TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn baseball is set to begin the 2022 season with four games in Florida starting on Friday.
LEADING OFF
>> The season opener will take place at Nova Southeastern on Friday at 5 p.m. (CT).
>> Washburn will then head to Miami Shores, Fla. to play at Barry on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. (CT).
>> Sunday will be a noon first pitch at Palm Beach Atlantic before Washburn closes out the road trip at Lynn on Monday at 11 a.m.
>> Washburn has never played against a team from Florida.
>> The four Florida teams are all apart of the Sunshine State Conference and played a reduced and mainly conference-only schedule in 2021.
>> Washburn was 20-22 (18-15 MIAA) overall last season and finished fifth in the conference standings and advanced to the MIAA Tournament for the first time since 2016.
>> The Ichabods went 11-14 in road games last year.
>> This will be the 70th season in Washburn baseball history.
OPENING DAY
>> The Ichabods are 6-1 in the very first game of the season since Harley Douglas became the head coach in 2015.
>> Washburn is 35-34 all-time in the season opener.
WELCOME BACK EVERY-BOD-Y
>> Twenty-seven Ichabods from last season return with 13 of those being seniors.
>> The returning roster also consists of one junior, eight sophomores, and five redshirt freshmen.
ALL-MIAA RETURNERS
>> Nine Ichabods earned All-MIAA honors in 2021, the most selections for Washburn since nine were chosen in 2014. Six of those players return for the 2022 season.
>> Brett Ingram played all 42 games and made 41 starts to earn a place on the second team as a designated hitter. He hit .313 and was second on the team with 51 hits.
>> Parker Dunn (outfield) and Tyler Clark-Chiapparelli (infield) were named to the all-MIAA third team.
>> Dunn started all 35 games he played and led the Ichabods with nine home runs and a 613 slugging percentage. He was also second with 12 doubles and 35 RBI.
>> Despite missing the last 12 games of the season due to injury, Clark-Chiapparelli turned in a solid year. He recorded 11 extra base hits, including seven doubles and three homers, while batting .294. He also scored 19 runs and drove in 16 and was successful in seven of eight stolen base attempts.
>> Honorable Mention pick Kros Bay returns after leading the team with a .355 batting average and 15 doubles. The catcher also legged out two triples and hit three homers to finish with 24 RBI.
>> Zion Bowlin was also an honorable mention after he lead WU with 36 RBI and three triples. He was also second on the squad with eight homers.
>> Relief pitcher Zach Philbin received honorable mention status in his first season with the Ichabods. He made 17 appearances out of the bullpen and finished with a 3-0 record and 0.95 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 19 innings pitched. He did not allow an earned run until his ninth appearance after 10.1 innings pitched.
NEW FACES
>> Washburn welcomes 26 newcomers to the 2022 squad with 13 transfer student-athletes made up of eight juniors and five sophomores joining the team.
>> Thirteen freshmen also begin their first season with the Ichabods.
ICHABODS AROUND THE COUNTRY
>> Washburn's 53-man roster consists of players from eight different states.
>> There are 17 players on the roster who hail from the Sunflower State.
>> Texas and Nebraska are tied for the second-most Ichabods with eight apiece.
>> Colorado, Missouri, and Oklahoma all have five Washburn players.
>> John Cross and Joel Casillas represent California.
>> Teagan Tamiya is the lone Ichabod from Hawaii.
MIAA PRESEASON POLL
>> For the second-consecutive season, the Ichabods were picked sixth in the MIAA Baseball Coaches Preseason Poll.
>> Central Missouri was voted the favorite earning 10 first-place votes and totalling 120 points.
>> Pittsburg State racked up 103 points and one first-place votes and Northeastern State received the final first-place vote and was tabbed third with 94 points.
>> Central Oklahoma (92 points) and Missouri Southern (86 points) rounded out the top-five.
GETTING IT DUNN
>> Since joining the Ichabods, Parker Dunn has hit a home run in his first at bat in both the 2020 and 2021 season openers.
>> Dunn homered in the second inning at Cal State San Bernardino (Jan. 31, 2020) and during the first inning at Regis (Feb. 19, 2021).
RANE FORECAST
>> Rane Pfiefer is the only returning pitcher on staff who made more than two starts last season. He finished second on the team with 64 strikeouts and third in innings pitched, 48.0 IP.
>> He closed out the season ranked fourth in the MIAA in opposing batting average at an even .200.
>> Pfeifer will look to get his walks (56) and hit batters (seven) lowered this season.
NOTEABLE STATS FROM 2021
>> Bay ended the season on a 10-game hitting streak with six multi-hit games during that time.
>> Bowlin led the team with 10 multi-RBI contests. He had seven games where he drove in two runs, two games with three RBI, and against Newman (Apr. 30), he recorded six RBI.
>> Dunn reached base in 25-consecutive games at the conclusion of the 2021 season.
>> Andrew Schmidtlein made the most of his 14 plate appearances as all five of his hits went for extra bases. He finished the season with two homers, three doubles, and six RBI.
>> Dalton Huggins led the Ichabods in appearances (16) and in saves (three).
