TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn baseball starts a seven-game homestand on Tuesday evening with a non-conference matchup against Pittsburg State. 

LEADING OFF
>> Washburn is 8-15 (7-11 MIAA) after going 1-2  in three games at Central Oklahoma last weekend.
>> The Gorillas (15-7, 12-6 MIAA) have won five of their last six games and are coming victorious sweep at Rogers State.
>> These two teams met earlier this season with Washburn winning the three-game road series, 2-1.
>> The Ichabods have taken on two teams ranked No. 5 nationally and heading into this week, have played the 20th toughest scheduled in Division II out of 235 teams listed.
>> This is the 68th season in Washburn baseball program history.

GAME INFORMATION
>> The single game on Tuesday, April 6 is set for a 5 p.m. first pitch
>> Fans are allowed to attend home games free of charge, but are expected to socially distance in the stands and wear a mask at all times when inside the facility. 
>> The contest will have live stats and be video streamed.

OFFENSIVE LEADERS
>> The Ichabods are second in the MIAA and ranked 24th in Division II with 55 doubles.
>> Leadoff hitter Xavier De Leon leads the team with a .361 batting average and has 33 hits (seventh in the MIAA).
>> De Leon has 11 multi-hit games.
>> Parker Dunn is tied for 11th in the nation and fifth in the MIAA with 11 doubles. He's hitting .329 on the season and has driven in 20 runs.
>> In game one of Saturday's doubleheader, Dunn went 3-4 with two solo home runs and an RBI double. 
>> Brett Ingram leads the team with 21 RBI and has hit five home runs and six doubles.
>> Catcher Kros Bay is batting .320 in 21 games and has eight doubles and a triple. He has also scored 11 runs with 10 RBI.

PITCHING LEADERS
>> The Washburn pitching staff has a collective 6.47 ERA with 216 strikeouts.
>> Brock Gilliam is 4-2 in seven starts with two complete games working 43.1 total innings and holds a 3.53 ERA.
>> He is second in the conference and 14th in the nation with 63 strikeouts. 
>> Sean McElwee has a 5.26 ERA after working 37.2 innings and has struck out 38 batters.
>> Zach Philbin has made six relief appearances and has allowed seven unearned runs and seven hits and holds a 0.00 ERA after six innings of work.

MILESTONE WATCH
>> De Leon eclipsed 100 career hits over the weekend and now has 101 hits since joining the Ichabods in 2019.
>> Dunn also a reached a milestone at Central Oklahoma as he achieved 50 career hits. Since joining the Ichabods last season, he is 50-154 (.325) at the plate with 17 doubles and 10 home runs.
>> Gilliam has 174 career strikeouts and is fifth on Washburn's all-time strikeout leader list. He will be in a three-way tie for third on the list in 14 strikeouts.
>> After transferring to the Ichabods in the 2020 season, Eric Hinostroza is five hits away from 50 career hits while Bay and Zion Bowlin are also six hits away from reaching the half century mark.

LAST TIME OUT
>> The Ichabods went 1-2 at Central Oklahoma last weekend.
>> Washburn hit nine doubles and six homers.
>> Dunn hit three solo home runs in the series.
>> Bay and Ingram both hit solo shots and Bowlin hit a two-run bomb.
>> Three of Tyler Clark-Chiapparelli's five hits were doubles and Wyatt Featherston added two doubles.
>> Gilliam gave up a two-run homer in the first inning of his start, but quickly settled in and allowed just two singles over the next six innings with 10 strikeouts.
>> Out of the bullpen, Conner Bond tossed four scoreless innings and gave up just two hits while striking out three.

SCOUTING PITTSBURG STATE
>> The Gorillas are currently tied for third place in the MIAA standings and have won nine of their last 11 games.
>> As a team, PSU is batting .290 on the year with 24 home runs.
>> The Gorillas are also aggressive on the base paths, successfully swiping 48 bases in 57 attempts.
>> Ryan Koval has started all 22 games and has a .363 batting average and a .637 slugging percentage. He leads the team in hits (33), doubles (eight), triples (four), and has the second-most runs scored (24).
>> The Pittsburg State pitching staff has a 4.73 ERA with 178 strikeouts.
>> David Henderson is 5-1 in seven starts and has a 2.41 ERA after tossing a team-high 37.1 innings.

HEAD COACH BOB FORNELLI
>> Bob Fornelli is in his third season as the head coach of the Pittsburg State Gorillas.
>> Fornelli is no stranger to the MIAA as he spent 15 seasons coaching at his alma mater Emporia State where he amassed a record of 599-266 and captured five MIAA regular season titles to go with two MIAA tournament championships.
>> Prior to ESU, Fornelli led the baseball team at Fort Hays State and finished with a record of 306-113 after seven seasons.
>> Fornelli started his collegiate coaching career at Butler Community College and served as their pitching coach from 1992-96.

SERIES HISTORY WITH PITTSBURG STATE
>> These two teams played their first game against each other in 1963.
>> The Ichabods lead the all-time advantage, 62-57.
>> Head Coach Harley Douglas is 12-17 against Pittsburg State.
>> Washburn won two out of three games in Pittsburg earlier this season on March 14-15.
>> The Ichabods won the opener, 15-14, and game two, 13-10, before falling in the finale, 9-8.
>> Ingram had a solid series that resulted in him winning the MIAA Hitter of the Week award. He 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.
>> Bowlin hit three doubles and collected five RBI.
>> Peter Shearer hit two doubles, a triple and a home run in the series.
>> Rane Pfeifer struck out a career-high 10 batters in his no-decision start.

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
>> The Ichabods will stay at home for the next two weekends starting with rival Emporia State for three games April 9-10.