• The Washburn Ichabod softball team will take its 16-game overall winning streak and 22-game winning streak at Gahnstrom Field into a pair of MIAA doubleheaders starting with Northeastern State on Friday and No. 8 Rogers State on Saturday.
• Between games on Saturday with Rogers State, three Ichabod seniors, Reagan Hamm, Ashton Friend and Maddie Stipsits, will be honored.
• The Ichabods received votes in this week's NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll coming in at No. 32.
• The 18 MIAA wins for the Ichabods is the most since recording 23 during the 2018 season when the Ichabods won the regular season title.
• The Ichabods (36-11, 18-2 MIAA) have won their last 16 games coming off a 4-0 weekend of MIAA play after sweeping the Lions and the Gorillas … the 16-game winning streak is the third-longest in the nation behind Colorado Christian at 27 games and Oklahoma Christian with 20 games.
• After the sweeps over Pittsburg State and Missouri Southern last week, the Ichabods improved to 22-0 in home games this season at Gahnstrom Field … the 22-game winning streak is the second-longest in the nation entering this week's action behind Augustana who has won the last 37 at home … additionally, the 22 wins is the most by an Ichabod team at home since recording 19 during the 2002 season when the Ichabods were 19-2.
• The Ichabods are currently in second place in the MIAA standings at 18-2. Rogers State is 15-3 and Central Oklahoma is 17-1. Northeastern State is tied for fifth in the conference race at 11-7.
• Brenda Holaday is in her sixth season as the Ichabod softball head coach recording a 169-112 overall record going 81-41 in MIAA contests leading the Ichabods to their first MIAA Regular Season title in her second year in 2018 and an NCAA Central Regional berth, the fourth in school history.
• In going over the 30-win plateau on their road trip to Fort Hays State and Nebraska-Kearney, the Ichabods recorded their 15th season with at least 30 wins and the second under head coach Brenda Holaday.
• The Ichabods are looking for their first 40-win season since 2002 when the Ichabods went 48-11 … overall the Ichabods have had three seasons with at least 40 wins - 41 (1999), 48 (2002) and 50 (1986).
  • The Ichabods were 4-0 last week with sweeps over Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State last weekend.
• MIAA Hitter of the Week Jaden LaBarge led the Ichabods with 10 RBI as Washburn went 4-0 last week. LaBarge was 6-of-11 with a .636 slugging percentage and a .571 on-base percentage. The freshman also stole a base and scored one run. Against Missouri Southern, LaBarge had six RBI in the two games, including a career-high four RBI in the second game. In the opening game against the Lions, LaBarge had a single that drove in two runs to tie the score and then scored the winning run from second base to help the Ichabods complete the comeback from a 4-0 deficit in the bottom of the 7th to win 5-4. In game two against the Lions, she was 3-for-4 with four RBI. In the opener against Pittsburg State, LaBarge had a sac fly and drew a bases loaded walk. In game two, she drove in two runs with a double and a single.
• Jaycee Ginter was 2-0 with a 1.91 ERA striking out 12 with one walk tossing two complete games and one shutout in three appearances during the week while leading the Ichabods with a .571 batting average going 8 for 14 with 5 RBI and a .571 slugging percentage. In the opener against the Lions, she tossed a complete game in the 5-4 win striking out six. The opener against Pitt state, she tossed another complete game shutout striking out five. In the Pitt State win, Ginter tied the Ichabod single-season record with 23 wins in a season.  
• Marrit Mead hit .500 with eight hits and a team-high 10 total bases scoring five runs with two doubles.
• Washburn outhit its opponents .407 to .274 outscoring them 33-13.
• The Ichabod pitching staff recorded an ERA of 2.59 for the week.
  • Jaycee Ginter leads the nation with 23 wins season entering the weekend and is ranked fifth in total strikeouts … she already owns the Ichabod single-season strikeout mark with 229 … with the bat, she is eighth in the nation in RBI with 51.
• In MIAA play Paige Robbins is batting .458 and Jaycee Ginter has 27 RBI in 16 conference games.
• Raegen Hamm became Washburn's all-time leader in strikeouts at Nebraska-Kearney passing Kathy Mohler who played for Washburn from 1997-2000.
