TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn baseball will commence the 2023 season this week with four games against Central Region opponents in Arkansas at the Dugan Invitational.

LEADING OFF
>> The start of the invite has been pushed back a day, due to precipitation and frigid temperatures, and Washburn will now play Friday through Monday.
>> The Ichabods are coming off an historic season where they went 33-22 (19-14 MIAA) and earned a trip to the program's first-ever NCAA postseason tournament.
>> Washburn begins the season ranked 10th in the NCBWA Central Region Preseason Poll.
>> WU will face some tough competition in the opening weekend as three of its four opponents also competed in the 2022 NCAA Central Region Tournament and two are also ranked in the top-10 in the regional preseason rankings.
>> The Ichabods will now open the season against Ouachita Baptist on Friday at 1 p.m. ... the Tigers were the eight-seed in last year's NCAA regional and went 33-24.
>> Saturday's 4 o'clock game will be against Southeastern Oklahoma ... the Savage Storm had a record of 32-20 last year.
>> The Ichabods will travel a short distance to Henderson State in Arkadelphia on Sunday afternoon ... the Reddies were 40-17 and the No. 3 seed in the NCAA regional tournament.
>> The final game of the invite will be a rematch of the Ichabods' first game of the 2022 NCAA Central Region Tournament, taking on now-ranked No. 2 Southern Arkansas on Monday, Feb. 6 at 12:30 p.m.
>> The Muleriders went 47-13 last season and reached the DII World Series in Cary, N.C.

DUGAN INVITATIONAL INFORMATION
>> Washburn will play its Friday, Saturday, and Monday games at Majestic Park in Hot Springs, Ark.
>> Ticket prices for fans 18 and older are $8 per day; for ages 12-17 tickets are $5 per day; fans ages 11 and under are free.
>> Only service pets are permitted at Majestic Park.
>> The Ichabods' only game not played in Hot Springs will be the Sunday matinee at Henderson State in Arkadelphia, Ark.
>> Overall, the invitational consists of 10 teams from three different conferences (GAC, MIAA, and LSC).
>> Other MIAA teams making the trip south will be Northeastern State, Rogers State, and Northwest Missouri.

OPENING DAY
>> The Ichabods are 6-2 in the very first game of the season since Harley Douglas became the head coach in 2015.
>> Washburn is 35-35 all-time in the season opener.

WELCOME BACK EVERY-BOD-Y
>> Twenty-six Ichabods from last season return with four of those being seniors.
>> The rest of the returning roster breakdown is eight juniors, eight sophomores, and six redshirt freshmen.

ALL-MIAA RETURNERS
>> Eight Ichabods Ichabods earned All-MIAA honors in 2022 and two of them return this season.
>> Casey Steward earned an All-MIAA second team selection last season after he turned into the Ichabods' game one starter.
>> He tied a team-high in wins last season with a 5-2 record and a 6.72 ERA. He also threw a team-high 75 innings, which ranked eighth in the MIAA, and was second on the squad with 84 strikeouts (fifth in the MIAA).
>> His 16 starts was the most in a single season in Washburn history.
>> Cal Watkins returns after being tabbed an All-MIAA Honorable Mention his first season at Washburn.
>> Watkins started all 55 games at shortstop last season and finished the season batting .299 and was second on the team in hits (67), runs (56), doubles (16), walks (22), multi-hit games (23). and sacrifice flies (four).
>> He also led the team and was seventh in the MIAA with seven sacrifice bunts.

OUTFIELD
>> Returning in the outfield are a trio of Ichabods who started nearly 50% or more games last season.
>> Connor Scott started all 55 games in center field his first season at WU. He finished the year batting .272 and recorded 58 hits (fifth on the team), six home runs, 15 doubles (t-third on the team), and four triples (first on the team/10th in MIAA. He also drove in 27 runs and scored 43 times (fifth on the team).
>> After a hot start in the first month of his freshman campaign, Easton Bruce suffered an injury that made him miss 15 games. But in early April, he picked up right where he left off and finished the year starting 30 of 33 games primarily in left field, batting .333 with 42 hits, three homers, six doubles, and a triple.
>> Trevor McCollum started 26 of the 29 games and recorded 23 hits, two homers, four doubles, and a triple to go with 25 runs scored and 16 RBI. He also earned 25 free passes to reach base with 15 walks and 10 hit by pitches.
>> Shane Morrow also returns after playing in 10 games with two starts a season ago.

INFIELD
>> Returning to the infield alongside Watkins are Cale Savage, Teagan Tamiya, and Andrew Schmidtlein.
>> Savage played in 42 total games while making 37 starts primarily at first base. He hit .266 with 33 hits, five home runs, and seven doubles. He also scored 27 runs and collected 23 RBI.
>> Tamiya, a middle infielder, played in 11 games and made three starts.
>> Schmidtlein saw action in 13 games and also made three starts, mainly at third base.

CATCHER
>> Otto Jones is the only catcher returning from last year's squad. He made 18 starts and played in 26 games overall while finishing with a .349 batting average. Additionally, he recorded 22 hits, two homers, six doubles, a triple, and 15 RBI.

