TOPEKA, Kan -- After playing nine of the last 10 games on the road, Washburn baseball team returns to Falley Field this weekend hosting Missouri Western for three games beginning on Friday at 5 p.m.
LEADING OFF
>> Game two of the series is set for Saturday at 2 p.m. with the final game on Sunday slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch.
>> Washburn is coming off a series win at Missouri Southern and improved its record to 19-7 (10-3 MIAA).
>> Missouri Western (4-18, 2-11 MIAA) is on a five-game losing streak and was swept by Rogers State last weekend.
>> WU is 7-1 at Falley Field so far this season.
>> The Griffons are 1-7 in true away games.
>> The Ichabods are tied with Pittsburg State for second in the MIAA standings.
>> Washburn moved up one spot to seventh in the most recent NCBWA Central Region poll.
>> This is the 70th season in Washburn baseball history.
WASHBURN'S LAST TIME OUT
>> The Ichabods won two out of three against Missouri Southern for the first time since 2016.
>> As a team, the Ichabods hit .304 while holding the Lions to a .243 average in the three games. WU also out hit MSSU, 34-25, and led in doubles, 9-3.
>> Washburn lost the series opener 10-9 in 10 innings an 8-4 lead slip away late.
>> The Ichabods bounced back with a come-from-behind victory in game two after scoring six runs in the ninth and held on for the 8-7 win.
>> In the finale, Washburn trailed 3-1 at the end of four and went on to capture an 8-4 victory.
>> Also in the third game, the Ichabods had five doubles all from different players.
BY THE NUMBERS
>> The Ichabods are one win away from 20 victories this season.
>> Harley Douglas has had 20+ wins in five of his six full seasons as Washburn's head coach, excluding the COVID-shortened 2020 season where there were just 22 games played overall.
>> In his first season leading the Ichabods, they reached 20 wins on March 29, 2015 and held a record of 20-8 on that day.
>> This season, Washburn has scored its most runs in the eighth inning with 38.
>> The Ichabods have outscored their opponents, 21-14, in the ninth frame.
>> When scoring six or more runs, Washburn is 16-2.
>> The Ichabods have scored eight or more runs in six-consecutive games and in 11 of the last 12.
QUICK HITS
>> Washburn is currently third among MIAA teams with 68 doubles, which also ranks in the top-five in the nation.
>> Trevor McCollum has started and reached base in all eight games he's played this season and is batting .542 with 13 hits and 10 RBI.
>> Zion Bowlin has a .343 batting average and is second on the team with 34 hits and third in RBI (26) and home runs (five).
>> He went 3-5 with a three-run home run and scored twice in the series opener at MSSU.
>> Brett Ingram leads the team with 36 hits and is second in runs scored (27), RBI (28), and home runs (eight) as he hits .327 on the year.
>> Power hitter Parker Dunn holds a .670 slugging percentage and leads the team in home runs (nine/ninth in MIAA) and RBI (32/sixth in MIAA). He has recorded eight multi-RBI games.
>> Dunn is also second in doubles (nine), walks (11), and is third in hits (33).
>> Tyler Clark-Chiapparelli is hitting .315 with 29 hits, 12 of which have gone for extra bases. He hit two crucial home runs in the finale win over the Lions on Monday and collected four RBI.
>> Connor Scott leads the team with 10 doubles and has recorded 11 multi-hit games.
>> Cal Watkins also has 11 multi-hit games under his belt and is on a 14 game streak of reaching base. He went 4-5 with an RBI and two runs scored in Monday's game at MSSU.
>> He has landed six sacrifice bunts, the most of any MIAA player.
HITTING THE CENTURY MARK
>> Dunn's single in the ninth inning on Monday's game was his 100th hit since joining the Ichabods in 2020.
>> Bowlin reached the milestone on March 14 at Northeastern State.
>> Two other Ichabods are nearing 100 as Ingram needs just one more and Kros Bay is six away.
