TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn baseball will conclude its 11-game road swing with a midweek matinee at Northwest Missouri on Tuesday at 3 p.m.

LEADING OFF
>> The Ichabods (21-16, 14-9 MIAA) are looking to bounce back after being swept at Central Oklahoma last weekend.
>> The Bearcats (8-26, 6-17 MIAA) are coming off a series loss against Missouri Western with the rubber match game going 10 innings.
>> Tuesday's game will complete a three-game series between these two teams and Washburn has already clinched a series win after victories over the Bearcats on March 14 (W, 9-8) and on March 29 (W, 4-2).
>> NWMSU has gone 3-7 at home this season and WU is currently 8-11 in true road games.
>> The Ichabods were picked fifth in the 2023 MIAA Coaches Preseason Poll and the Bearcats were selected eighth after going 19-27 (13-20 MIAA) last year.
>> In 2022, Washburn reached its first NCAA postseason and finished the season 33-22 (19-14 MIAA).
>> The 2023 season is the 71st year of Washburn Baseball.

NATIONAL NUMBERS
>> Shortstop Cal Watkins begins the week ranked 18th in all of Division II and third in the MIAA in hits with 60 this spring. 
>> Pitchers Casey Steward and Rane Pfeifer rank in the top-20 in the nation in strikeouts. Steward is second among MIAA pitchers and eighth in DII with 75 strikeouts and Pfeifer is fourth in the conference and 20th in the nation with 68 strikeouts.
>> Pfeifer is also in the top-20 in fewest hits allowed per nine innings ... he is 16th and leads the conference, allowing only 5.81 hits/nine innings.
>> As a team, the Ichabods currently rank 24th in the nation in walks drawn with 188.

QUICK HITS
>> Through 37 games, Washburn is hitting .294 with 69 doubles, and 23 homers.
>> Watkins is the only Ichabod to have started every game this season. He leads the team in six categories, including a .375 batting average, 60 hits, 40 runs scored, and 18 multi-hit games.
>> Trevor McCollum has a team-high .485 on base percentage (seventh in MIAA) and is batting .371 on the season. He's landed 39 hits with five doubles, two triples, 25 runs scored, and 12 RBI. 
>> Ike Book is batting .356 with 36 hits, 29 RBI, and 16 runs scored.
>> Cale Savage is 10th in the conference with 43 RBI, leads WU with eight home runs, is second on the team with 43 hits and eight doubles, as well as ranking tied for third on the squad in runs scored (28).
>> Trey Adams has drawn a team-best 24 walks (eighth in MIAA) and is batting .301 with 41 hits, seven doubles, 31 runs scored, and 24 RBI. 
>> Easton Bruce is tied with Watkins for the most doubles (11) and has recorded 37 hits, 30 runs scored, and 26 RBI.
>> Caden Bressler has started 33 of the 34 games he's played and has totaled 32 hits, 20 runs scored, and 14 RBI with a .278 batting average. He had a pair of multi-hit games against the Bronchos.

ON THE MOUND
>> The Ichabod pitching staff has a 5.82 ERA and 318 strikeouts.
>> Pfeifer is 3-2 with a 4.10 ERA after throwing 52 2/3 frames in 10 starts. He leads the league in opponent batting average at a low .187 and has allowed the fewest hits with 34.
>> Steward has also made 10 starts and is 2-3 with one complete game. He leads the team with 75 strikeouts, 57 1/3 innings pitched, and has a 4.71 ERA. Steward has recorded six or more strikeouts in eight of his starts.
>> Chase Torkelson is 5-2 with a save in 13 appearances and 24 2/3 innings. He has struck out 24 and has a 6.93 ERA.
>> Charlie Kiefer has a team-high three saves and is 1-2 in 297 1/3 innings spread out across 13 games. He has struck out 22 and has a 5.22 ERA.

BODS AND ENDS
>> Washburn is currently tied for fourth in the MIAA standings alongside Central Oklahoma.
>> In two games against Northwest Missouri this season, Adams is hitting a combined .556 (5-9) with one home run, two RBI, and four runs scored.
>> WU has outscored its opponents, 37-20, in the fourth inning.
>> Although the Ichabods were swept at UCO last weekend, it was the first time since March 27-28, 2021 at then-ranked No. 5 Central Missouri that Washburn had lost all three games of a series.
>> The Ichabods are 12-2 when leading after the third inning.

MILESTONE WATCH
>> Watkins is four runs shy of having scored 100 runs since joining the Ichabods last season.
>> Pfeifer needs 12 more strikeouts to eclipse 200 since joining the Ichabods in 2021.
>> Steward is nine strikeouts away from tying his season-high 84 strikeouts from last season ... he made 16 starts last year and has made 10 so far in 2023.

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 NORTHWEST MISSOURI BEARCATS
>> This season, NWMSU's offense is batting a collective .261 with 44 doubles, three triples, and 27 home runs.
>> Cole Slibowski leads the team batting .352 with 38 hits. He has scored 24 times and driven in nine runs.
>> Ryan Koski is tied with Slibowski for the team-lead in hits and has a team-high 41 RBI, nine home runs, eight doubles, and 27 runs scored.
>> On the mound, the team has a 6.23 ERA and 281 strikeouts.
>> Alex Slocum is 3-4 with a complete game in his 10 starts. He has a 4.88 ERA and 53 strikeouts in 55 1/3 innings.
>> Max Spitzmiller leads the MIAA with 65 innings pitched and has recorded 58 strikeouts.

HEAD COACH DARIN LOE
>> Head Coach Darin Loe has been at Northwest Missouri since 2000 and has accumulated a career record of 558-586 in his time there.
>> Prior to leading the Bearcats, Loe served as the head coach at Baker for three seasons and began his coaching career at Missouri Valley College.
>> Combined between his time at Northwest Missouri, Baker, and Missouri Valley College, Loe has a 714-720

SERIES HISTORY WITH NORTHWEST MISSOURI
>> These two programs have played each other 140 times since 1971 and Washburn leads the all-time series, 75-65.
>> The Ichabods have won nine of the last 10 games played against the Bearcats.
>> Coach Douglas is 17-9 against NWMSU.

LAST TIME AGAINST NORTHWEST MISSOURI (March 29, 2023)
>> The Washburn bullpen threw four scoreless innings and closed out the 4-2 victory at Northwest Missouri.
>> The Bearcats took a 1-0 lead in the second inning.
>> The Ichabods answered with a run of their own in the top of the third on a successful double steal that resulted in Bressler stealing home.
>> Washburn went ahead, 3-1, in the fifth inning after an RBI single from Watkins and sacrifice fly by Adams.
>> In the home half of the fifth, Northwest Missouri pulled within one after a leadoff hit by pitch eventually came around to score on an RBI single.
>> The score stayed at 3-2 until the seventh inning when Andrew Schmidtlein knocked in an insurance run with a single to right field.
>> From the seventh inning on, Washburn did not allow Northwest Missouri to advance past second base.
>> Watkins and Adams were both 2-4 with an RBI and run scored.
>> Brimacombe picked up the win after throwing five innings in the start and allowing two runs on five hits and two walks while striking out three.
>> Max Clark made his collegiate debut in the eighth and allowed zero runs, one hit, one walk, and recorded one strikeout.

WASHBURN BASEBALL HISTORY
>> The 2023 season will be the 71st year of Washburn Baseball.
>> The Ichabods have gone 1314-1260-3 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 return to Falley Field this weekend for a three-game series against Emporia State starting April 14.