TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn baseball heads on the road for the first time in MIAA play this weekend but stays close to home taking on Emporia State in a three-game series beginning on Friday at 3 p.m.
LEADING OFF
>> Washburn baseball heads on the road for the first time in MIAA play this weekend but won't travel far as they take on Emporia State in three games beginning Friday at 3 p.m.
>> Last time out the Ichabods tied a program record for runs scored on Tuesday with a 29-19 win over Rockhurst at home.
>> Washburn is now 7-7 overall on the year and 2-1 inside the MIAA. They are 5-2 at Falley Field and 2-5 on the road.
>> Emporia State is 9-6 on the year overall and 2-1 in the MIAA coming off a 2-1 series win over Northwest Missouri State over the weekend.
>> The Ichabods are coming off a second straight 30-win season in 2023 where they went 30-22 (21-12 MIAA) and finished tied for third in the MIAA Regular Season.
>> Washburn will continue with road matches the following week taking on Missouri Western State in three games beginning Friday, March 8.
>> In the 2024 MIAA Coaches Preseason Poll, the Ichabods were picked fourth after finising tied for third in the 2023 regular season.
>> Washburn's roster consists of 27 returners from a season ago along with 25 newcomers broken down between 15 transfers and 10 true freshmen.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
>> Through 14 games Washburn is scoring 9.43 runs per game while allowing 8.43.
>> The Ichabods are 5-2 at Falley Field, 2-5 in road contests and have not played a neutral field game.
>> At the plate the Ichabods are hitting .333 with a .427 OB% and are slugging .585 as a team. They have 25 home runs and have drawn 70 walks.
>> Washburn's pitching staff has an ERA of 7.85 this season in 120.1 IP. They have struck out 121 batters while allowing 142 hits and issuing 83 walks.
>> The Ichabods have a .957 fielding percentage with 22 errors on the year and have turned 11 double plays.
>> On the basepaths Washburn has stolen 18 bases on 22 attempts while opponents have 25 stolen bases and have been thrown out eight times.
>> The Ichabod hitters have collected 290 total bases while opponents are at 241 this year.
BATS BREAKING RECORDS - ROCKHURST RECAP
>> Washburn tied the program record with 29 runs previously set on March 12, 2007 against Minnesota-Crookston
>> With 26 runs batted in the Ichabods did set a new program record, beating out 25 from the 2007 game
>> The Ichabods finished with 26 hits, second most in a single game in program history
>> With eight doubles Washburn tied a program record set in two other games
>> All six home runs came in the same inning (third) marking them the sixth team in DII history to his six in a single inning
>> The Ichabods had 32 total bases just in the third inning - third most in a single inning in NCAA DII history
>> With 54 total bases Washburn cleared the program record by five bases (49)
>> Washburn has the MIAA season-high in runs scored, hits, RBI, doubles and total bases in a single game this season
STACKING THE STATS
>> Washburn is 16th in the nation and fifth in the MIAA with 165 hits through 14 games. They are 7th in the nation with 25 of those going for home runs.
>> The Ichabods are tied for 4th in the nation and are first in the conference in doubles with 42 hits going for two bases on the year.
>> Washburn is fifth in the MIAA and 35th in the nation turning 11 double plays on the year.
>> The Ichabods are 9th in the nation and second in the conference with a .585 SLG% on the year.
>> Scoring 9.4 runs per game WU is 20th in the nation and third in the MIAA in that department.
>> With a batting average of .333 as a team Washburn is 21st in the nation and second in the MIAA at racking up hits.
>> The Ichabods are tied for the 15th most sacrifice bunts put down in the nation with 11. They are 61st in the nation in sacrifice flies as well.
>> The Ichabod pitching staff averages 9.0 strikeouts per nine innings, 65th most in the nation and seventh in the MIAA.
AROUND THE ORDER
>> Payton McHarg has started and played in all 14 games and leads the Ichabods with a 1.484 OPS. He also leads the team with eight home runs, 25 RBI and three sacrifice flies all while batting .423. He is 4th in the nation and 1st in the MIAA in home runs, 3rd nationally total bases, sixth in the nation in RBI and 21st in SLG%.