• Ashton Friend is ranked 13th in the nation in home runs with 13 and leads the MIAA in the category … she is also ranked 16th in the nation in RBI.
• Marrit Mead is ranked second in the nation in hits with 71 and first in the nation in total doubles with 21 …  the current leader in hits has 75 entering this week.
• Autymn Schreiner is leading the MIAA and is seventh in the nation in getting hit by a pitch with 13.
• As a team the Ichabods lead the nation in being hit by a pitch … Washburn has had 56 batters reach base after getting plunked.
• Washburn is also eighth in fielding percentage, seventh in the nation in hits, eighth in doubles and 39th in home runs.
  The Ichabods are on the brink of several single season school records.
Category                                            Current Record                                                                          2022
Runs Scored                                          58-Tish Williams                                                                51-Marrit Mead
Hits                                                     85-Torrie Beachamp                                                           71-Marrit Mead
Doubles                                                22-Carpenter/Kaberline                                                      21-Marrit Mead
RBI                                                      62-Savannah Moore                                                          51-Jaycee Ginter
                                                                                                                                               47-Ashton Friend
HBP                                                     13-Autymn Schreiner                                                  13-Autymn Schreiner
K/7IP                                                   9.75-Jaycee Ginter                                                         9.75-Jaycee Ginter
Pitching Wins                                        23-Ginter/Vickie Fund                                                       23-Jaycee Ginter
Strikeouts                                             229-Jaycee Ginter                                                          229-Jaycee Ginter
Team                                                  Current Record                                                                 2022 Team
Batting Avg.                                          .340 - 2022                                                                         .340 - 2022
OB%                                                    .413 - 2022                                                                          .413 - 2022
Runs Scored                                          310 - 2022                                                                           310 - 2022
Hits                                                     468 - 1999                                                                           441 - 2022
Doubles                                                91 - 2002                                                                                87 -2022
RBI                                                      287 - 2022                                                                           287 - 2022
HBP                                                     56 - 2022                                                                                 56-2022
  • Marrit Mead leads the Ichabods with 23 multi-hit games while Jaycee Ginter has 16 and Hadley Kerschen has 15.
• Jaycee Ginter leads the team with 16 multi RBI games and Ashton Friend has 15.
• Marrit Mead has hit safely in the last 21 games and has reached base in 21-straight games.
• The Ichabods have outscored their opponents 310 to 159 this season and 61 to 36 in the first inning, 52 to 16 in the fifth inning and 17 to 9 in the seventh inning.
• Washburn is 19-3 when scoring in the first inning and 32-1 when leading after the fourth inning, 28-1 when leading after the fifth inning and 23-1 when leading after six innings.
• The Ichabods are 36-0 when outscoring their opponents.
• The Ichabods are 22-0 at home this season.
  The Washburn Ichabod softball team was tabbed sixth in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll that was released prior to the start of the season by the league office.  
The Ichabods picked up 117 total points trailing Missouri Western in fifth with 118 and Missouri Southern in fourth with 124. Central Oklahoma was the preseason favorite with eight first-place votes and 162 total points and Central Missouri had 158 points with six first-place votes. Rogers State was third with 142 points.
  TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabods kept a pair of streaks going as they improved to 22-0 at Gahnstrom Field and won their 15th and 16th games in a row overall in a doubleheader sweep over Pittsburg State. 
Game 1 – WU 5, PSU 0
The Ichabods broke open a scoreless game with two runs in the third. Hadley Kerschen led off the inning with a single and Paige Robbins singled as well. After Jaycee Ginter singled to left, Ashton Friend drew a bases-loaded walk and Jaden LaBarge's sac fly put the Ichabods up 2-0.
The following inning Washburn added two more sending nine to the plate. Maddie Stipsits started things off with a single down the left field line and Kerschen's single was followed by an RBI single by Marrit Mead. Robbins collected a single and Friend again drew a free pass with the bases juiced as Washburn went up 4-0. LaBarge followed suit with a walk of her own adding to Washburn's score as the Ichabods went up 5-0.
Neither team scored the rest of the way as the Ichabods pounded out 11 hits in the win.
Ginter had three hits to lead the Ichabod attack and Robbins and Kerschen each had two. Friend and LaBarge both had two RBI.
