•   The Washburn Ichabod softball team, who for the second week in a row was just outside of the NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll at No. 27, are back on the road for six more games in three days starting Friday at the McKendree Invitational in O'Fallon, Illinois.
•   Washburn enters the weekend with a 14-4 record after going 5-1 at the Washburn Invitational last weekend … the Ichabods outscored their opponents 49 to 5.
•   The Ichabods will face Purdue - Northwest, Davenport, Kentucky Wesleyan, Missouri-St. Louis, Maryville and McKendree.
•   After the weekend, the Ichabods will open MIAA play at Central Oklahoma on March 8 on Newman on March 9 in road doubleheaders. The Ichabods will open their home conference slate against Rogers State and Northeastern State on March 15 and March 16.
•   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 229-136 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 - Batted .550 last week with a team-high 11 hits stealing five bases in five attempts.
•   #2 Autymn Schreiner - Hit .357 scoring six runs with 4 RBI last week.
•   #3 Hailey Neira - Was 9 for 17 last weekend scoring six runs with 3 RBI.
•   #4 Molly Gilbert - Was 1 for 2 with a double and runs scored last week.
•   #5 Ashlynn Wolff - Appeared in five games last weekend.
•   #7 Riley Stephens - Had two hits in five at bats driving in one with a double.
•   #8 Sheyenne Cheek - Recorded a 0.00 ERA in two appearances tossing four innings striking out five.
•   #10 Zoe Quinn - Scored a run playing in four games last week.
•   #11 Rylee Moore - Has appeared in one game this season.
•   #12 Jaycee Ginter - batted .636 in six games going 7 for 11 with six runs scored, nine RBI, two home runs and a double while being walked five times with two intentional walks recording a 1.273 slugging percentage and a .765 on base percentage while also going 2-1 in the circle with 12 strikeouts and no walks over the weekend at the Washburn Invitational.
•   #14 Danielle Schlader - Batting .500 last weekend with four hits in eight at bats driving in eight.
•   #15 Ellington Hogle - Batting .304 this season with 14 hits and four doubles scoring 10 runs starting 16 games.
•   #16 Erin Boles - Had four hits in nine bats last week scoring three runs.
•   #17 Kaylee Wagner - Drove in three runs going 4 for 8 last week adding four walks.
•   #18 Jaden LaBarge - Batting .270 this season with 9 RBI and two home runs.
•   #19 Allie Stipsits - Has appeared in five games this season.
•   #20 Gracie Gallagher - Has scored a run stealing two bases this season playing in 12 games.
•   #21 Sadie Walker - Named the MIAA Pitcher of the Week after going 3-0 in four appearances with a 0.00 ERA striking out 17 with three walks with two complete game shutouts including a 5-inning perfect game against Rockhurst in the weekend finale. Against the Hawks, Walker tossed the first perfect game since Kelly Swygert pitched one against Southwest Baptist on March 28, 2007 while facing the minimum 15 batters throwing 74 pitches striking out nine of them. She also threw a five-inning complete game shutout against Minnesota Crookston allowing three hits while striking out six in the 8-0 win. Her other win came against Winona State pitching four innings scattering five hits.
•   #22 Madi Moore - Has three doubles and seven hits appearing in 12 games.
•   #23 Mariah Wheeler - Batted .571 with four hits in seven at bats driving in one last week..
•   #24 Alexis Tanguma - Batted .444 last weekend going 4 of 9 with 2 RBI and a runs scored.
•   #25 Kinlei Boley - Had first collegiate at bat against Ouachita Baptist.
  •   Marrit Mead enters her senior season within reach of several Ichabod offensive categories …her career batting average of .410 is the best in school history … she needs 13 runs scored for the career record of 188 and needs 12 base hits for the career record of 258 … also needs two doubles for the school record of 56 … Mead is within 139 of the total bases record and nine stolen bases from the career mark of 87.
•   Jaycee Ginter is 21 RBI from the school's all-time record of 167 … her 74 career wins is the most all-time at Washburn … Ginter also needs two saves for the career mark and 14 more appearances will break Washburn's all-time record of 137 … with 113 innings pitched, Ginter will have thrown the most innings in a Washburn career … Ginter already holds the Ichabods record for career strikeouts with 684, which sits 236 more than the second-place holder. TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabod softball team finished up a busy weekend with a split on the final day of the Washburn Invitational sponsored by Coldwell Banker and the Horak Legacy Group highlighted by a five inning perfect game tossed by Sadie Walker against Rockhurst – the first since Kelly Swygert pitched one against Southwest Baptist on March 28, 2007. Washburn returns to the road this coming week to take part in the McKendree Invitational in O'Fallon, Ill.
Game 1 – Augustana 3, Washburn 0
Washburn limited to six hits against Augustana in the opening game of the day in the 3-0 loss to the Vikings, who broke the scoreless game with two runs in the top of the sixth adding one more in the seventh for the win.
Marrit Mead had two of the hits for the Ichabods including a double. Jaycee Ginter took the loss striking out two in the game.
Game 2 – Washburn 12, Rockhurst 0
The Ichabods (14-4) jumped all over the Hawks scoring 10 runs in the their first at bat sending a total of 14 batters to the plate in the frame to give Walker plenty of offense while recording a perfect game in the win.
In the first inning along, the Ichabods had six hits in the inning with Kaylee Wagner, Danielle Schlader, Autymn Schreiner, Mead, Erin Boles and Ginter all recorded RBI in the inning. Washburn added a solo run in the third when Ginter hit a solo home run. Washburn's final run came in the fourth when Riley Stephens singled scoring Molly Gilbert who doubled earlier in the inning.
Walker faced the minimum 15 batters in the win improving to 7-2 on the season with nine strikeouts throwing just 74 pitches with 49 for strikes. Her no-no was also the first of any kind since Ginter threw a seven inning no-hitter against Fort Hays State on March 26, 2021.
The Ichabods had 12 hits overall against the Hawks with Ginter and Wagner each recording two. Boles drove in three runs and Mead, Ginter and Schlader each had 2 RBI.
   Purdue University Northwest
•   The Pride is 7-5 this season.
•   The Ichabods have never faced the Pride.
Davenport
•   The Warriors are 5-6 this season.
•   The Ichabods have never faced the Panthers.
Kentucky Wesleyan
•   The Panthers are 4-6 this season.
•   The Ichabods have never faced KWC.
Missouri-St. Louis
•   The Tritons are 5-4 this season.
•   The Ichabods lead the series with UMSL and have won the last four games.
Maryville
•   The Saints are 2-12 this season and have lost the last four games.
•   The Ichabods are 4-0 against the Saints.
McKendree
•   The Bearcats are 5-6 this season.
•   The Bearcats lead the all-time series 2-1 with the Ichabods winning the last meeting 13-0 on Feb. 27, 2021.
  •   is 229-136 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 1302-958-1 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.