FOR STARTERS
>> The Washburn pitching staff leads the league in strikeouts with 288 and are also second with a 5.41 ERA.
>> This season's game one starter, Rane Pfeifer, has a 2-2 record in seven starts and hast struck out a team-high 43 batters in 28.2 innings.
>> Casey Steward has worked 31 innings on the mound and has struck out 38. He is 1-0 in seven starts with a 5.81 ERA.
>> He received a no-decision in his most recent start at Missouri Southern, where he threw a career-high six innings and surrendered three runs on three hits with a pair of walks and five strikeouts.
>> Jack Brimacombe improved to 2-1 on the season in the finale at MSSU. He went five and two thirds and allowed three runs, two of which were earned, on four hits, one walk, and five strikeouts.
>> Brimacombe holds a 5.06 ERA and has thrown a team-high 32 innings to go with 31 strikeouts.
WHAT A RELIEF
>> Dalton Huggins has made 10 appearances out of the bullpen and is 2-0 with two saves in 29.1 innings pitched.
>> He is second on the team with 41 total strikeouts (seventh in MIAA) and holds opponents to a conference-low .184 batting average.
>> Huggins has also allowed the fewest hits in the league (19), second-fewest runs (11) and walks (six), and his 3.38 ERA ranks fourth.
>> John Cross was tabbed with his first save of the year in the finale at Missouri Southern, after throwing a season-high three innings and allowing just one unearned run on one hit, two walks, and five strikeouts.
>> Cross (1-0) has tallied 18 strikeouts in 9.2 innings of work and has a 1.86 ERA.
>> Joel Casillas is tied for the No. 1 spot in the conference in saves this season as he picked up his fourth after getting the final two outs with strikeouts in the second game at Missouri Southern.
>> Casillas has pitched 10.2 innings scattered across 10 games and has notched 14 strikeouts.
>> Cash Crane picked up his first win in a Washburn uniform in game two after taking over in the eighth inning. He allowed three runs on two hits and recorded a pair of strikeouts.
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 MISSOURI WESTERN
>> The Griffons went 10-29 (8-25 MIAA) in 2021 and were picked 11th in this year's conference preseason poll.
>> As a team, they are batting .246 and have 26 home runs on the season.
>> Brady Holden has landed a team-high 27 hits and is second in runs (16), RBI (14), and batting average (.338).
>> Power hitter Alex Crouch leads the squad with nine home runs, which ranks in the top-10 among MIAA players. He has driven in 20 runs and scored 17.
>> On the mound, MWSU has an overall ERA of 7.89 with 169 strikeouts.
>> Jordan Akins is 2-3 with a 7.33 ERA in six starts and has logged a team-high 27 innings and struck out 17.
>> Samson Holcomb leads the team with 22 strikeouts in 23 innings of work.
HEAD COACH BUZZ VERDUZCO
>> Buzz Verduzco is in his 23rd season at the helm of the Missouri Western baseball team and has a career record of 601-482.
>> He has led the Griffons to an MIAA regular season championship (2013) and four NCAA regional berths.
>> Verduzco served as an assistant coach at Washington State for 10 years before coming to Missouri Western.
>> He started his coaching career at the University of Nevada, where he also earned his master's degree.
SERIES HISTORY WITH MISSOURI WESTERN
>> These two programs have played each other 144 times since 1970 with Washburn holding a slight edge in the all-time series, 73-71.
>> The Ichabods have won six of the last seven meetings.
>> Washburn went 2-1 in St. Joseph last year. The Ichabods dropped the series opener, 5-3, before winning the doubleheader the next day, 8-0 and 8-1.
>> WU held MWSU to just three total hits in the second game and five in the finale.
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.
PRO BOD
>> There have been five Washburn players since 1965 that played for a Major League Baseball team and eight total players have signed a professional contract.
>> At the conclusion of his collegiate career, Brock 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 make a quick trip to Maryville to take on Northwest Missouri on March 29 before returning home for the weekend series against Central Missouri, April 1-3.
