TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn baseball team returns to Falley Field this weekend hosting Northeastern State on Saturday and Sunday.

LEADING OFF
>> The Ichabods are 5-8 (5-4 MIAA) on the season after taking two out of three games at Pittsburg State.
>> The RiverHawks have won five of their last six games and hold a record of 8-3 (6-3 MIAA).
>> NSU is 3-1 in road contests while WU is 1-2 at home so far this season.
>> Washburn was tabbed sixth in the 2021 MIAA Preseason Poll and Northeastern State was selected 10th.
>> This is the 68th season in Washburn baseball program history.

GAME INFORMATION
>> The series was originally scheduled to take place Friday and Saturday, but due to wet field conditions, the first game has been pushed back to Saturday at 3 p.m.
>> Sunday's doubleheader is slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch with game two to follow.
>> Fans are allowed to attend the games free of charge, but are expected to socially distance in the stands and wear a mask at all times when in the facility.
>> All games will be live streamed and have live stats.

LAST TIME OUT
>> The weather finally let up for the three-game series at Pittsburg State to take place on Sunday and Monday earlier this week with the Ichabods winning the series, 2-1.
>> Despite the field being engulfed in fog in the late innings of the opening game, Washburn claimed a 15-14 victory.
>> The Ichabods split the high-scoring doubleheader that saw a combined nine home runs hit between the two teams.
>> Washburn won the first game, 13-10, before narrowly falling in game two, 9-8.
>> The Ichabods had season-high 17 hits in the first game of the twinbill and everyone in the starting lineup had at least one hit.
>> WU also hit five doubles by five different Ichabods in that game.

HOME RUN SLUGFEST
>> With the wind blowing out on Monday afternoon, the Ichabods hit four home runs in game one of the doubleheader.
>> Brett Ingram got things started in the second inning with a solo home run to deep center field and three batters later, Peter Shearer hit a two-run shot over the right field fence.
>> The following frame, Ingram homered again, this time to left field.
>> Parker Dunn capped off a seven-run sixth inning with a three-run home run.

MIAA HITTER OF THE WEEK
>> Ingram earned conference recognition after his impressive series against the Gorillas.
>> Ingram was the designated hitter in the three-game series and hit .643 against the Gorillas with a 1.214 slugging percentage as he went 9-14 at the plate with two solo home runs, two doubles and finished with nine RBI. He also scored five runs and had an on base percentage of .643.
>> In game one, Ingram hit a two-run double with two outs in the top of the ninth to break the 10-10 tie ballgame and then later came around to score the third of five pivotal runs in the frame as the Ichabods won, 15-14.

OFFENSIVE LEADERS
>> After a solid series at Pittsburg State, Ingram leads the team with a .413 batting average. He also leads in RBI (15) and homers (three).
>> Xavier De Leon is just below the .400 mark and is hitting .397. The leadoff man has started all 13 games and has recorded at least one hit in all but one game while also turning in eight multi-hit games.
>> De Leon's 23 hits and 11 runs leads the Ichabods.
>> Catcher Kros Bay looks to extend his nine-game hitting streak and is batting .368 on the season and is tied for a team-best five doubles.

PITCHING LEADERS
>> All three Ichabod starters in the Pittsburg State series received no-decisions.
>> Rane Pfeifer recorded a personal-best 10 strikeouts in 4.1 innings pitched and struck out the first five batters he faced.
>> Earning their first victories in Washburn uniforms were Casey Steward in game one and Britt Brown in the second game.
>> Trevor Marreel notched his first career save as he got the final out to close game one.
>> Brock Gilliam leads the team with 31 strikeouts and is 2-1 in four starts.
>> Gilliam is ranked 24th in the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio as he has walked just three batters this season.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION - NORTHEASTERN STATE RIVERHAWKS
>> The RiverHawks went 9-12 (3-4 MIAA) in the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
>> This year's squad is off to an 8-3 (6-3 MIAA) start and won two out of three at Newman last week.
>> As a team, they are batting .309 and have hit 21 homers and 26 doubles.
>> Blake Freeman leads the team in batting average (.413), hits (19), and doubles (eight) and has also hit two homers.
>> Brayden Rodden displayed his power last week with five home runs in four games, including a 3-4 game with three longballs against the Jets. He leads the team with 20 RBI and has scored 16 runs.
>> On the mound, the RiverHawks have a collective 5.57 ERA and 105 strikeouts.
>> Nic Swanson has been the ace on the mound so far. He has won all three of his starts and has a minuscule 0.40 ERA after tossing a team-high 22.1 innings. He also leads NSU with 29 strikeouts and has given up just one earned run. 

HEAD COACH JAKE HENDRICK
>> Jake Hendrick is in his sixth season leading the RiverHawks after being named the head coach in July of 2015.
>> He holds a record of 98-121 (66-83 MIAA) at Northeastern State.
>> Prior to becoming NSU's head coach, he served as an assistant coach at the JuCo and high school levels.

SERIES HISTORY WITH NORTHEASTERN STATE
>> These two program have played each other 25 times since 1989 with the RiverHawks leading the all-time series, 14-11.
>> The Ichabods swept the RiverHawks at Falley Field in the final series of the 2019 season.
>> Washburn Head Coach Harley Douglas is 8-5 against Northeastern State.

WELCOME BACK EVERY-BOD-Y
>> Twenty-eight Ichabods from last season return with 11 of those being seniors.
>> The returning roster also consists of five juniors, five sophomores, and seven freshmen.

NEW FACES
>> Washburn welcomes 18 newcomers to this year's squad, including nine transfer student-athletes who are all coming from nine different programs spread across Division I, Division II, and Junior Colleges.
>> Eight true freshmen also enter their first season with the Ichabods.

ICHABODS IN THE PROS
>> There have been five Washburn players since 1965 that played for a Major League Baseball team and seven total players have signed a professional contract.
>> Former Ichabod infielder Riley Krane (2013-17) recently signed a contract with the Evansville Otters of the Frontier League for the 2021 season. 
>> Krane enters his fourth season in the Frontier League after playing two seasons with the Windy City ThunderBolts and one with the Joliet Slammers.

TAKE A LOOK AHEAD
>> Washburn will stay in town for a mid-week non-conference matchup against Northwest Missouri on Wednesday, March 24 at 4 p.m. before heading to Central Missouri March 27-28.