TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn baseball returns home for a midweek non-conference matchup against Missouri Western on Tuesday afternoon. First pitch against the Griffons at Falley Field is set for 2 p.m.
LEADING OFF
>> Washburn is on an eight-game winning streak and holds a 9-7 (3-0 MIAA) record this season.
>> The Ichabods began MIAA play at Fort Hays State last weekend and swept the three-game series.
>> The Griffons are 3-6 and have lost four games in a row all against nationally-ranked teams, most recently at No. 13 Central Oklahoma last weekend.
>> Last season, Washburn hosted Missouri Western and took two out of three games.
>> The Ichabods were picked fifth in the 2023 MIAA Coaches Preseason Poll and the Griffons were tabbed 11th after going 13-32 (9-24 MIAA) a season ago.
>> In 2022, Washburn reached its first NCAA postseason and finished the season 33-22.
>> The 2023 season is the 71st year of Washburn Baseball.
WAT A HIT
>> Junior shortstop Cal Watkins is off to a tear offensively as he currently leads all of Division II in hits with 34 so far.
>> He has recorded nine multi-hit games to lead the team and is also on a nine-game hitting streak.
>> In the MIAA-opening doubleheader, Watkins went a combined 10-12 with a double and five runs scored.
>> In 21 at bats last week, Watkins did not strike out once.
QUICK HITS
>> Through 16 games, Washburn is hitting .303 with 28 doubles and 14 homers.
>> The team currently ranks fifth in the nation in hits with 172 total.
>> Washburn has drawn an MIAA-best 86 walks so far this season and ranks fifth in Division II.
>> Watkins is first among MIAA players in batting average as he's hitting .486. He is also leading the league and sixth in DII in runs scored with 23 and has legged out a team-best six doubles.
>> Ike Book is close behind, hitting .474 to rank third among MIAA players and has 18 hits in 11 games played. He is tied for the team-lead in RBI with 16 and in 38 at bats, he's only struck out twice.
>> Trey Adams has reached base in 12 consecutive games and is batting .306 while starting all 16 games at second base.
>> Easton Bruce has hit a team-best four home runs this season, including two at Fort Hays last weekend. For the season, he is hitting .288 with 17 hits, four doubles, and is tied with Book for the most runs driven in.
ON THE MOUND
>> The Ichabod pitching staff has a 5.28 ERA and currently ranks first among MIAA teams for the most strikeouts with 150.
>> Cole Warner has a 1.50 ERA and is 3-0 in four relief appearances. He's thrown 18 innings and struck out 13.
>> Casey Steward leads the conference in strikeouts with 34 and has struck out nine in each of his last two starts. So far, he is 1-0 with a 4.12 ERA in four starts and 19 2/3 innings pitched.
>> Rane Pfeifer has won his last two starts and recorded nine strikeouts in both. Against Concordia-St. Paul, he went five innings and allowed two runs on two hits and four walks for the win. At Fort Hays, he went seven innings and allowed two runs on four hits and five walks.
>> Pfeifer has a total of 25 strikeouts in 18 innings of work and a 4.00 ERA.
>> Chase Torkelson has won the last two games he's pitched in and is 2-1 in five relief appearances with a 4.22 ERA in 10 2/3 innings on the bump. Combined between his last two outings, he's tossed five scoreless frames and allowed just two singles and three walks while striking out four.
BODS AND ENDS
>> The Ichabods have outscored their opponents, 22-6, in the fourth inning.
>> Washburn has scored 13 or more runs in three games this season.
>> In 16 games, the Ichabods have scored in the first inning in nine of those contests.
>> When hitting at least one home run, the Ichabods are 7-2.
>> The Ichabods are receiving votes in the latest NCBWA Central Region poll.
>> Washburn won its 1,300th game in its program history in the series opener against Concordia-St. Paul on Feb. 18.
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.
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.
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
MISSOURI WESTERN GRIFFONS
>> The Griffins finished 11th in the 2022 MIAA standings after going 13-32 (9-24 MIAA).
>> So far this year, they are 3-6 and are in search of their first conference victory.
>> Missouri Western's offense is batting .260 with 11 doubles and four homers.
>> Travis Wiese has started all nine games and has a .394 batting average with a team-high 13 hits, nine runs scored, two triples, and eight RBI.
>> On the mound, the Griffons have a collective 5.92 ERA with 74 strikeouts.
>> Zack Cushing is 1-1 in six relief appearances and has 10 strikeouts in 9 1/3 innings.
HEAD COACH BUZZ VERDUZCO
>> Buzz Verduzco entered his 24th season at Missouri Western with a career record of 617-520.
>> He has led the Griffons to an MIAA regular season championship (2013) and four NCAA regional berths.
>> Verduzco served as an assistant coach at Washington State for 10 years before coming to Missouri Western.
SERIES HISTORY
>> Washburn holds a 75-72 edge over Missouri Western in the all-time series.
>> The Ichabods have won eight of the last 10 games against the Griffons.
>> Last season, Washburn went 2-1 against Missouri Western at Falley Field.
>> In that series, Savage was 5-11 with two home runs, five RBI and five runs scored
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 1306-1252-3 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 remain at home for the weekend as they resume MIAA play hosting Newman, March 3-5.
