TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn baseball returns to conference play this weekend hosting Emporia State for three games starting on Friday.

LEADING OFF
>> Washburn is 8-16 (7-11 MIAA) after falling  in a non-conference game against Pittsburg State on Tuesday evening.
>> The Hornets (10-14, 6-12 MIAA) had a three-game winning streak snapped in the series finale at Newman on Saturday.
>> Friday's matchup will mark the 241st all-time meeting between these two programs.
>> 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 three-game series starts at 5 p.m. on Friday at Falley Field.
>> Saturday's doubleheader begins at 2 p.m. with the finale to follow.
>> 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. 
>> All games 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 .366 batting average and has 37 hits (fifth in the MIAA).
>> De Leon has 12 multi-hit games.
>> Parker Dunn is tied for 17th in the Division II and fifth in the MIAA with 11 doubles. He's hitting .330 on the season and has driven in 20 runs.
>> Cole Emerson holds a .315 batting average with 17 hits and has scored 15 runs.
>> Brett Ingram leads the team with 21 RBI and has hit five home runs and six doubles.
>> Catcher Kros Bay is batting .312 in 22 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 6.69 ERA with 225 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 11th in the nation with 63 strikeouts. 
>> Gilliam is also tied for 13th in Division II in strikeout-to-walk ratio as he has issued just six walks.
>> 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
>> 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.
>> Three Ichabods who transferred to Washburn for the 2020 season are approaching 50 career hits. Eric Hinostroza needs just three more to reach the half century mark while Zion Bowlin is five away and Bay needs six more.

LAST TIME OUT
>> The Ichabods dropped a non-conference game to Pittsburg State on Tuesday evening, 11-1.
>> After the Gorillas put up two runs in the top of the third, the Ichabods got one run back in the home half as De Leon scored after stealing third and then making it home on a throwing error by the PSU catcher.
>> Pittsburg State padded its lead with five runs in the fourth and added one in the fifth and three in the sixth frame.
>> De Leon went 2-4 at the dish and scored the Washburn run.
>> Hinostroza also had two hits.
>> Dalton Huggins worked the seventh inning and struck out two of the three batters he faced.

SCOUTING EMPORIA STATE STATE
>> The Hornets played last at Newman and took the series, 2-1, and scored more than 20 runs in both of their wins (W, 21-16; W, 24-9). They narrowly fell in the last game of the series, 9-8.
>> The ESU offense has a .308 batting average (third in the MIAA) with 24 home runs, 10 triples (second in MIAA), and 47 doubles (fourth in MIAA).
>> On the base paths, the Hornets have successfully stolen 48 bases out of 61 attempts.
>> Brady Michel has started 20 of the 21 games he's played and leads the team with a .438 batting average (35-80) and has a team-best 10 doubles to go with 19 RBI and 19 runs scored.
>> On the bump, the Hornets have a 6.75 earned run average and 192 strikeouts.
>> Jake Barton has been named the MIAA Pitcher of the Week twice this season and holds a record of 4-3 in seven starts with a 4.50 ERA. He has logged 38.0 innings and struck out 47 batters. 

HEAD COACH SETH WHEELER 
>> Seth Wheeler is in his third season as the head coach of the Hornets and sixth season overall as a member of the coaching staff.
>> He holds a record of 40-29.
>> Prior to joining Emporia State, Wheeler was the head coach of the Junction City Brigade for three summers and was an assistant coach at Butler Community College during the school year.
>> As a player, Wheeler was an All-MIAA honorable mention selection at catcher for Central Missouri. He also played two years at Butler CC.

SERIES HISTORY WITH EMPORIA STATE
>> The Ichabods have played the Hornets more than any other program as the series history dates back to 1949.
>> Emporia State leads the all-time record, 163-76-1.
>> These two teams last met April 18-20, 2019 at Falley Field with the Hornets taking two out of three games. 
>> Washburn head coach Harley Douglas is 7-13 against the Hornets.

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 remain at home for another week as they take on Rogers State for the very first time April 16-17.