TOPEKA, Kan. – Washburn baseball escaped a bases loaded jam in the ninth with a strikeout to hold on to the 7-5 victory over Northwest Missouri on Wednesday afternoon. The Ichabods begin a three-game series at Emporia State on Thursday evening.
 
Washburn (25-13, 15-9 MIAA) wasted little time to get its offense going as the Ichabods scored three in the opening frame. Parker Dunn drew a one out walk and moved up to third on Brett Ingram's double down the right field line. Cal Watkins earned an RBI on his groundout that scored Dunn for the first run. On the second pitch of his at bat, Connor Scott launched a home run to left center to give the Ichabods the early three-run advantage.
 
The Ichabods added another run to their lead in the second. Otto Jones and Kros Bay recorded back-to-back singles to get the inning started. Jones tagged up to third on a flyout and then scored on a fielder's choice to make it a 4-0 contest.
 
Northwest Missouri (14-23, 8-16 MIAA) fought back and tied up the game in the top of the third, scoring four runs on two hits with one of those hits being a three-run homer.
 
Washburn broke the tie to reclaim the lead the following inning. The first three Ichabods reached base as Trevor McCollum doubled, Jones was hit by the pitch, and Bay legged out an infield bunt single to juice the bases. Cale Savage brought in the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly and Tyler Clark-Chiapparelli's single through the left side made it a two-run lead. Ingram reached on a fielder's choice while Bay was able to make it home and stretch Washburn's lead to 7-4.
 
The Bearcats got one back in the fifth inning with a sacrifice fly to pull within two runs again.
 
The Washburn bullpen did not allow a runner past second base in the sixth through eighth innings to maintain the two-run lead.
 
Northwest Missouri threatened in the ninth inning and filled the bases after its third single of the inning, but Dalton Huggins was called on to close the door and recorded the final out with a strikeout to earn his third save of the season.
 
The Ichabods had an 8-6 advantage in hits on the day. Clark-Chiapparelli had a pair of singles and collected two RBI. Bay also landed two hits and scored once. Jones reached home two times and had a hit and a walk.
 
Austin Gerety received the win to improve his record to 3-0 after he worked 1.2 innings in relief and gave up only one walk and had one strikeout. Trevor Marreel and Rane Pfeifer pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth and had one strikeout apiece.