Washburn baseball will begin to close its 2019 road schedule on Wednesday with trip to Edmond as it takes on Oklahoma Christian in non-conference action with first pitch slated for 6 pm. Due to field conditions, the game will be played at Wendell Simmons Field on the campus of the University of Central Oklahoma.

Live stats for each game will be available online at wusports.com/live or on the team's schedule page with additional links to radio and video made available on a game-by-game basis. 

LEADING OFF
» Washburn has won eight of its last 11 games.
» Wednesday will be the fifth all-time meeting between Washburn and Oklahoma Christian with the all-time series tied, 2-2.
» Washburn is led by Harley Douglas, who is in his fifth season with the program.

A LOOK AT OKLAHOMA CHRISTIAN
The Eagles open the week at 27-14 overall and are coming off a series loss at home against Arkansas-Fort Smith with a 4-6 record in their last 10. Oklahoma Christian is hitting .300 with 290 runs and 18 home runs. Six Eagles are batting .304 or better including Hunter Markwardt who's hitting .380 (65-171) with 59 runs. The Eagles pitching staff has a combined 5.05 ERA in 340.2 innings with 286 strikeouts while opponents are hitting .274.

DOUBLE PLAY BALL
The Ichabod defense has turned 29 double plays on the year and began the week listed sixth in the conference and 63rd on the NCAA Division II leaderboard. Washburn is averaging just under one (0.71) double play a game and has twice turned a season-high three double plays, first at Southeastern Oklahoma (2/9) then versus Rockhurst (2/13). Prior to the season, the Washburn defense has turned 164 double plays dating back to the 2015 season including a program-best 57 during the 2016 campaign. 

THIEVES!
Washburn began the week topping the MIAA chart with 82 steals and are listed 28th on the NCAA Division II chart. The Ichabods have converted .788 (82-of-104) steal attempts. Javis Larson has a team-best 16 steals. Xavier De Leon, Wyatt Featherston, Steven Jacobson and follow with 10 steals each. 

ON THE MOUND
The Ichabod pitching staff has a combined 4.95 ERA with 298 strikeouts in 331.0 innings of work. The staff averages 8.2 strikeouts per nine, which is seventh-best among the MIAA.
» Josh Ramirez is 4-4 in 12 starts with a 4.63 ERA in 70.0 innings and among the NCAA Top 100 in strikeouts (60th, 70).
» Jacob Head is 2-4 in 11 starts, while posting a 5.79 ERA in 56.0 innings of work with 42 strikeouts. On March 1, Head lead the charge in a combined shutout effort at Pittsburg State in a two-hit, 6.0-inning outing.  
» Nathan Lorenzen is 2-1 with two saves in 15 appearances with a 4.55 ERA in 27.2 innings.
» Bailey Jenkins is 1-1 in eight appearances. Since making the transition from the infield to the bullpen, Jenkins has collected 10 strikeouts in 9.2 innings.

LARSON-Y
» Javis Larson's 34 career stolen bases is tied with Chris Weber for 24th in program-history.  He is now two steals shy of Bowe Behymer for 22nd all-time. 
» At the plate, Larson has been on tear, successfully reaching base in 14 of the last 15 games while registering multi-hit performances in seven of the last 13 games played.
» Larson is hitting a team-best .328 (45-137) on the year. 

BUILT RAM TOUGH
» Ramirez's 211.2 career innings pitched is fourth-best all-time and is 3.1 innings shy of tying Mike Lineback (1982-85) for third in the Washburn record. 
» His 13 career wins tied for 14th all-time and two wins shy of cracking the career Top 10.
» The righty has racked up 178 career strikeouts and fourth-best in Washburn lore and as a result is 10 short of tying Mike Lineback for third with 188 total punch outs.

OFFENSIVE CONTRIBUTIONS
The Ichabods have received offensive support form their entire lineup:
» 17 different players have scored at least one run, with 11 scoring at least 10 times.
» 12 players have at least five RBI, with nine Ichabods registering 10 or more.
» 15 players have doubles with Hoover leading the way with 12. Hoover also has team-bests in home runs and RBI (44), while being second on the team in hitting .310 (49-158).
» De Leon is hitting .306 (45-147) with six doubles and a team-high 34 runs scored.

IN APRIL...
» Washburn is 8-5 overall and 6-4 against the conference.
» Washburn has out scored opponents, 95-52 and average 12.5 hits per games.
» Washburn is hitting .347 (125-360) and has raised its season average (.281) by 28 points. 
» Washburn pitchers have a combined 4.60 ERA, surrendering 89 hits in 86.0 innings.

ICHABODS ON THE ROAD
» Washburn opened the 2019 campaign with 24 consecutive games played either on the road or at a neutral venue. During that stretch, the Ichabods went 11-13.
» Since 2015, the Ichabods are 58-60 when playing either on the road or at a neutral site.
» Washburn is 2-1 this season when playing in Oklahoma. 

UNDER DOUGLAS
Fifth-year head coach Harley Douglas is the fifth head coach in the program's 67 seasons. Douglas is 105-98 in his last four seasons which includes back-to-back seasons with over 30-plus wins. The first former player to take the helm, Douglas played four seasons (1997-2000) for predecessor Steve Anson before a stint with the New York Mets system and a three-year term as Anson's top assistant. 

#PROBODS UPDATE
Former Ichabod slugger Riley Krane (2014-17) is set for his second full season in the Frontier League in 2019 with last season league champions, Joliet Slammers. In 123 professional games, Krane is hitting a .248 for his career with eight dingers and 52 RBI. The Slammers are scheduled to open their season at home on Thursday, May 9 when they host Krane's former club, Windy City Thunder Bolts.

'BODS IN THE BIGS
Washburn baseball has been home to many talented alumni with some being able to take their talents to Major League Baseball. 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. Additionally, six Ichabods have been chosen in the MLB Amateur Draft with catcher David Gauntt being selected most recently by the Miami Marlins in 2016 (Round 18). 

UP NEXT
The Ichabods will return to Edmond on Friday to open their three-game MIAA weekend series with Central Oklahoma.