TOPEKA, Kan. -- After a one-day postponement due to predicted rain Washburn baseball will take on Rockhurst on the road on Wednesday at 5 p.m. in a non-conference contest. 

LEADING OFF

>> Washburn baseball travels to Kansas City after a schedule alteration to take on Rockhurst at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 17. 

>> Last time out the Ichabods won 7-6 in the series finale over Fort Hays State on Sunday to secure a sweep in the season series. 

>> Washburn is now 23-16 overall on the year and 17-10 inside the MIAA. They are 13-5 at Falley Field, 9-11 on the road and 1-0 in neutral field games. 

>> The Hawks enter the game with a 22-14 overall record and a 14-10 mark in the GLVC after falling 8-6 to No. 14 Maryville in the series finale on Sunday. 

>> 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 returns to conference action for a final weekend home series against Central Oklahoma beginning on Friday at 5 p.m. 

>> In the 2024 MIAA Coaches Preseason Poll, the Ichabods were picked fourth after finishing tied for third in the 2023 regular season. 

>> Washburn's roster consists of 26 returners from a season ago along with 25 newcomers broken down between 15 transfers and 10 true freshmen. 

NUMBERS TO KNOW

>> Through 39 games Washburn is scoring 9.44 runs per game while allowing 7.59. 

>> The Ichabods are 13-5 at Falley Field, 9-11 in road contests and 1-0 in neutral field games. 

>> At the plate the Ichabods are hitting .325 with a .421 OB% and are slugging .586 as a team. They have 77 home runs and have drawn 200 walks. 

>> Washburn's pitching staff has an ERA of 7.36 this season in 333.2 IP. They have struck out 283 batters while allowing 372 hits and issuing 213 walks. 

>> The Ichabods have a .969 fielding percentage with 44 errors on the year and have turned 31 double plays. 

>> On the basepaths Washburn has stolen 43 bases on 56 attempts while opponents have 44 stolen bases and have been thrown out 12 times. 

>> The Ichabod hitters have collected 810 total bases while opponents are at 655 this year. 

>> Washburn is starting and finishing games strong, outscoring opponents 54-29 in the first inning and 28-20 in the ninth. In extras they also have a 4-2 run edge. 

STACKING THE STATS 

>> The Ichabods are second in the nation in home runs per game with an average of 1.97 balls leaving the yard each game on the year. 

>> In overall long balls the Ichabods are second in the nation with 77 blasts. 

>> The Ichabods are tied for 7th in the nation and are second in the conference in doubles with 102 hits going for two bases on the year. 

>> Washburn is 14th in the nation in hits on the year with 449 total knocks, third most in the conference. 

>> The Ichabods are 4th in the nation and second in the conference with a .586 SLG% on the year. 

>> Scoring 9.4 runs per game WU is 13th in the nation and third in the MIAA in that department. 

>> With a batting average of .325 as a team Washburn is 29th in the nation and second in the MIAA at racking up hits. 

>> Washburn is fifth in the MIAA and 35th in the nation turning 31 double plays on the year. 

>> The Ichabod fielders are 58th in the nation and fifth in the conference with a .969 fielding percentage on the year. 

AROUND THE ORDER

>> Payton McHarg has started and played in all 39 games for the Ichabods hitting .359 with a 1.265 OPS and a team-high 18 home runs and 50 RBI. He has scored 51 runs and has 55 total hits. He is tied for the national lead in home runs, is 19th in SLG%, 26th in runs and 35th in RBI.

>> Cash Jay leads the team hitting .367 in 37 games played with 26 starts. He has the second highest OPS at 1.195 with a team-high 18 doubles. He also has 12 home runs and has driven in 47.  He is seventh in the nation in doubles, 33rd in home runs, 47th in slugging and ranks inside the top-10 of the conference in all three categories. 

>> Jett Buck is hitting third on the team at .357 in 36 appearances and 35 starts this season. He has 51 hits, 11 doubles, a triple, 12 home runs and five stolen bases.  He is tied for 4th in the MIAA in home runs and is 10th in SLG%. 

