TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn baseball is ready for its second-consecutive weekend at home as it hosts No. 4-ranked Central Missouri for three games starting 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 will be a 1 p.m. first pitch.
>> Washburn is coming off a loss at Northwest Missouri on Tuesday and holds an overall record of 21-9 with a 12-5 mark in league play.
>> The Mules defeated Missouri Western in their midweek game to pick up their 18th-straight win and improve their record 23-3 (17-0 MIAA).
>> WU is 9-2 at Falley Field so far this season.
>> The Mules are an undefeated 8-0 in true road games.
>> Central Missouri swept the series last year in Warrensburg, although all three games were decided by three or fewer runs.
>> The Ichabods are currently third in the MIAA standings, behind UCM and Pittsburg State.
>> Washburn moved up one spot to sixth in the most recent NCBWA Central Region poll.
>> WU is also receiving votes in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper rankings.
>> This is the 70th season in Washburn baseball history.

WASHBURN'S LAST TIME OUT
>> The Ichabods won their home series against the Griffons after taking two out of three games.
>> WU out hit MWSU, 41-21, and led in scoring, 26-14.
>> Combined in the three games, Washburn had a .380 batting average while limiting Missouri Western to a .212 clip.
>> The Ichabods scored nine unanswered runs in the opener to win, 9-3.
>> Washburn claimed the series with a 13-5 game two win. WU hit two home runs, two triples, and two doubles in the contest.
>> MWSU spoiled the sweep after breaking a tie game in the top of the ninth to go on to win, 6-4.
>> On Tuesday, the Ichabods were shut out for just the second time this season in a 7-0 loss at Northwest Missouri.

BY THE NUMBERS
>> Washburn is off to one of its best starts in program history as it eclipsed 20 wins in 27 games last weekend, matching the fastest route to 20 victories since the 1987 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.
>> Heading into this series, the Ichabods have played eight-consecutive games against three programs with Missouri in its name.
>> WU is 5-3 during that stretch.
>> The Ichabods have outscored their opponents, 42-24, in the eighth inning.
>> When scoring six or more runs, Washburn is 18-2.

STAT COMPARISON

2022 (30 games)	OFFENSE	2021 (42 games)
21	WINS	20
44	HOME RUNS	43
11	TRIPLES	13
20	SACRIFICE FLIES	20
112	WALKS	115
8.8	RUNS PER GAME	6.7
	PITCHING
326	STRIKEOUTS	386
5.2	EARNED RUNS PER GAME	6.0

QUICK HITS
>> Washburn is second among MIAA teams in doubles with 74, which also ranks sixth in the Division II.
>> The team has outscored its opponents, 263-188, and produced double-figure runs in 11 games.
>> Trevor McCollum has started and reached base in all 12 games he's played this season and is batting .455 with 15 hits and 13 runs scored.
>> Zion Bowlin has a .350 batting average and is second on the team with 41 hits and third in RBI (30) and home runs (five).
>> He has recorded at least one hit in 16 of the last 17 games, including the last five in a row.
>> Brett Ingram leads the team with 44 hits and 30 runs scored while batting .349. He is second on the squad in RBI (32) and home runs (eight).
>> He also has recorded a team-best 14 multi-hit games.
>> Power hitter Parker Dunn holds a .675 slugging percentage and leads the team in home runs (10/eighth in MIAA), RBI (37/fifth in MIAA), and is tied for first with Connor Scott with 10 doubles. He has also recorded 10 multi-RBI games.
>> Tyler Clark-Chiapparelli is batting .315 with 34 hits, 14 of which have gone for extra bases. He also leads the team with nine stolen bases.
>> In addition to his 10 doubles, Scott leads the team and is tied for fourth in the nation with five sacrifice flies.
>> Cal Watkins has landed 35 hits and scored 32 times this year. He leads the MIAA and is seventh in DII with six sac bunts.
>> Otto Jones is on a six-game hitting streak and started his seventh game of the year on Tuesday. He has 10 hits, 10 RBI, and five runs scored with a .333 batting average.

