day.
?• Washburn finished the 2018 season with a 39-14 record going 23-3 in MIAA play winning its first conference title since the 2002 season.
?• The Ichabods also made their first NCAA postseason appearance since the 2008 season last year.
?• The 39 wins in 2018 were 14 more than the Ichabods recorded in 2017.
?• Washburn is 20-3 in games in which the Ichabods have hit a home run last season.
?• Senior outfielder Emilee Baker led the Ichabods in 2018 with a .397 batting average and her 69 hits were second on the squad … her 42 runs scored were second on the team and her 29 RBI were tied for third.
?• The 2018 MIAA Freshman of the Year in the MIAA, catcher Bri Francis was third on the team with a .383 batting average and batted .415 in MIAA games.
?• Senior third baseman Savannah Moore led the team with 19 multi-RBI games had 21 multi-hit games … she was fourth on the team with a .379 batting average … her 61 RBI was an Ichabod single season record ranked fifth in the NCAA Division II ranks.
• Senior outfielder Samantha Stallbaumer led the team with 53 runs scored and 31 stolen bases … her 74 hits led the Ichabods last season.
?• Senior pitcher Megan Deiter recorded a team-best 2.27 earned run average going 17-2 in the circle en route to MIAA Pitcher of the Year honors. She has a better than 2 to 1 strikeout to walk ratio with 180 K's compared to 96 BB's and opponents batted .192 against her … she set the Ichabod single-season strikeout record.
• Washburn led the NCAA Division II ranks in 2018 with a .980 fielding percentage.
?• The 76 stolen bases (in 84 attempts) 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 batted .314 compared to their .245 batting average from in 2017.
?• The Ichabod pitching staff has also lowered its ERA dropping to 2.87 in 2018 from 3.12 in 2017.
?• Washburn outscored its opponents 55 to 14 in the first inning, 42 to 20 in the second inning, 42 to 17 in the third inning, 29 to 20 in the fourth inning, 53 to 41 in the fifth inning, 40 to 24 in the sixth inning and was outscored 18 to 17 in scoring in the seventh inning in 2018.
?• The Ichabods were 24-2 when scoring in the first innings of games last season and 32-7 this season when scoring first.
?• Washburn is 33-5 last season when leading after four innings.
?• Washburn opponents were 2-25 when scoring two runs or less last season.
?• Washburn was 35-4 last season when out hitting its opponents.
 
 Weekend one recap . . .
? The Ichabods were 0-4 over the weekend at the Edmond Regional Festival.
? Savannah Moore batted .417 in four games with five hits and 2 RBI while walking twice.
? Taylor Kirk had a .714 slugging percentage with 3 RBI and 10 total bases collecting four hits with a double, triple and home run while scoring twice.
? Sieana Hall collected her first collegiate home run.
 
 On Deck . . .
Parkside
? Parkside is 0-4 this season.
? Washburn won the only meeting between the two schools on March 19, 2003 in a 1-0 win in a game played in Orlando, Fla., at the Rebel Spring Games.
 
Minnesota State
? The Mavericks are 3-1 this season and split a pair of games against Missouri Western and topped Nebraska-Kearney 2-1.
? The Mavericks eliminated the Ichabods last season at the NCAA Regional in Magnolia, Ark., in a 10-6 loss on May 11.
? The Mavericks lead the all-time series 10-9 winning the last six match ups.
 
Fort Hays State
? The Tigers are 3-2 this season and have won their last three games.
? The Ichabods lead the all-time series 41-35 winning the last three games.
? The game in Conway will be a non-conference game.
? The Ichabods and Tigers will face off in MIAA action on April 13 in Topeka.
 
Nebraska-Kearney
? The Lopers are 0-4 this season.
? UNK leads the series 21-29, but the Ichabods have won the last four in the series overall.
? Washburn and UNK will battle each other in an MIAA doubleheader on April 12 in Topeka.
 
Central Missouri
? The Jennies will be playing their first games of the season in Arkansas.
? UCM leads the all-time series 43-49.
? The Ichabods and Jennies split a doubleheader last season.
? The Ichabods and Jennies will play an MIA doubleheader on April 5 in Warrensburg.
 
Upper Iowa
? The Peacocks will be seeing their first action of the season this weekend.
? WU leads the all-time series 8-2.
? The Ichabods and Peacocks are also scheduled to play again at the Emporia State Classic on Feb. 23 and at the Missouri Western Regional Crossover on March 22.
 
 Where to follow . . .
? Fans can also follow the Ichabod softball team at @IchabodSB for updates as well at the athletic department twitter handle at @wusports.
 
 Last time out. . .
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – The Washburn Ichabods took a pair of losses on the third and final day of a weather-shortened Edmond Regional Festival falling 4-3 to East Central and 7-4 to Southern Nazarene on Monday. Washburn (2-8) is back in action this weekend at the Eight State Classic in Bentonville, Ark. with six games scheduled against foes from the Great American, Northern Sun, Heartland and Great Lakes Valley Conferences.
Game 1 – East Central 4, Washburn 3
The Ichabods took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second after Emilee Baker drove in Taylor Kirk who led off the inning with a triple to center field. Winter Henry walked and then would score on a ground out by Halle England.
After the Tigers (1-3) scored a run in the bottom of the second cutting the Ichabod lead in half. In the third inning, Samantha Dutton led off the frame with a double and then would score on an RBI single from Savannah Moore to go up 3-1.
The Tigers scored two runs in the fourth and added an unearned run in the fifth to go up 4-3. In the top of the seventh, the Ichabods left the bases loaded falling by a single run as Washburn stranded 10 base runners in the game.
Moore and Dutton each had two hits to lead the Ichabods.
 
Game 2 – Southern Nazarene 7, Washburn 4
The Crimson Storm jumped out to a 4-0 lead after their first bat and pushed the margin to 7-0 before the Ichabods used a solo home run by Sieana Hall and a three-run blast by Taylor Kirk scoring Moore and Ruder to the SNU lead to 7-4.
In the seventh, Kirk recorded her second hit of the day with a double to right center but she did not advance as the next to at bats for the Ichabods went for outs in the 7-4 loss.
Joining Kirk with two hits was Bri Francis. Bailey Zuniga pitched 4 1/3 innings allowing two hits and one earned run in relief.
 
 Head coach Brenda Holaday . . .
? is 66-52 in her third 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 and was inducted into the Washburn Rural High School Hall of Fame in 2018.
? was named the Centennial League Coach of the Year 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 1135-875-1 in their 50th year of softball.
? The Ichabods have made four NCAA Tournament appearances (1999, 2006, 2008, 2018).
? Washburn won the 2002 and 2018 regular season MIAA titles.
 
 Up Next . . .
Washburn will continue to be road warriors as the Ichabods will take part in the Eight State Classic in Bentonville, Arkansas Feb. 15-17.