TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn baseball will play five games in five days starting with a three-game home series this weekend against Emporia State before hitting the road for non-conference games against Southeastern Oklahoma and Missouri Southern.

LEADING OFF
>> The series opener against the Hornets is set for Friday at 5 p.m. with game two starting at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The final game will take place Sunday at 1 p.m.
>> The Ichabods will then travel for two non-conference games, first going to Claremore, Okla. for a neutral site contest against Southeastern Oklahoma on Monday at 4 p.m. before going to No. 17 Missouri Southern on Tuesday evening for another 4 o'clock game. There will be no video live stream for Monday's game.
>> The Ichabods (21-16, 14-9 MIAA) completed a three-game season sweep of Northwest Missouri on Tuesday after holding on for a 6-5 victory.
>> The Hornets have lost three in a row and are 15-24 (9-15 MIAA).
>> Washburn went 3-1 against Emporia State last season, with two of those victories being run-rule wins.
>> Washburn's first win of the season was against the Savage Storm on Feb. 4 in Hot Springs, Ark.
>> The Ichabods hosted Missouri Southern for three games last month and the Lions took two out of three.
>> Washburn was picked fifth in the 2023 MIAA Coaches Preseason Poll and the Hornets were selected ninth after going 21-31 (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.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
>> Falley Field has been the home of the Ichabods since 1990.
>> At home over the past 33 years, Washburn has a record of 415-285.
>> The Ichabods went 13-8 at home last year.
>> The series opener against ESU will mark 26 days since Washburn's last home game (March 19).
>> Washburn is 12-3 at home this spring and will have one final home series of the regular season next weekend (April 21-23) against Rogers State.

QUICK HITS
>>  Thirty-eight games are in the books and Washburn is hitting .294 with 72 doubles, and 26 homers.
>> Ike Book went a perfect 4-4 at Northwest Missouri with a home run and two doubles to bump his batting average up to a team-high .381 to go with a .571 slugging percentage. Overall this spring, he has 40 hits with 12 extra base knocks and 31 RBI.
>> Cal Watkins is hitting .372 and is the only Ichabod to have started every game this season. He leads the team in hits (61) and runs (41) and is tied for the team-lead in doubles (11) and triples (two).
>> Trevor McCollum has tallied 40 hits, 26 runs scored, 14 stolen bases, and 12 RBI this season while batting .364 with a .474 on base percentage.  
>> Cale Savage ranks in the top-three on the team in nine categories, including leading the Ichabods with 43 RBI and nine home runs, is second on the team with 45 hits and nine doubles, as well as ranking tied for third in runs scored with 33.
>> Trey Adams has drawn a team-best 24 walks and is batting .297 with 41 hits, seven doubles, 31 runs scored, and 24 RBI. 
>> Caden Bressler went 3-4 at Northwest Missouri and has recorded a multi-hit game in three of the last four games. For the year, he is batting .294 with 35 hits, 21 runs scored, and 14 RBI.
>> Easton Bruce is tied with Watkins for the most doubles and has recorded 37 hits, 30 runs scored, and 26 RBI.

ON THE MOUND
>> The Ichabod pitching staff has a 5.80 ERA and 328 strikeouts.
>> Chase Torkelson improved to 6-2 on the season after picking up the win at Northwest Missouri on Tuesday. He 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.
>> Torkelson has made 14 overall appearances with two starts and has a 5.97 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 31 2/3 innings.
>> Rane 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.
>> Casey Steward has also made 10 starts and is 2-3 with one complete game. He has a 4.71 ERA after hurling a team-high 57 1/3 innings and leads the conference and ranks eighth in Division II with 75 strikeouts. Steward has recorded six or more strikeouts in eight of his starts.
>> Charlie Kiefer picked up his fourth save of the season on Tuesday and is 1-2 in 30 1/3 innings spread out across 14 games. He has struck out 23 and has a 5.04 ERA.

BODS AND ENDS
>> Washburn is currently tied for fourth in the MIAA standings alongside Central Oklahoma.
>> The Ichabods hit three home runs against the Bearcats on Tuesday, marking the second time this season with a trio of home runs in one game...the other time that has happened this year was on Feb. 20 against Concordia-St. Paul.
>> Book is batting .452 with runners in scoring position and when there are two outs, he is hitting .364.
>> Savage has collected 23 two-out RBI.

