TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn baseball is set for its final home series of the regular season hosting Rogers State for senior weekend starting Friday at 3 p.m.
LEADING OFF
>> The series opener against the Hillcats on Friday has been bumped up to 3 p.m. because of cooler temperatures in the evening. Game two will be Saturday at 2 p.m. and senior day will take place on Sunday at 1 p.m.
>> Washburn will recognize its six seniors prior to Sunday's game.
>> The Ichabods (25-18, 17-10 MIAA) played five games in five days starting last Friday and went 3-2 in that time. WU claimed the series win over Emporia State last weekend before capturing a 4-3 win over Southeastern Oklahoma and falling 17-7 in a non-conference contest at Missouri Southern on Tuesday.
>> The Hillcats are 23-17 (11-16 MIAA) and have lost five of their last six games.
>> These two teams played a three-game series in Claremore, Okla. last year with Rogers State winning the series, 2-1.
>> Washburn was picked fifth in the 2023 MIAA Coaches Preseason Poll and the Hillcats were selected seventh after going 26-25 (17-16 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 417-286.
>> The Ichabods went 13-8 at home last year and head into the final home series of the regular season with a record of 14-4 at Falley Field.
MIAA POSTSEASON PICTURE
>> The Ichabods are currently fourth in the league standings with two MIAA series to go in the regular season.
>> Missouri Southern and Central Missouri are tied for the lead with a 21-6 conference mark.
>> Pittsburg State is ahead of Washburn at 19-8 MIAA.
>> Central Oklahoma is fifth with a conference record of 16-11, Northeastern State is sixth at 12-15, and Rogers State and Newman are tied for seventh with a 11-16 record.
>> The top-four teams at the end of the regular season will host a best-of-three series May 5-7. The four winning teams will advance to the double-elimination MIAA Championship Tournament hosted by Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Mo. on May 11-14.
CONFERENCE PITCHER OF THE WEEK - JACK BRIMACOMBE
>> Senior right-handed pitcher Jack Brimacombe was named the MIAA Pitcher of the Week after his stellar start against Emporia State in the series opener.
>> Brimacombe threw seven shutout innings and allowed only four singles and zero walks while striking out six in the eight inning 10-0 run-rule win over the Hornets
>> He started the game strong, needing only six pitches in the first inning. He also retired the side in order in the third inning.
>> Three Ichabods have earned MIAA Athlete of the Week honors this season; Casey Steward was tabbed the conference Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 13 and Trevor McCollum was the Hitter of the Week on March 13.
THANK YOU, SENIORS!
>> Six Ichabods will be recognized prior to Sunday's game for their contributions to the Washburn baseball program.
>> Brimacombe joined the Ichabods in 2022 and has made 25 appearances on the mound with 24 starts. He has recorded 84 strikeouts in 98 1/3 innings pitched and holds a 5.95 career ERA. On Feb. 13, 2022, he struck out a career-high eight batters in five innings pitched. He was named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll last year and is an integrated studies major.
>> Mickey Coyne is a two-way player and in his first season with the Ichabods. He has pitched in nine games and also had 14 at bats this spring. Coyne earned the start at Barry on Feb. 12 and recorded his first hit, scored a run, and was hit by a pitch. At Missouri Western (March 25), he threw three scoreless innings and allowed only one hit. He is majoring in law enforcement.
>> Austin Gerety is in his second season at Washburn and has made 27 relief appearances. Last year, he went 4-0 and had a 4.15 ERA in 13 innings pitched. Last season in a run-rule victory over Emporia State, Gerety pitched a scoreless fifth inning and recorded three strikeouts. He earned a place on the 2022 MIAA Academic Honor Roll and is majoring in data analytics.
>> Andrew Paulsey joined the Ichabods this year and is also a two-way player. He has made three pitching appearances and played in 19 games with 12 starts in the batting lineup. On April 16 against Emporia State, he hit a two-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth to secure the series win over the Hornets. He is majoring in accounting.
>> Rane Pfeifer has played three seasons at Washburn, making 41 appearances with 33 starts as an Ichabod. He currently ranks fourth in Washburn's all-time record book in strikeouts with 196 and holds a career 6.36 ERA in 150 innings pitched. On March 11 of this season against Northeastern State, Pfeifer turned in a solid start as he went 5 1/3 innings without allowing a hit and just three walks in that time. He finished the game with a no-decision after going seven innings and allowing one run on two hits and three walks while striking out a career-high 13. He recorded four 1-2-3 innings and struck out the side his last inning out. He is an integrated studies major.
>> Calvin Steward joined the Washburn baseball team as a freshman in 2020 and he will be a four-year MIAA Academic Honor Roll member. Against Emporia State (April 14), he entered the game as a pinch runner. Steward is majoring in law enforcement.
QUICK HITS
>> The Ichabods have played 43 games and are hitting .301 with 80 doubles, 16 triples, and 30 homers.
>> Ike Book heads into the weekend batting .389 (sixth in MIAA) with 49 hits, 32 RBI, and 20 runs scored.
>> Cal Watkins is the only Ichabod to have started every game this season and has a 366 batting average. He leads the team in hits (67/fourth in MIAA), runs (46/ninth in MIAA), and doubles (13). He has recorded a team-leading 20 multi-hit games this spring.
>> Cale Savage has a team-high .584 slugging percentage to go with a .323 batting average, 52 hits, 11 doubles, two triples, and a team-best nine home runs and 48 RBI. He has reached base safely in each of the last 12 games.