FOR STARTERS
>> The Washburn pitching staff holds the second-lowest earned run average among MIAA teams with a 5.24 ERA and has recorded a conference-leading 326 strikeouts, which is 27 strikeouts ahead of the next closest team.
>> This season's game one starter, Rane Pfeifer, has a 2-2 record in eight starts and is second on the team with 47 strikeouts in 34 innings.
>> Casey Steward improved to 2-0 in his eighth start after going five innings against Missouri Western and allowing three runs on two hits and a walk while striking out seven.
>> He has logged a team-high 36 innings and holds a 5.75 ERA with 45 strikeouts.
>> Cole Warner made his third start of the season and first since Feb. 12 in the Tuesday game at Northwest Missouri. He allowed two unearned runs in three innings and had one walk and one strikeout.
>> He is 1-1 in four appearances and has a 3.65 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 12.1 innings worked.

WHAT A RELIEF
>> In his 11th appearance of the year, Dalton Huggins made his first start in a Washburn uniform in Sunday's finale.
>> He went five innings and surrendered four runs on seven hits and a walk, but struck out eight and received a no-decision.
>> Huggins leads the team with 49 strikeouts (fourth in the MIAA) and is 2-0 with two saves and a 3.93 ERA in 34.1 innings pitched.
>> Julian Zamora has a team-low 1.86 ERA after 9.2 innings scattered across eight appearances out of the bullpen.
>> Aside from one walk in game two against the Griffons, he pitched a clean sixth inning.
>> John Cross (1-1) has tallied 23 strikeouts in 12.1 innings of work and has a 2.92 ERA.
>> Although he has started three games, Charlie Kiefer (3-1) has pitched primarily out of the bullpen and has made six relief appearances.
>> He threw three scoreless innings against MWSU and allowed one hit and a pair of walks to go with a couple of strikeouts.
>> Kiefer also has one save to his record this year and a 3.32 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 21.2 innings.
>> Trevor Marreel (1-0) picked up the win in the series opener against Missouri Western after working a scoreless fifth inning and allowing just one walk while striking out one.
>> Joel Casillas has collected four saves this season, ranking second in the MIAA, after making a team-leading 12 appearances.

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 CENTRAL MISSOURI
>> The Mules went 46-8 (30-3 MIAA) and competed in the NCAA National Championship game last year.
>> UCM has lost just three games so far this year, all occurring in the first two weekends (L, 9-5 vs. St. Mary's - Feb. 12; L, 6-5 vs. Augustana - Feb. 13; L, 6-5 vs. #20 Davenport - Feb. 21)
>> The Mules' offense is second in the league with a .333 batting average and they are led by the most recent MIAA Hitter of the Week, John Prudhom.
>> Prudhom is hitting .366 and leads the team in hits (34), home runs (nine), RBI (31), and has scored 25 runs.
>> Central Missouri's pitching staff has the lowest earned run average in the MIAA at 3.53.
>> Collin Jones has turned in a solid start on the mound with a 5-0 record in seven starts with a conference-low 1.89 ERA in 38 innings pitched. He has recorded a team-high 30 strikeouts and has allowed just eight earned runs.

HEAD COACH KYLE CROOKES
>> Heading into his eighth season leading the Mules, Kyle Crookes has compiled a record of 256-99 (167-57 MIAA) with three trips to the NCAA World Series.
>> He has led the team to three MIAA regular season titles, four MIAA tournament championships, and three NCAA Central Region titles.

SERIES HISTORY WITH CENTRAL MISSOURI
>> The Mules have won seven of the last eight meetings and lead the all-time series, 90-26.
>> Central Missouri last played in Topeka in 2018 and won the series, taking two out of three wins.
>> Coach Douglas is 6-16 all-time against Central Missouri.

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 are scheduled to play five games in six days next week. WU will travel to William Jewell (April 5) and Fort Hays (April 6) for non-conference games before returning to Falley Field to host Central Oklahoma, April 8-10.