TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn baseball will make its 15th appearance in the MIAA Tournament this weekend as the No. 5 seed Ichabods travel to No. 4 seed Pittsburg State for a best-two-out-of-three game series.
LEADING OFF
>> The Ichabods are on a five-game winning streak and finished the regular season 19-20 (18-15 MIAA) after sweeping Northwest Missouri.
>> Washburn closed out the regular season winning five-straight MIAA series.
>> Pittsburg State (26-13, 21-12 MIAA) has won eight of its last 10 games and closed out the regular season going 1-2 against Emporia State.
>> These two teams faced each other four times this season, with the Ichabods taking two out of three in Pittsburg in the middle of March before falling in a single non-conference game at Falley Field on April 6.
>> It was a high-scoring series earlier this season at Pittsburg State, with the Ichabods out-scoring the Gorillas 36-33. All three games were decided by three or fewer runs.
>> In the 2021 MIAA Preseason Poll, the Ichabods were picked to finish sixth and the Gorillas were tabbed fourth.
>> This season, the Ichabod offense has come alive in the third inning of games as they outscore their opponents 53-30 in that frame.
>> They have scored 10 or more runs in nine games this year.
>> The winner of the series will advance on in the tournament to Joplin, Mo. for the double-elimination semifinal and championship games on May 20-22.
>> This is the 68th season in Washburn baseball program history.
GAME INFORMATION
>> The series will begin on Friday at 6 p.m.
>> First pitch on Saturday is set for 3 p.m.
>> If necessary, the final game will be played on Sunday at 1 p.m.
>> All games will have live stats and be video streamed.
WASHBURN IN THE MIAA TOURNAMENT
>> The Ichabods last reached the MIAA Tournament in 2016 as the No. 3 seed and went 3-2 in the double-elimination tournament.
>> Washburn has now made the conference tournament 15 times since its first year of eligibility in the 1991 season after joining the NCAA and MIAA in 1989-90.
>> The Ichabods are 22-27 overall in MIAA postseason play.
>> This will mark just the third time these two teams have faced in the conference tournament. Washburn won the first meeting in 1996 and Pittsburg State won in 1999.
>> This will be the third squad Washburn head coach Harley Douglas has led to the MIAA Tournament.
OFFENSIVE LEADERS
>> The Ichabods are ranked 17th in the nation and third in the MIAA in doubles (89) after adding 11 last week at Northwest Missouri.
>> Leadoff man Xavier De Leon leads the Ichabods in batting average (.361/10th in MIAA), hits (61/fourth in MIAA), runs scored (33), sacrifice bunts (six/fourth in MIAA), and multi-hit games (21).
>> He is on a nine-game hitting streak.
>> After ripping four doubles last week, catcher Kros Bay now leads the team with 15 doubles on the year, which is the eighth-most in the conference. His batting average went up to .348 on the season and he has scored 25 runs and driven in 22 RBI.
>> Zion Bowlin is hitting .338 and in game one on Friday, he went 3-3 with two walks, a solo home run, two RBI and four runs scored.
>> Parker Dunn belted a pair of three-run homers in game one of Friday's DH. He finished the game 3-7 and six RBI. His nine home runs and 35 runs batted in this season leads the Ichabods.
>> In the series opener, Wyatt Featherston had the double that scored the go-ahead runs in the eighth inning and then he also scored later in the inning to make it 12-9. He is hitting .320 on the season with nine of his 16 hits going for extra bases.
>> After entering the game as a defensive substitution in game one, Andrew Schmidtlein made an instant impact on the offensive side on Friday. He doubled in his first at bat and then smashed a two out, three-run homer.
>> Schmidtlein earned the start for game two and kept the momentum going. He finished the game 2-3 with two walks, two doubles, two RBI and one run scored.
>> Cole Emerson is sixth in the league with 14 successfully stolen bases. He has scored at least one run in nine-consecutive games and has reached home 34 times this season.
PITCHING LEADERS
>> The Washburn pitching staff has a combined 6.34 ERA and is fourth in the MIAA with 362 strikeouts.
>> Brock Gilliam is 6-2 in 12 starts with a 4.00 ERA, the seventh-lowest in the conference. His 100 strikeouts ranks second in the MIAA and seventh in all of Division II.
>> Zach Philbin has made 15 relief appearances and is 3-0 in 18.0 innings pitched. He has allowed just one earned run and recorded 14 strikeouts to hold a 0.50 earned run average.
>> Philbin earned the win in game one against the Bearcats after working a scoreless seventh and eighth inning and allowing just one hit, two walks while striking out one.
>> He now holds a 0.50 ERA in 18.0 innings worked and has allowed just one earned run while striking out 14.
>> Dalton Huggins picked up his third save of the season at Northwest Missouri after closing out the ninth. This season, he has tossed 17.1 innings and holds a 4.67 ERA with 17 strikeouts.
>> Conner Bond earned his first career win in an Ichabod uniform as he threw an effective 1.1 innings as the third reliever in game two at Northwest Missouri with one hit, one run, one walk, and one strikeout.
>> Brant Bennett received his first career save at Washburn in game three, getting the final three outs of the game and surrendering just one single. He has pitched eight innings scattered across 12 appearances out of the bullpen and has a 3.38 ERA and five strikeouts.
>> Starter Sean McElwee got his second win of the season in the finale on Friday.
>> Aside from one walk, Casey Steward pitched two clean innings in the second doubleheader game and struck out three. He holds a record of 2-1 and one save with a 6.35 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 11.1 innings pitched.
RECORD WATCH
>> Gilliam now has 211 career strikeouts and is second on Washburn's all-time career strikeout list behind Jake Lenherr's 215.
>> With 100 strikeouts, Gilliam is tied for the most strikeouts in a single season by an Ichabod. Rick DeHart set the record back in 1991.
SCOUTING PITTSBURG STATE
>> On their home field this season, they are 11-11.
>> The Gorillas' offense is batting .286 with 123 extra base hits, including 16 triples, which ranks second in the MIAA.
>> PSU leads the league on the base paths with 85 stolen bases in 101 attempts.
>> Ryan Koval leads the team in hits (54), doubles (10), and triples (four), is second in batting average (.348), and third in both runs scored (34) and RBI (32).
>> Garrett McGowan has cranked out 11 homers and driven in a team-best 39 RBI.
>> On the mound, Pittsburg State has a 5.25 earned run average with 302 strikeouts.
>> David Henderson holds a 7-3 record after 12 starts with a 3.18 ERA. He has tossed a team-high 68.0 innings and leads the team in strikeouts with 61 on the year.
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, 62-58.
>> Head Coach Harley Douglas is 12-8 against Pittsburg State.
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
>> If the Ichabods win their quarterfinal series, they will head to Joplin, Mo. for the remainder of the double-elimination tournament on May 20-22.