>> In the last five games, Trey Adams has gone 9-21 (.429) with a double, triple, home run, six runs scored and has driven in nine runs with a .714 slugging percentage. Overall this year, he is batting .314 with 50 hits, 14 of which have gone for extra bases, 37 runs scored, 33 RBI, and a team-high 26 walks drawn.
>> Caden Bressler carries a six-game hitting streak into the weekend. On the year, he has a .299 batting average, 40 hits, 21 runs scored, 17 RBI, and 22 walks.
>> Andrew Schmidtlein is batting .500 in his last 10 at bats with three RBI and two runs scored to go with two walks and two hit by pitches. He has played in 33 games with 19 starts this season, batting .276 with 21 hits, five doubles, 17 runs scored, 19 RBI, and 12 walks.
>> Easton Bruce went 3-5 with a triple, four RBI, and one run scored in the series opener against Emporia State last week. This season, he has landed 43 hits that also consists of 11 doubles, a triple, four home runs. He has scored 34 times, knocked in 32 runs, and drawn 25 walks.
ON THE MOUND
>> The Ichabod pitchers have a collective 6.01 ERA and 374 strikeouts.
>> Chase Torkelson improved to 7-2 on the season after picking up the win against Southeastern Oklahoma on Monday. He went 6 2/3 innings and allowed only one run, six hits, and two walks and struck out four.
>> Torkelson has made 15 overall appearances with three starts and has a 5.17 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 38 1/3 innings.
>> Rane Pfeifer is 3-2 with a 4.32 ERA (sixth in MIAA) after throwing 58 1/3 frames in 11 starts. He holds the lowest opponent batting average of any pitcher in the MIAA at .188 and also allowed the fewest hits with 38. His 5.86 hits per nine innings ranks 14th in Division II and his 76 strikeouts ranks 18th in the nation.
>> Casey Steward has also made 11 starts and is 2-4 with one complete game. He has a 5.17 ERA after hurling a team-high 62 2/3 innings and leads the conference and ranks fifth in Division II with 85 strikeouts. Against Emporia State, he struck out 10.
>> Charlie Kiefer earned a win and a save in his last two outings to improve his overall record to 2-2 with a team-leading five saves. He has made 16 total appearances with two starts, has thrown 32 1/3 innings, and holds a 5.85 ERA with 25 strikeouts.
BODS AND ENDS
>> The Ichabods shut out Emporia State 10-0 in the series opener...that was Washburn's first shutout win since Feb. 27, 2021 at Missouri Western (W, 8-0).
>> WU is 8-4 in one-run games this season.
>> When hitting one home run, the Ichabods are 11-2.
>> Watkins currently has the exact same amount of hits (67) through 43 games as he did last season at the end of 55 games.
MILESTONE WATCH
>> Pfeifer needs four more strikeouts to eclipse 200 since joining the Ichabods in 2021. The Washburn career strikeout record is 221 set in 2021 by Brock Gilliam.
>> Steward has surpassed his season-high in strikeouts and has one more strikeout in 11 starts this season than his 84 strikeouts in 16 starts in 2022.
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 ROGERS STATE HILLCATS
>> The Hillcats are coming off a series loss to Northeastern State this past weekend and hold a record of 23-17 (11-16 MIAA).
>> As a team, RSU is hitting .293 and three players rank in the top-10 in the MIAA in batting average.
>> Prescott Horn is fifth in the MIAA batting .392 and also ranks seventh in the conference with 62 hits. He leads the team in doubles (18/third in MIAA) and RBI (49).
>> Gavin Mestas has started all 40 games and is batting .375 with 60 hits, 17 doubles, 31 RBI, and a team-leading 49 runs scored.
>> The RSU pitching staff has a 6.99 ERA with 334 strikeouts.
>> Rece Parker is 5-2 with a complete game and has thrown 64.0 innings, the third-most among MIAA pitchers. He has a 5.34 ERA and 63 strikeouts (sixth in MIAA) in 10 starts/11 overall appearances this spring.
>> Octavio Sanchez has made 12 relief appearances and is 3-0 with an MIAA-leading eight saves in 20 1/3 innings pitched. He holds a 2.66 ERA and has struck out 23.
HEAD COACH CHRIS KLIMAS
>> Chris Klimas is in his ninth season leading the Hillcats and compiled a career head coaching record of 218-185.
>> He has guided the team to 20+ victories in seven of his eight full seasons, excluding the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
>> Prior to taking over the program at RSU, Klimas was the assistant coach at his alma mater of Oklahoma Baptist from 2002-10 before being promoted to associate head coach from 2010-14.
>> Klimas was a two-year starting catcher for the Bison from 1999-2001 and graduated with a bachelor's in communication studies.
SERIES HISTORY WITH ROGERS STATE
>> These two programs faced each other for the first time ever in 2021 and have split the all-time series, 3-3.
>> The Ichabods hosted Rogers State in 2021 and won two out of three games.
>> In the 14-5 win at RSU last season, the Ichabods had 14 hits with four doubles and two home runs. WU also drew nine walks and was hit five times.
>> Last year's series rubber match came down to the ninth inning...Washburn scored three runs in the top of the ninth to tie the score, but Rogers State hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth to win, 7-6.
WASHBURN BASEBALL HISTORY
>> The 2023 season will be the 71st year of Washburn Baseball.
>> The Ichabods have gone 1318-1262-3 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 close out the regular season on the road at Pittsburg State, April 28-30.