>> Hayden Priest has started in 12 of the 13 games he has appeared in and is hitting .432 on the year with a 1.252 OPS. He has 19 hits and has only struck out three times in 44 at bats. He is 24th in the nation and 7th in the MIAA in RBI and fourth toughest to strike out in the conference.
>> Connor Scott leads the team with an even .500 batting average in nine starts and 12 games played with an OPS of 1.431. He has driven in 12 runs with a pair of home runs and leads the team with four stolen bases. He has the best batting average in the MIAA and 27th highest nationally and is 45th in the nation in SLG%. He has hit safely in each of his last seven games entering the series.
>> Jett Buck is hitting .341 with 12 appearances and 11 starts this season. He has 15 hits, two doubles, a triple, a home run and three stolen bases.
>> Cale Savage has the fourth highest OPS on the squad at 1.082 with 16 hits and four home runs with starts in all 14 games this season. He leads the team drawing 12 walks on the year and currently has an eight game hitting streak.
>> Easton Bruce is third on the team with 17 hits this season starting 13 games in the outfield. He is hitting .296 on the year with a .441 OB%. He has 57 AB's to lead the team.
>> Ike Book is hitting .296 on the year with eight starts and 12 appearances. He has drawn seven walks with just 27 at bats and scored eight runs.
>> Trey Adams has hits in his last four games and is batting .318 on the year with 11 appearances and seven starts. His .516 OB% is second among qualified hitters.
>> Shane Morrow has three home runs and five RBI in seven at-bats this year.
ON THE MOUND
>> Seventeen players have taken the mound this season for Washburn.
>> Cooper Carlgren leads the Ichabods with 18.2 innings pitched and 27 strikeouts. He has a 5.30 ERA with a 2-0 record and only a .236 opponent batting average. He has won both of his last two starts. Carlgren is 17th nationally and second in the MIAA in K's.
>> Griffin Huiatt is second on the team throwing 18.1 inning so far and has a 6.87 ERA with 20 strikeouts and 14 walks allowed. He has a 0-1 record and has given up just one home run.
>> Chase Torkelson has a 1-0 record in 15.2 innings in three starts with a 6.89 ERA. He has struck out 11 batters with 17 hits and nine walks allowed.
>> Caden Bressler has thrown 10.0 innings out of the bullpen and has a 0.90 ERA with seven strikeouts and just four hits and two walk allowed in five appearances. Opponents have a team-low .133 batting average against him. He also has one save.
>> Grant Zwald has made four appearances in relief this season and has a 3.72 ERA with 10 strikeouts, nine walks and a save.
>> Fidel Hatch has tossed 8.0 innings in relief allowing three runs on nine hits with eight strikeouts across four appearances.
IN THE FIELD
>> Cal Watkins and Jett Buck are tied for the team lead with 23 assists this season.
>> Excluding first basemen and catchers, Trevor McCollum leads the team with 23 putouts.
>> Hayden Priest has thrown out five baserunners from behind the plate.
HEAD COACH HARLEY DOUGLAS
>> Former Washburn All-MIAA outfielder Harley Douglas enters his 10th season at the helm of the Washburn baseball program in 2024.
>> In nine plus seasons, Douglas carries an all-time record of 231-203 with five appearances in the MIAA Tournament and led the program to its first-ever NCAA Tournament in 2022.
>> He has also coached a total of 54 all-MIAA selections, including the MIAA Player and Pitcher of the Year in 2016.
>> Prior to returning to his alma mater in 2012 he was the head coach at St. Marys HS from 2003-06 and at Rossville HS from 2007-10.
>> Douglas is a two-time Washburn graduate, receiving his Exercise Physiology degree in 2002 before earning an Education degree in 2004. He also earned a Master's Degree in Adaptive Special Education from Emporia State in 2010.
