TOPEKA, Kan. – Washburn baseball fell in the series opening game to Missouri Southern on an intermittently snowy Friday afternoon, 4-1. With frigid temperatures in the forecast for Saturday, the Ichabods will finish the series with a doubleheader on Sunday starting at noon.
 
Missouri Southern (18-6, 9-2 MIAA) ripped a double on the first pitch of the game and moved up to third on a fielding error. Washburn starter Casey Steward got a 6-4-3 double play for two quick outs, but the run came across to score. Steward ended the inning with a quick three-pitch strikeout.
 
The Lions added one run in the third, sixth, and seventh to extend their lead to 4-0 while holding the Ichabods scoreless.
 
Washburn (16-9, 9-2 MIAA) got on the board in the seventh inning after Trevor McCollum hit a one out double to left center and then scored on an RBI single by Ike Book.
 
Steward went the distance on the mound and retired the final nine batters he faced and recorded 1-2-3 innings in the eighth and ninth.
 
The Ichabods were unable to add another run to their total and went down quietly in the final two innings.
 
Both teams finished the afternoon with six hits and two doubles apiece. McCollum was 2-3 and scored Washburn's lone run.
 
Steward threw the first complete game of his career, going all nine innings and allowing four runs, three of which were earned, on six hits and a walk. He also struck out nine batters.