In the circle, Ginter pushed her record to 23-3 tying the Ichabod single-season mark for wins in a season with Vickie Fund from 1989. Ginter scattered five hits and struck out five in the win.
Game 2 – WU 12, PSU 6
The Ichabods fell behind 2-0 after Pitt State (22-21, 4-14 MIAA) took advantage on a pair of Washburn errors score two unearned runs. Washburn (36-11, 18-2 MIAA) scored an unearned run in the bottom of the first when Ashton Friend singled to right scoring Ginter who reached on an error.
In the bottom of the second, the Ichabods sent nine to bat for the second time on the day scoring six runs. A double by Kimi Patterson led off the inning and after a single by Kaylee Wagner, Autymn Schreiner walked and Kerschen's single scored Patterson. A single by Mead drove in Wager loading the bases and Robbins' connected on a triple down the left field line clearing the bases as Washburn went up 7-2.
Washburn stretched the lead to 8-2 on a solo home run by Patterson and another solo run in the fourth on an RBI double by LaBarge that scored Ginter after getting hit by a pitch. Another run in the fifth on an RBI single by LaBarge scored Robbins and then Washburn wrapped up the scoring in the sixth with two unearned runs when Wanger singled and Mead drew a walk. After a Gorilla error, Ginter drove in two with a single to right sending Washburn to the 12-6 win.
Friend had three of Washburn's 15 hit. Mead, Robbins, LaBarge, Patterson and Wagner each had two hits. Robbins tied a career-high with 3 RBI while Ginter had three and LaBarge had two RBI.
Raegen Hamm moved to 9-6 in the circle tossing 5 1/3 innings in relief striking out four.
On the day, Friend, Ginter and Robbins each had four hits and 3 RBI each. LaBarge drove in four. Schreiner on Friday broke the Ichabod single season record by being hit by a pitch for the 13th time. Washburn also broke the single season scoring record collecting its 310th run of the season breaking the previous mark of 295 in 2015 and also snapped the RBI single season record with their 287th of the season passing a 20-year record of 277 set in 2002.
  NORTHEASTERN STATE
• The RiverHawks are 23-20 this season and 11-7 winning their last two games.
• Jaeden Rosenquist leads the team with a .345 batting average.
• Savannah Evans has a team-best 2.81 ERA going 8-9 and Gail Young leads the team with a 9-8 record and has a 4.95 ERA.
• The Ichabods trail the series 16-18 splitting the last eight meetings.
 
ROGERS STATE
• The Hillcats are 36-6 this season and 15-3 in the MIAA losing their last three games entering the doubleheader with Emporia State prior to playing the Ichabods on Saturday.
• Elexis Watson leads the team with a .416 batting average with 10 home runs and 42 hits … Abbey Rogers leads the team with 34 RBI.
• Andrea Morales is 21-2 in the circle with a 1.18 ERA and a 0.71 WHIP in 22 starts.
• The team has a 1.53 ERA and opponents are batting .193.
• The Hillcats lead the all-time series 4-2 and have lost the last four in a row to the Hillcats … Washburn's last win in the series came in an 11-6 win on Feb. 8, 2018 in a 11-6 victory.
  • is 169-112 in her sixth season as the Ichabod head softball coach.
• coached 19 seasons at Washburn Rural High School in Topeka compiling a 351-93 record.
• led the Junior Blues to three 6A state championships as well as winning 14 league championships earning 16 6A state tournament berths, five second-place state finishes and three third-place state finishes and was inducted into the Washburn Rural High School Hall of Fame in 2018.
• was named the Centennial League Coach of the Year and City Coach of the Year nine different times earning the Midwest Sectional Coach of the Year in 2011 and the 6A Kansas Coach of the year two times in 2008 and 2011 and was named the overall Kansas Coach of the Year in 2011.
• while at Washburn Rural, she coached more than 40 players who have gone on to play college softball including three at the NCAA Division I level including former Ichabod head softball coach Lisa Carey, the winningest coach by wins in program history. • The Ichabods are 1242-934-1 in their 52nd year of softball.
• The Ichabods have made four NCAA Tournament appearances (1999, 2006, 2008, 2018).
• Washburn won the 2002 and 2018 regular season MIAA titles.