MARYVILLE, Mo. – The Ichabods used the long ball and a solid start on the mound from
Chase Torkelson to complete the three-game season sweep of Northwest Missouri on Tuesday afternoon, 6-5. Washburn will host Emporia State this weekend for its first home games since mid-March. First pitch against the Hornets on Friday is set for 5 p.m.
The Bearcats (8-27, 6-18 MIAA) led 2-0 at the end of the first inning after hitting a two-RBI double with two outs.
The Ichabods (22-16, 15-9 MIAA) trimmed the deficit in half after
Ike Book hit a leadoff opposite field home run in the top of the second.
In the third inning,
Caden Bressler legged out an infield single to start the frame and
Trevor McCollum laid down a perfectly-placed bunt down the third base line for a single. On a 2-2 pitch,
Cale Savage gave the Ichabods a 4-2 lead with a three-run homer to left field.
Washburn added one run to its lead in the fifth inning. Savage landed a double in left field and then traded places with Book on his two-out double to left.
After the first inning, Torkelson settled into a groove and retired nine Bearcat batters in a row from the second through fourth innings. In the fifth, he left runners stranded on first and second with a strikeout to end the frame. Northwest Missouri drew a leadoff walk in the sixth, but Torkelson retired each of the final six batters he faced.
Cal Watkins pushed the Ichabod lead to 6-2 in the eighth with a first pitch leadoff home run over the wall in left field.
The Bearcats clawed their way back into the game with three runs on five hits in the home half of the eighth to pull within one, 6-5.
Charlie Kiefer took over on the bump to close out the game in the ninth and he did so efficiently as the Bearcats went three up, three down.
The Ichabods concluded the game with an 11-10 edge in hits and cranked out three home runs and three doubles. Book was a perfect 4-4 and was a triple short of hitting for the cycle. He finished with a solo home run, two doubles, and a single with two RBI. Bressler went 3-4 at the dish with one run scored and a stolen base. Savage had a three-run homer and a double and scored twice.
Torkelson improved to 6-2 on the season and went seven innings, allowing only the two runs in the first inning, five hits, one walk, and struck out a season-high eight. He recorded four 1-2-3 innings out of his seven that he pitched. Kiefer earned his fourth save of the year after a clean ninth inning and caught the leadoff batter looking on a strikeout.
