•   The Washburn Ichabod softball team, who was just outside of the NFCA Top 25 coaches poll coming in at No. 26, will be in action this weekend in Edmond, Oklahoma at the Raising Canes Festival. All five of the Ichabod games will be played at Deer Creek High School.
•   The Ichabods have won five-straight games entering the weekend.
•   This weekend the Ichabods will face Ouachita Baptist, Oklahoma Baptist, Southeastern Oklahoma State, Arkansas Tech and Missouri S&T. The first four games are against schools from the Great American Conference and the final game will be against the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
•   Washburn topped Southeastern Oklahoma 5-2 in Arkansas last weekend.
•   Washburn is scheduled to play its first 14 games on the road before opening up Gahnstrom Field on Feb. 23 with Southwest Baptist at the Washburn Invitational.
•   The Ichabods will play six games at the Washburn Invitational and then head to the McKendree Invitational for six more games before opening MIAA at Central Oklahoma on March 8.
•   The Ichabods finished the 2023 season with a 37-16 record going 15-11 in MIAA play.
•   Washburn was picked in the No. 4 spot in the MIAA preseason coaches poll trailing Central Oklahoma, Rogers State and Missouri Southern.
•   The 2024 Washburn schedule features seven teams who reached their NCAA Regional, two more NCAA Super Regional teams, and two teams who reached the NCAA D2 Softball World Series … Ichabods open their home slate on Feb. 23 with the Washburn Invitational.
•   Brenda Holaday is in her eighth season as the Ichabod softball head coach recording a 222-134 overall record going 104-52 in MIAA contests leading the Ichabods to two MIAA Regular Season titles (2018, 2022) and NCAA Central Regional berths in those years as well, the fourth and fifth in school history. Holaday trails Lisa Carey as the all-time winningest coach by victories at 256. •   #1 Marrit Mead - Mead ranks 13th in active career D2 batting average and third in hits in D2 active career players.
•   #2 Autymn Schreiner - Tied a season-high with 2 RBI against Wayne State last time out.
•   #3 Hailey Neira - Has had two hits in each of her last two games.
•   #4 Molly Gilbert - Had a hit and a runs score in her first action of the season against Wayne State.
•   #5 Ashlynn Wolff - Had first collegiate hit against Wayne State.
•   #7 Riley Stephens - Drove in a run against Central Washington.
•   #8 Sheyenne Cheek - Pitched a shutout inning against Southwest Baptist.
•   #10 Zoe Quinn - Appeared in two games this season.
•   #11 Rylee Moore - Has yet to appear in a game this season.
•   #12 Jaycee Ginter - Ranks No. 4 in D2 active career players in victories and ranks eighth in career strikeouts.
•   #14 Danielle Schlader - Season-high 2 RBI against Wayne State last time out.
•   #15 Ellington Hogle - Batting .370 this season with 4 doubles.
•   #16 Erin Boles - Had two hits against Southeastern Oklahoma State last weekend.
•   #17 Kaylee Wagner - Named MIAA Hitter of the Week after driving in seven runs including game-tying 3-run homer against Southern Arkansas.
•   #18 Jaden LaBarge - Season-high 2 RBI against Wayne State last time out.
•   #19 Allie Stipsits - Has appeared in two games this season.
•   #20 Gracie Gallagher - Has entered six games this season.
•   #21 Sadie Walker - In games she has pitched the Ichabods have outscored their opponents 40-11 …she has 22 strikeouts in seven appearance.
•   #22 Madi Moore - Three hits last weekend in three games.
•   #23 Mariah Wheeler - Has drawn three walks in the last two games.
•   #24 Alexis Tanguma - Had a hit and an RBI against Southwest Baptist.
•   #25 Kinlei Boley - Scored first collegiate run against Wayne State.
  •   Marrit Mead enters her senior season within reach of several Ichabod offensive categories …her career batting average of .407 is the best in school history … she needs 27 runs scored for the career record of 188 and needs 24 base hits for the career record of 258 … Mead is within 151 of the total bases record and 15 stolen bases from the career mark.