ASSISTANT COACHES
>> Connor Crimmins is in his sixth season with the Ichabods after spending the prior two seasons on Brad Hill's Kansas State staff serving as a graduate assistant
>> While at Washburn, Crimmins played both football and baseball, finishing his career on the diamond top 10 in sacrifice flies (4th/11), doubles (6th/38) and RBI (t-7th/132), while having the 12th-most at-bats (575).
>> He graduated from Washburn in 2016 with his bachelor's and earned his master's in college student development and counseling from K-State.
>> Rane Pfeifer joins the Ichabod coaching staff in 2024 after wrapping up a three-year career with Washburn in 2023
>> He finished his career second all-time in opponent battive average (.218), third in games started (36), fourth in strikeouts (210) and 19th in innings pitched (165.2)
>> Pfeifer graduated from Washburn with a bachelor's degree in business management in May 2022
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
EMPORIA STATE HORNETS
>> The Hornets are 9-6 on the year overall and are 2-1 in the MIAA after a conference-openening weekend 2-1 series win over Northwest Missouri State.
>> They have gone 5-3 at the Trusler Sports Complex.
>> A season ago they went 18-31 overall with a 12-21 record inside of the MIAA, missing out on the conference tournament.
>> Emporia State's offense is hitting .275 on the year with a .371 OB%, 448 SLG% and 18 home runs.
>> Kadyn Williams leads the Hornets hitting .382 with a 1.113 OPS starting all 15 games. He has two home runs and 11 RBI while only striking out eight times in 55 at bats.
>> Patryk Hernandez has a .373 average on the year, second best on ESU, with a 1.083 OPS starting all 15 games. His four home runs and 16 RBI both are top on the team.
>> On the mound, Emporia State's staff has a 4.90 ERA in 123.0 innings with 119 strikeouts and 45 walks issued.
>> Cade Barton leads ESU with 24 innings pitched in four starts. He has a 3.00 ERA and a 1-2 record. He has 21 strikeouts and has allowed 21 hits.
>> Ian Lanik leads the Hornets with 23 punchouts across 21 innings with four starts. He has a 3.86 ERA and is 1-1 on the year.
>> Trent Warstler has made four appearances with no starts but has the lowest ERA on the staff at 2.87. He has 15 strikeouts in 15.2 innings tossed.
HEAD COACH BRAD HILL
>> Is in his 1st season coaching at his alma mater.
>> has a career record of 886-482-3 in 24 seasons as a head coach at the University of Central Missouri and Kansas State University. He has taken 13 teams to the NCAA Tournament, nine trips with the Mules and four with the Wildcats
>> spent the 2022 season as an assistant coach at Big Ten member Northwestern University
>> led Central Missouri to nine NCAA tournaments in nine seasons with seven Division II World Series appearances culminating with the 2003 National Championship
SERIES HISTORY
>> This weekend's series will be the 229th, 230th and 231st games in program history with Emporia State leading the all-time series 75-152-1.
>> The first game between the two programs came on April 22, 1958 and was a 3-1 win for Washburn at a location unknown.
>> The Ichaobds are 26-70 against the Hornets in Emporia.
>>Last season Washburn won the season series 2-1 in Topeka. They won the opening game 10-0, fell 10-8 in the second game and won 7-6 in the rubber match.
WASHBURN BASEBALL HISTORY
>> The 2024 season will be the 72nd year of Washburn Baseball.
>> The Ichabods have gone 1334-1274-3 in that time.
>> There has been 33 seasons with 20+ wins; 23 seasons with 25+ wins; and 12 seasons with 30+ wins.
>> Washburn has earned 25 All-Region selections and nine All-America awards.
ON DECK
>> Washburn will play a second straight series on the road the following weekend traveling to St. Joseph to take on Missouri Western State beginning March 8.
>> Senior day for the Ichabods will be on Sunday, April 21 against Central Oklahoma.
>> The MIAA Tournament first round will begin on campus sites on Friday, May 3 and run until May 5 if needed.
