TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabod softball team hit the 40-win plateau using clutch home runs in both games as the Ichabods swept No. 8-ranked Rogers State to finish the season 26-0 at Gahnstrom Field winning their 25
th and 26
th games in a row on Monday. Washburn will wrap up the regular season at Emporia State on Friday.
Game 1 – WU 2, RSU 0
Starting pitcher
Jaycee Ginter limited the Hillcats (39-9, 16-6 MIAA) to a sixth inning single as she faced one over the minimum while
Ashton Friend's two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh was the difference as the Ichabods (40-11, 22-2 MIAA) won the opener.
The home run was Friend's 14
th of the season while Ginter increased her nation's best 26
th win of the season in the circle. Friend had two of the Ichabods' four hits while
Marrit Mead and Ginter contributed to the others off RSU's Andrea Morales who fell to 23-3 on the season.
Ginter singled up the middle to start the seventh inning and Friend's shot to center came on an 0-2 count and bounced off the fence for the winner. Ginter struck out six in the opener.
Game 2 – WU 3, RSU 2
In the nightcap, the Ichabods fell behind 2-0 after a two-run homer by Lana Gass in the third inning. Up until the fifth inning, the Ichabods were stymied on offense as Washburn's lone hit came in the first in Ginter's single up the middle.
In the fifth,
Jaden LaBarge led off the inning with a single and then
Kimi Patterson singled up the third base line. With two outs,
Autymn Schreiner came to bat and hit her third home run of the season driving in three putting Washburn up 3-2.
Raegen Hamm tossed the first five innings scattering three hits and striking out five and was relieved by Ginter who pitched the sixth and seventh innings giving up two hits. Hamm moved to 10-6 overall and Ginter had her third save of the season.
Five different Ichabods had hits in the second game.
Notes:
• The Ichabods finished the home slate at Gahnstrom Field 26-0.
• Washburn moved its school-best winning streak to 20 games.
• The 26-game winning streak at Gahnstrom Field is currently the second-longest in the country trailing Augustana's 43-game streak.
• The 20-game Washburn winning streak is the longest in the NCAA D2 ranks ahead of Augustana's 19-game streak.
• The Ichabods recorded their first 40-win season since 2002 when the Ichabods went 48-11 … overall the Ichabods have had now four seasons with at least 40 wins - 41 (1999), 48 (2002) and 50 (1986) and this season's 40 to this point.
