ST. JOSEPH, Mo. --- Timely hitting late helped the Washburn Ichabod baseball team rally on Saturday, claiming an 8-4 series opening win over Missouri Western. In spite of the game being played at Missouri Western's home field, Washburn (9-10, 4-6 MIAA) was the home team on the scoreboard per MIAA rules since the game was originally scheduled to be played in Topeka.
 
Trailing 4-2 in the bottom half of the eighth, the Ichabods loaded the with consecutive singles from Peter Shearer, Michael Oyervides, and Javis Larson to start the inning. Wyatt Featherston then cleared the base path as he posted his first career triple, giving the Washburn a 5-4 advantage.
 
Featherston then added to the Ichabod total with a single from Xavier De Leon that snuck through the right side. Lane Harvey then came through with an RBI double to left that scored De Leon, before tallying an unearned run to cap the frame.
 
Scoreless through three, the Ichabods took a 2-1 after the fifth, pushing across one run in the fourth and fifth frames. Steven Jacobson tallied the opening as he was driven in by Javis Larson with Harvey coming across in the fifth thanks to an RBI-single from Shearer.
 
After scoring once in the top of the fifth, Missouri Western took a 4-2 lead with a three-run seventh. The Griffons threatened to add to the margin in the in the eighth with runners at second and third but were left empty-handed.
 
Washburn starter Josh Ramirez was solid in his outing, throwing 6 1/3 innings with four runs on five hits and seven strikeouts. Ramirez dominated early retiring 12 of the first 14 batters faced. Reliever Brandon Gabler (2-0) was credited with the victory as he worked 2 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit, two walks with two strikeouts.
 
Washburn continues the series with game two from the Griffon Baseball Field on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 1 pm.