STARTING PITCHERS
>> Three Ichabod pitchers started 10 or more games last season and all three return in 2023.
>> Last year, Steward was joined in the starting rotation by Jack Brimacombe and Rane Pfeifer.
>> Brimacombe made 13 starts on the mound and finished with a 2-4 record, a 5.96 ERA, and 45 strikeouts. He was third on the team in innings pitched at 54.1.
>> Pfeifer pitched in 17 games with 10 starts and finished with a 2-4 record, a save, and a 7.83 ERA. He was fourth on the team in both innings pitched (43.2) and strikeouts (56).

RELIEF PITCHERS
>> Six relievers return from last year, including Pfeifer who threw seven games out of the bullpen.
>> Julian Zamora made 13 relief appearances and was 2-1 record with a 3.38 ERA. He recorded 14 strikeouts in 13.1 innings on the mound.
>> Austin Gerety finished the year with a 4-0 record, 16 strikeouts, and a 4.15 ERA in 17 relief appearances and 13.0 innings of work.
>> Cole Warner pitched in eight games with three starts and finished with a 4.50 ERA and a 1-1 record ... struck out 19 batters scattered across 18 innings.
>> Jake Schroeder pitched in 19 games out of the bullpen and had a 1-0 record and a 4.74 ERA to go with 27 strikeouts in 19.0 innings.
>> Charlie Kiefer was called on to start seven games and pitch eight out of the bullpen. He went 3-1 with one save, 32 strikeouts, and a 6.41 ERA in 39.1 innings.

NEW FACES
>> Washburn welcomes 15 newcomers to the 2023 squad with 12 transfer student-athletes made up of one senior, two juniors, seven sophomores, a redshirt freshman, and a freshman joining the team.
>> Four true freshmen also begin their first season with the Ichabods.

ICHABODS AROUND THE COUNTRY
>> Washburn's 42-man roster consists of players from eight different states.
>> There are 15 players on the roster who are from the Sunflower State.
>> Nebraska boasts the second-most players with seven.
>> Colorado has six Washburn players and Missouri has five.
>> There are four Ichabods from Oklahoma and three from Texas.
>> Mickey Coyne is from Nevada and Tamiya is from Hawaii.

IN THE RANKINGS
>> Washburn checked in at No. 10 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Central Region Preseason Poll.
>> Southern Arkansas was first in the rankings, earning 12 first-place votes and 145 points.
>> Central Missouri was second with two first-place votes and 128 points and Augustana received the remaining first-place vote and 120 points.
>> Alongside Washburn and Central Missouri, the MIAA was represented by Northeastern State and Pittsburg State at Nos. 7 and 8.

MIAA PRESEASON POLL
>> In the 2023 MIAA Coaches Preseason Poll, the Ichabods were picked exactly where they finished a season prior in fifth place.
>> Central Missouri repeated as the conference favorite, earning 11 first-place votes.
>> Pittsburg State checked in at No. 2, Northeastern State was No. 3 and earned the final first-place vote.
>> Central Oklahoma and Washburn rounded out the top-five.

NOTEABLE NUMBERS FROM 2022
>> The 2022 Washburn baseball team finished in the top-five of several program single season records.
Offensive records:

• 1st in doubles (127)
• 1st in hit by pitch (94)
• 2nd in hits (586)
• 2nd in home runs (77)
• 4th in runs scored (450)

Pitching records:

• 1st in strikeouts (542)
• 1st in saves (15)
• 4th in wins (33)

HEAD COACH HARLEY DOUGLAS
>> Former Washburn All-MIAA outfielder Harley Douglas enters his ninth season at the helm of the Washburn baseball program in 2023.
>> In eight seasons, Douglas carries an all-time record of 161-152 with four appearances in the MIAA Tournament and led the program to its first-ever NCAA Tournament in 2022.
>> He has also coached a total of 47 all-MIAA selections, including the MIAA Player and Pitcher of the Year in 2016.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
SOUTHERN ARKANSAS MULERIDERS
>> Southern Arkansas is coming off its best season in program history after going 47-13 and winning the GAC regular season and tournament titles, its first-ever NCAA Central Region championship, and reaching the DII College World Series in Cary, N.C.
>> The Muleriders return 29 players from a season ago which includes six All-GAC performers.
>> Last season, the SAU offense finished fourth in the nation in home runs (113) and fifth in runs scored (599).
>> Among those returning is Brandon Nicoll, who started all 60 games and led the team with 85 hits, 26 doubles, 84 RBI and was second on the squad batting .333 and 71 runs scored. He also hit 14 home runs.
>> Brett McGee is the top-returner in home runs, cranking out 16 last year, and he also led the team with 61 walks drawn and 27 HBP.
>> The Mulerider pitching staff had a collective 4.87 ERA with a majority of thanks to the National Pitcher of the Year Jeremy Adorno.
>> Adorno was 15-0 in 17 starts and had a 2.83 ERA and Division II-leading 136 strikeouts in 114 2/3 innings pitched.
>> He gave up only nine home runs in all of 2022, and three were to the Ichabods in the NCAA Central Region opener ... he also only surrendered 41 runs the whole season, but allowed nine runs in three innings against WU.
>> Justin Pettigrew enters his seventh season as the head coach for SAU and has compiled a record of 205-88 with four trips to the NCAA postseason.
>> Washburn is 4-6 all-time against Southern Arkansas.
>> The Ichabods' last win over the Muleriders was game one of a doubleheader on Feb. 1, 2019 ... current WU assistant coach, Lane Harvey, was the leadoff man in that game and went 1-3 with two walks, a run, and an RBI.

