TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabod softball team split on the first day of the 2020 Washburn Invitational presented by the Capitol Plaza Hotel and Convention Center topping Rockhurst 5-4 while being blanked by Sioux Falls in a 1-0 loss. In the opener, Ichabod head coach Brenda Holaday picked up her 100^th win in the Washburn dugout. The Ichabods will return to action at 10:30 a.m. starting the first of two games against Minnesota-Crookston and Missouri-St. Louis following the opener.
 
WU 5, Rockhurst 4
After the Hawks scored two runs in the top of the first inning, the Ichabods came back with two of their own in the bottom of the inning on a two-run homer down the right field line scoring Brianna Fuchs who drew a walk to start the inning for Washburn.
 
The Hawks pushed ahead 3-2 and held the lead until the Ichabods recorded an RBI double by Hadley Kerschen scoring Kimi Patterson who singled and then Kerschen came home on a single by Ashton Friend as the Ichabods went up 4-3.
 
The score remained the same until the fifth inning when the Hawks scored tying the score at 4-4 but a pinch-hit single by Cassidy Greer drove in Bri Francis who led off the inning with a double to left put the Ichabods up 5-4 and Reagan Hamm closed the door with a one, two, three inning in the seventh for her seventh win of the season.
 
Eight different Ichabods had base hits in the opener and Henry drove in two. In the circle, Hamm struck out six allowing seven hits.
 
Sioux Falls 1, WU 0
The Ichabods were limited to two hits in the game as Washburn (9-11) fell to Sioux Falls for the second time in a week after falling to the Cougars 2-0 on Feb. 23.
 
A triple by Patterson in the third and a single by Henry in the fifth were the lone hits for the Ichabods in the nightcap.
 
The lone run of the game came on a wild pitch in the sixth inning breaking the scoreless tie by the Cougars. Hamm entered the game in relief in the pitching 3 1/3 innings striking out four.