•   Jaycee Ginter is 34 RBI from the school's all-time record of 167 … her 72 career wins is the most all-time at Washburn … Ginter also needs two saves for the career mark and 18 more appearances will break Washburn's all-time record … with 142 innings pitched, Ginter will have thrown the most innings in a Washburn career … Ginter already holds the Ichabods record for career strikeouts with 666, which sits 200 more than the second-place holder. BENTONVILLE, Ark. – The Washburn Ichabod softball team went 2-0 with wins over No. 12-ranked Southern Arkansas and over Wayne State winning 8-7 in extra innings over the Muleriders and 12-1 over the Wildcats in five innings on Saturday on day two of the Alvy Early Memorial Classic. Sunday's game with Harding has been canceled.
Game 1 – WU 8, #12 SAU 7 (9 innings)
Washburn worked overtime in its opening game with an 8-7 win over Southern Arkansas. After trailing 7-4 entering the bottom of the seventh, Washburn scored three runs capped by a 3-run, pinch hit homer by Kaylee Wagner scoring Jaycee Ginter and Autymn Schreiner tying the score. SAU was able to get two base runners on in the top of the eighth but Sadie Walker had back-to-back strikeouts to end the threat. After Washburn came up empty in the eighth, SAU had a double in the ninth but did not score. Ginter was then reached base to start the inning and Wheeler's triple scored Ginter with the winning run.
Walker pitched six innings in relief for the win striking out eight and Wagner drove in three in the win while Ginter scored three times and Marrit Mead drove in two.
Game 2 – WU 12, WSC 1 (5 innings)
The Ichabods led from start to finish in the 12-1 win over the Wildcats. Washburn scored three in the first adding two more in the second and breaking the game open with five runs in the third leading to the 12-1 win.
Wagner drove in four runs on two hits while Schreiner, Jaden LaBarge and Danielle Schlader each drove in two.
Ginter tossed three innings for the win while Walker pitched two innings allowing a hit.
  OUACHITA BAPTIST
•   The Tigers are 1-5 this season after splitting a doubleheader with Delta State last time out.
OKLAHOMA BAPTIST
•   The Bison are 2-5 this season and will face six MIAA schools this weekend.
SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA STATE
•   Southeastern Oklahoma is 3-5 this season and will also face six MIAA schools this weekend.
ARKANSAS TECH
•   Arkansas Tech is 5-2 this season after topping Missouri Western 4-0 last time out.
MISSOURI S&T
•   The Miners are 3-4 after going 1-3 last weekend at the Early Memorial Tournament topping MIAA foe Central Missouri 5-4 and falling to Missouri Southern 7-3.
  •   is 222-134 in her eighth season as the Ichabod head softball coach.
•   In seven seasons, Washburn has had 34 all-MIAA picks, one MIAA Player of the Year, one MIAA Pitcher of the Year, two MIAA Freshmen of the year and 17 all-region selections and six All-American picks and three members of the MIAA Gold Glove team.
•   coached 19 seasons at Washburn Rural High School in Topeka compiling a 351-93 record.
•   led the Junior Blues to three 6A state championships as well as winning 14 league championships earning 16 6A state tournament berths, five second-place state finishes and three third-place state finishes and was inducted into the Washburn Rural High School Hall of Fame in 2018.
•   was named the Centennial League Coach of the Year and City Coach of the Year nine different times earning the Midwest Sectional Coach of the Year in 2011 and the 6A Kansas Coach of the year two times in 2008 and 2011 and was named the overall Kansas Coach of the Year in 2011.
•   while at Washburn Rural, she coached more than 40 players who have gone on to play college softball including three at the NCAA Division I level including former Ichabod head softball coach Lisa Carey, the winningest coach by wins in program history. •   The Ichabods are 1295-956-1 in their 54th year of softball.
•   The Ichabods have made five NCAA Tournament appearances (1999, 2006, 2008, 2018, 2022).
•   Washburn won the 2002, 2018 and 2022 regular season MIAA titles.