HEAD COACH HARLEY DOUGLAS
>> Former Washburn All-MIAA outfielder Harley Douglas enters his eighth season at the helm of the Washburn baseball program in 2022.
>> In seven seasons, Douglas carries an all-time record of 161-152 with three appearances in the MIAA Tournament.
>> He has also coached a total of 39 all-MIAA selections, including one MIAA Player and Pitcher of the Year.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
NOVA SOUTHEASTERN SHARKS
>> In 2021, the Sharks went 13-12 (11-12 SSC) and were picked third in the 2022 Sunshine State Conference preseason poll.
>> NSU will open the new season on Thursday against Catawba.
>> Two of the three Sharks who were selected all-SSC and NCBWA All-Region honors last season return to this year's squad.
>> Tyler Epstein was named the 2021 SSC Freshman of the Year and was selected to the all-region second team after finishing tied with a team-leading .360 batting average and ranked second in the SSC with a .496 on-base percentage.
>> He also appeared among the SSC top-five in runs scored (24) and hits (31) – leading the conference and ranking 24th nationally per game as a hit batsman (0.40).
>> Adan Fernandez turned in a stellar 2021 as he was named to the all-SSC and NCBWA all-region first teams.
>> Fernandez also hit .360 and finished second in the league with 11 home runs. He led the team in RBI (25), hits (31) with 17 extra base hits, and in walks (16).
>> NSU's pitching staff finished 2021 with a collective 4.99 ERA and lost one of their aces in JP Williams.
>> The Sharks' top-returning pitcher is Matt Kavanaugh, who made seven relief appearances and struck out 17 scattered across 14.1 innings pitched for a record of 2-0 and a 0.63 ERA.
>> Head Coach Laz Gutierrez is in his third season leading NSU.
BARRY BUCCANEERS
>> The Buccaneers finished the 2021 season 14-11 (12-8 SSC) and were selected fourth in the 2022 SSC Preseason Poll.
>> Barry's offense hit .273 with 47 extra base hits, including 13 home runs.
>> The Bucs return all-league second team pick Ihosvany Casteneda, who hit .321 and led the team in runs scored (21), tied for a team-high in home runs (two) and doubles (five), and was second in total hits (26).
>> On the mound last year, Barry held an ERA of 4.76 and recorded 198 strikeouts.
>> Frank Gonzalez II, an all-SSC first team selection a year ago, returns after going 4-0 in nine starts with a 3.60 ERA. He led the staff with 58 strikeouts in a team-high 55 innings pitched.
>> Juan Ranero is in his second stint leading the Buccaneers as he was the head coach from 2002-05 and then returned starting in 2017.
>> He is 224-185-1 in nine seasons at Barry.
PALM BEACH ATLANTIC SAILFISH
>> The Sailfish recorded a 10-16 overall mark in 2021 while going 8-15 in conference play.
>> PBA was selected 10th in the SSC preseason rankings after losing both of their all-SSC selections from last year.
>> Last season, the Sailfish had a .274 batting average with 26 home runs.
>> Jake Roper is the top-returner after batting .303 with an .856 OPS. He led the squad in hits (30) and was second in RBI (19).
>> The staff last season finished with a 6.17 earned run average and 160 strikeouts.
>> Drew Holweger led the team with 31 strikeouts.
>> Kent Bottenfield has been the head coach of Palm Beach Atlantic since 2012 and holds a career record of 209-229-2.
LYNN KNIGHTS
>> Lynn completed the shortened-2021 campaign 9-20 (7-16 SSC) and was selected in a tie for eighth in the SSC Preseason Poll.
>> The offense hit .251 and had a .402 slugging percentage with 34 home runs.
>> Byron Murray led the team with 19 RBI and was second in hits (27) and runs scored (17).
>> Also returning is Tal Erel, who competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics representing Israel.
>> The pitching staff finished the season with a 5.84 ERA and 217 strikeouts.
>> Chris Mormile was second on the team in innings pitched (43.1), strikeouts (39), and ERA (4.78).
>> Since taking over the program in Sept. 2000, Rudy Garbalosa holds an all-time record of 569-428-2.
HISTORY MADE
>> In his final season, senior Brock Gilliam made Washburn history twice in one night in the MIAA Tournament opening game at Pittsburg State on May 14, 2021, as he broke a 30 year old program record for the most strikeouts in a single season and became Washburn's all-time strikeout leader.
>> Gilliam finished the year 7-2 with a 3.89 ERA and tossed his third complete game of the season on the historic night.
>> He closed out his career with 221 total strikeouts and had 110 in the 2021 season.
PRO BOD
>> At the conclusion of his collegiate career, Gilliam was signed by the Kansas City Monarchs on July 23, 2021.
>> He appeared in 13 games making one start and finished with a 3-1 record in 22.2 innings pitched with 21 strikeouts.
>> He helped the Monarchs to the American Association championship title.
TAKE A LOOK AHEAD
>> The Ichabods play their final non-conference tournament of the spring Feb. 11-13 at the Northwestern Oklahoma Ranger Festival in Alva, Okla.
