TOPEKA, Kan. – Washburn baseball never trailed in the series opener against Central Oklahoma and posted a 7-3 victory on Friday evening at Falley Field. Game two of the three-game set will take place Saturday at 2 p.m.
Washburn (24-11, 14-7 MIAA) got the scoring started in the second inning after
Connor Scott led off the frame with a triple to left field and then scored the first run on a sacrifice fly by
Cal Watkins.
Easton Bruce singled to center field and
Kros Bay hit a single of his own and wound up at third after two errors on the play resulted in an Ichabod run.
Cale Savage followed with another single to drive in Bay and put the Ichabods in front, 3-0.
Ichabod starter
Casey Steward did not allow a runner past second base until the fifth inning when Central Oklahoma (20-14, 12-9 MIAA) got on the board after a single, groundout, and then an RBI single to trim Washburn's lead to 3-1.
Washburn's offense showed its power in the sixth inning. Scott led off with a single and Watkins cleared the bases with a two-run no-doubter over the right field fence. With one out,
Trevor McCollum cranked out a homer of his own to create some cushion with a 6-1 advantage.
The Ichabods added another run in the bottom of the seventh to make it a 7-1 contest. With two outs,
Brett Ingram got things started when he sent the first pitch of his at bat to right field for a single. Scott ripped a double down the left field line to put a pair of Washburn runners in scoring position. Before the first pitch was thrown to the next batter, a balk was issued and Ingram came in to score.
The Bronchos got some momentum going in the top of the ninth and scored a couple of runs on three hits and an error, but a 4-6-3 double play closed the door and sealed the Washburn win.
Washburn held a 10-8 edge in hits and had four extra base hits. Scott was a home run shy of the triple as he wrapped up the night 3-4 at the plate and two runs scored. Watkins hit his third home run of the season and went 2-3 and had three RBI.
Steward earned his third-straight victory to improve his record to 4-0. He went six innings and allowed one run on four hits and three walks and recorded six strikeouts.