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 OPPOSITION
EMPORIA STATE HORNETS
>> The Hornets finished 2022 with a record of 21-31 (13-20 MIAA) and saw their season come to an end in the MIAA tournament first round at Central Missouri. 
>> Through 39 games, Emporia State is currently last among MIAA teams with a .248 batting average. They have also recorded 53 doubles, 10 triples, and 44 home runs.
>> Noah Geekie leads the team hitting .330 and slugging .495 with 30 hits, which includes five doubles, two triples, and two home runs. He has struck out only eight times in 91 at bats.
>> Kadyn Williams has a team-high in RBI (36), hits (38), walks (27), and triples (three) while tying for the team-lead in doubles (six) and landing second on the squad in runs scored (28).
>> The Hornet pitching staff has a 6.87 ERA and 291 strikeouts.
>> Geekie is a two-way player and leads the pitchers with a 4-3 record in 10 starts and two complete games. He's logged a team-high 57 2/3 innings and 52 strikeouts and holds a 4.99 ERA.
>> Ian Lanik also has two complete games and is 4-5 with a save in 13 appearances and 53 2/3 frames. He has a team-low 4.19 ERA and has struck out 38.

HEAD COACH SETH WHEELER
>> Seth Wheeler is in his fifth season as the head coach of the Hornets and in his eighth overall on the ESU coaching staff.
>> He has compiled a record of 93-109 in his time leading the Hornets.
>> Wheeler is familiar with the MIAA as he was a student-athlete at Central Missouri and earned all-conference honors as a catcher.

SERIES HISTORY WITH EMPORIA STATE
>> The Ichabods have played the Hornets more than any other program as the series history dates back to 1949.
>> Although Washburn has won six of the last eight matchups, Emporia State holds a 165-81-1 all-time series lead.
>> The last time Emporia State was at Falley Field for a three-game series was on April 9-10, 2021, the Ichabods claimed the series win taking two out of three games.
>> Coach Douglas is 12-15 against ESU.

SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA SAVAGE STORM
>> The Savage Storm head into the weekend with a record of 20-18 (12-12 GAC).
>> The offense is batting .308 with 69 doubles, 11 home runs, and 41 homers.
>> Damon Burroughs leads the team hitting .417 with 50 hits, seven triples, and 43 RBI.
>> Reid Rice is close behind with a .350 batting average and has 48 hits, 12 doubles, eight home runs, 47 runs scored, and 32 runs driven in.
>> On the bump, the Savage Storm have a 6.76 ERA and 289 strikeouts.
>> Cole Canuteson is 4-1 in 10 starts and leads the group with 53 strikeouts and 51 1/3 innings pitched.
>> Zach Crabtree is in his sixth season as the head coach at Southeastern Oklahoma and has accumulated a record of 105-97 there.
>> The Ichabods are 7-3 against SEOSU.
>> Washburn posted a 7-2 win over the Savage Storm on Feb. 4 earlier this season...the Ichabods took the lead on a four-run fourth inning.
>> Watkins went yard and scored three runs and had three RBI and Cole Warner was the winning pitcher in the contest, tossing 3 1/3 scoreless innings in relief and allowing just one hit while striking out three.

SCOUTING MISSOURI SOUTHERN
>> Missouri Southern holds a record of 30-10 (18-6 MIAA) heading into the weekend series against Newman.
>> The Lions lead the nation in home runs hit with 83 and are batting .324 with 100 doubles (third-most in DII).
>> Nate Mieszkowski leads the MIAA with 68 hits and 57 runs scored while hitting .384 with 12 home runs and nine doubles.
>> The MSSU pitchers have combined for a 5.20 ERA and 328 punchouts.
>> Cole Woods is 7-2 in 10 starts and out of his 69 strikeouts, a league-high 23 have been caught looking. He has a 3.56 ERA in 60 2/3 innings and has held opponents to hitting .224.
>> Bryce Darnell is in his 16th season as the head coach at his alma mater and began the year with a career record of 437-317.
>> These two programs have played each other 102 times since 1989 and Missouri Southern leads the all-time series, 65-40.
>> In the 10-5 win over MSSU on March 19, the Ichabods scored eight unanswered runs starting in the fifth inning. WU had six doubles, with three coming from Bruce to tie a single-game program record. Savage, McCollum, and Bruce all had three hits on the day.
>> Torkelson received the win, throwing the final four innings in relief and allowing zero runs, four hits, and two walks to go with four strikeouts.

WASHBURN BASEBALL HISTORY
>> The 2023 season will be the 71st year of Washburn Baseball.
>> The Ichabods have gone 1315-1260-3 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 have a busy week on tap with non-conference road games against Southeastern Oklahoma on Monday and Missouri Southern on Tuesday before returning home for the final home series of the regular season on April 21-23 against Rogers State.