OUACHITA BAPTIST TIGERS
>> The Tigers went 33-24 (20-13 GAC) in 2022 and were the eight-seed in the NCAA Central Region Tournament.
>> They were picked fifth in this season's GAC Coaches Preseason rankings.
>> Three All-GAC performers return from last year's team, led by ace pitcher Cooper Timmons, who went 9-3 on the mound last year with a 3.83 ERA and a strikeout-to-walk over 3-to-1.
>> All-GAC corner infielder G. Allen is back this year after posting an OPS of over one-thousand last year, highlighted by a team-high 13 homeruns and total of 33 extra-base hits.
>> 2022 GAC Freshman of the Year Wyatt Core is also back this year after tying Allen for the team-lead in hits at 66 and leading the team in stolen bases at 15.
>> Head Coach Luke Howard has led the Tigers for four seasons and is 81-86 during his tenure.
>> This will be the very first meeting between Washburn and Ouachita Baptist.

SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA SAVAGE STORM
>> The Savage Storm finished fourth in the 2022 GAC standings with a record of 32-20 (20-13 GAC) and were picked fourth in the 2023 GAC Preseason Poll.
>> The Savage Storm offense hit an even .300 with 71 home runs last season.
>> The team returns returns six of its seven top hitters, including the top five which is led by Cameron French who hit .388 with 13 doubles, five homers, and 45 RBI.
>> Reid Rice also returns after batting .333 with a team-best 18 home runs, 50 runs, and 53 RBI.
>> On the mound, Southeastern had a 7.36 ERA and 405 strikeouts.
>> SE returns its two leading starters form a season ago in Cole Canuteson who led the team with a 6-2 record and 81 strikeouts, as well as Dylan Turner who had a team-best 5.33 ERA to go with four wins and 44 strikeouts.
>> Zach Crabtree will commence his sixth season as the head coach at Southeastern Oklahoma and has accumulated a record of 105-97 there.
>> The Ichabods are 6-3 against SEOSU and won two out of three in their last series in 2019.

HENDERSON STATE REDDIES
>> The Reddies' 2022 season came to an end in the NCAA Central Region Tournament with a record of 40-17 (23-10 MIAA), the program's first-ever 40 win season, and were picked second in the 2023 GAC Preseason Poll.
>> As a whole, Henderson State hit .289 with 63 home runs and 121 doubles a year ago.
>> Highlighting the offensive returners from that 40-win team is Greyson Stevens, who led the club with 78 hits and was second on the squad with 10 home runs.
>> Dillon Thomas was just shy of the .400 hitting mark at .395 and had 62 hits, 37 RBI, and seven home runs.
>> The Henderson State pitching staff had a 5.00 ERA and 406 strikeouts and return Ryan Galvan, who was 6-1 in 15 starts with a 3.91 ERA in 67 1/3 innings of work. He also had 54 strikeouts.
>> Cody Hooten enters his 13th season leading HSU and has a 311-268-1 record.
>> These two programs have never played each other.

PRO BODS
>> At the conclusion of his collegiate career, Gilliam was signed by the Kansas City Monarchs on July 23, 2021 and has been with them since.
>> After a season and a half as a Monarch, he has appeared in 40 games and has a 9-5 record with 88 strikeouts in 88.1 innings pitched.
>> In the 2022-23 offseason, Gilliam joined the Perth Heat in the Australian Baseball League ... he made 10 starts and had a 5-1 record, a 3.04 ERA, and 36 strikeouts.
>> Tyler Clark-Chiapparelli, who graduated from Washburn in 2022, spent the summer playing for the Trois-Rivières Aigles, an independent professional baseball team located in Quebec, Canada and in the Frontier League.
>> Clark-Chiapparelli resigned to play with Trois-Rivières in the 2023 season.
>> Joel Casillas, also a graduate of the 2022 Washburn baseball team, signed to play the 2023 season with the Sultanes de Monterrey in the Mexican Baseball League in Monterrey, Mexico.

WASHBURN BASEBALL HISTORY
>> The 2023 season will be the 71st year of Washburn Baseball.
>> The Ichabods have gone 1297-1245-3 in that time.
>> There has been 31 seasons with 20+ wins; 21 seasons with 25+ wins; and 11 seasons with 30+ wins.
>> Washburn has earned 24 All-Region selections and nine All-America awards.

TAKE A LOOK AHEAD
>> The Ichabods will head to the Sunshine State for five games against four Florida teams Feb. 9-13.