TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn baseball will play its second-straight road series as the Ichabods head to Edmond, Okla. this weekend to take on the Central Oklahoma Bronchos.
LEADING OFF
>> Washburn is 7-13 (6-9 MIAA) after being swept last week at No. 5 Central Missouri.
>> The Bronchos posted a 13-1 win at East Central on Tuesday and are now 10-8 (6-6 MIAA) this spring.
>> The Ichabods have taken on two teams ranked No. 5 nationally and heading into this week, have played the 18th toughest scheduled in Division II.
>> Washburn was tabbed sixth in the 2021 MIAA Preseason Poll while Central Oklahoma picked second.
>> This is the 68th season in Washburn baseball program history.
GAME INFORMATION
>> The series will begin on Friday, April 2 at 6 p.m.
>> First pitch of Saturday's doubleheader opening game is set for 1 p.m.
>> All games will have live stats and be video streamed.
>> For fans attending the games in-person, tickets can be purchased only online. General admission tickets are $5 and senior and youth tickets are $3.
OFFENSIVE LEADERS
>> The Ichabods are second in the MIAA and ranked 23rd in Division II with 46 doubles.
>> Leadoff hitter Xavier De Leon leads the team with a .388 batting average (ninth in the MIAA) and with 33 hits (fifth in the MIAA).
>> In game one at Central Missouri, he was a perfect 4-4 at the plate with a walk and scored three runs.
>> Catcher Kros Bay is batting .371 (23-62) in 18 games and has eight doubles and a triple. He has also scored 10 runs with nine RBI.
>> Brett Ingram leads the team with four homers and 20 RBI.
>> Parker Dunn is tied for 10th in the nation and fourth in the MIAA with 10 doubles. He's hitting .315 and has driven in 16 runs.
>> Carson Sader went 3-8 at UCM with two doubles, an RBI, and a run scored. He is batting .346 (9-26) and has scored three runs.
PITCHING LEADERS
>> The Washburn pitching staff has a collective 6.41 ERA with 188 strikeouts.
>> Brock Gilliam is 3-2 in six starts with two complete games and holds a 3.72 ERA.
>> He leads the team and is ranked 12th in the nation with 53 strikeouts.
>> Gilliam is also 14th in Division II in strikeouts-to-walks ratio, issuing just four walks in 36.1 innings pitched.
>> Sean McElwee has a 3.93 ERA after working 34.1 innings and has struck out 34 batters with five walks.
>> In 24.2 innings pitched, Rane Pfeifer holds the second-lowest opponent batting average in the MIAA at .167 and the least amount of hits allowed (14) in the league.
>> Britt Brown has made four relief appearances and allowed three earned runs on five hits with three strikeouts in 5.2 innings of work.
MILESTONE WATCH
>> De Leon is just one hit away from eclipsing 100 in his Washburn career. He transfered to Washburn and had 50 hits in his first season in 2019.
>> Gilliam has 164 career strikeouts and is tied for seventh on Washburn's all-time strikeout leader list. He will jump up to fifth overall with six more strikeouts.
>> Dunn is five hits away from 50 since joining the Ichabods last season. He is 45-142 (.317) at the plate with 16 doubles and seven home runs.
>> Bay will reach the half century mark in seven hits. He played 20 games last season after transferring from Cowley College and has recorded 23 hits so far this season.
LAST TIME OUT
>> Despite showing resilience and fight throughout the entire three-game series, Washburn was unable to come away with a win at No. 5 Central Missouri last weekend.
>> Game one was back-and-forth scoring with two tied scores. The Mules broke a 4-4 tie by scoring eight unanswered runs before the Ichabods put up six runs in the top of the eighth to get within two, but that would be as close as they would get in the 12-10 final.
>> It was a pitcher's duel in game two as the Ichabods trailed 1-0 until the eighth inning when they took a 2-1 lead. Two solo homers by the Mules with two outs in the bottom of the eighth gave UCM the lead it would finish with.
>> After falling behind 1-0 early again in the series finale, the Ichabods scored twice in the third to go in front. Central Missouri responded with two runs in the fourth and put up one in both the seventh and eighth innings to cap off the sweep.
>> Washburn hit eight doubles, two triples, and two homers over the three games.
SCOUTING CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
>> The Bronchos played a midweek non-conference game against East Central on Tuesday and cruised to a 13-1 victory.
>> As a team, UCO is batting .300 with 14 home runs and 32 doubles.
>> Garrett Takamatsu is hitting above the .400 mark at .419 and is tied for the team-high in hits (26). He also has a .661 slugging percentage after hitting four doubles, three homers, one triple.
>> Kyle Crowl leads the team with five home runs and 17 RBI.
>> On the mound, the Bronchos have a 5.11 earned run average and 176 strikeouts.
>> Brayden Nelson has a 1.50 ERA after 18.0 innings pitched and is 4-0 in eight total appearances and three starts. He has allowed three runs on eight hits while striking out 15.
>> Luke Anderson leads the pitching staff in innings pitched (26.0) and strikeouts (32) and holds a record of 2-2 with a 2.77 ERA.
HEAD COACH JOHN MARTIN
>> John Martin is in his sixth season at Central Oklahoma and has a career record of 159-87-1.
>> He led the Bronchos to four-consecutive seasons with 30+ victories and his team in 2020 was ranked 12th in the nation and had a record of 17-3 when the remainder of the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.
>> Prior to joining the UCO staff, he was the head coach at Coffeyville Community College.
>> As a catcher, Martin played one year at Hutchinson Community College before transferring to Emporia State
SERIES HISTORY WITH CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
>> Washburn and Central Oklahoma have met 52 times since 1985 and the Bronchos hold a 31-21 all-time series lead.
>> The last three series have been played in Edmond (2017-19) with the Bronchos going 8-1 in those games.
>> Coach Douglas is 5-9 all-time against Central Oklahoma.
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
>> After back-to-back series on the road, the Ichabods return home to take on rival Emporia State for three games starting on April 9 at Falley Field.