>> Connor Scott is hitting .339 on the year in 37 games played with 34 starts. He has a .936 OPS and a team-high 13 stolen bases to pair with three home runs and a pair of triples. He is second in the conference in sacrifice bunts and 11th in stolen bases. 

>> Cale Savage has the fourth highest OPS on the squad at 1.075 with 48 hits and 10 home runs while starting in all 39 games this season. He leads the team drawing 37 walks on the year for a .455 OB%. He is 12th in the nation and 4th in the MIAA in walks and is 10th in the conference in home runs. 

>> Hayden Priest has started in 36 of the 37 games he has appeared in and is hitting .324 on the year with a .942 OPS. He has 45 hits driving in 48 runs and has only struck out 20 times in 139 at bats. 

>> Cal Watkins has played in 32 games and made 28 starts hitting .291 with 20 RBI, 11 doubles and three home runs.  

>> Blake Scott has made 13 starts and played in 25 games this season hitting .348 with a 1.096 OPS and a pair of home runs. 

>> Easton Bruce has played in 17 games and started 16 while hitting .314 on the year with one home run and nine RBI from the outfield. 

ON THE MOUND

>>  Seventeen players have taken the mound this season for Washburn. 

>>  Cooper Carlgren leads the Ichabods with 51.2 innings across ten starts this season. He has a 6.45 ERA and a 3-2 record along with a team-high 53 strikeouts. Hitters have a .261 batting average against him. He is 7th in the MIAA in strikeouts.

>>  Caden Bressler has thrown 41.1 innings in 12 outings this season, with six starts and six bullpen calls. He has a 5.23 ERA, lowest among starting pitchers, a 3-2 record and 21 strikeouts with 39 hits allowed. He leads the team with a pair of saves and is 8th in the MIAA in hits allowed per nine innings. 

>>  Griffin Huiatt is third on the Ichabods throwing 47.1 innings this season in 13 appearances with six starts for a 6.46 ERA. He has a 2-3 record and is second on the team with 46 strikeouts. 

>>  Chase Torkelson is second on the team throwing 48.1 innings across 11 starts this season with a 4-0 record for the most wins on the squad. He has a 7.08 ERA, has struck out 33 batters and walked 28 hitters.

>>  Charlie Kiefer is 3-1 this season throwing in 14 games total with one start. He has a 5.73 ERA in 22.0 innings of work. He has struck out 12 batters with one save. 

>>  Fidel Hatch has thrown in 13 games this season making one start with a 7.46 ERA. In 25.1 innings he has struck out 21 while giving up 28 hits. 

>>  Cole Warner has thrown 14.1 innings in 13 appearances out of the bullpen with a 6.91 ERA and a 1-0 record. He has struck out 13 on the year .

 >>  Max Clark has eight appearances and made two starts throwing 10.1 total innings with a 6.97 ERA. He has an 0-1 record and has struck out nine batters. 

 >>  Sam Wragge is 1-0 on the year with a 4.91 ERA across 7.1 innings in eight appearances. 

IN THE FIELD

>>  Jett Buck leads the team with 83 assists, Cal Watkins is second with 70 and Cash Jay rounds out the infield with 60. 

>>  Excluding first basemen and catchers, Connor Scott leads the team with 92 putouts, Payton McHarg has 64. 

>>  Hayden Priest has thrown out eight 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 247-212 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 batting 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

ROCKHURST HAWKS

>> The Hawks are 22-14 overall in 2024 after splitting a four-game series with No. 14 Maryville this past weekend. They are 14-10 inside of the GLVC. 

>> They went 13-37 overall a season ago, with a 9-23 record inside of the GLVC. 

>> Rockhurst's offense is hitting .332 on the year with a .428 OB%, 513 SLG% and 33 home runs. 

>> Adonis Forte leads the Hawks with a 1.212 OPS and .411 average with starts in all 35 games . He also leads the team with seven home runs and has a .510 OB%. 

>> Michael Laudando is hitting .355 across 36 games played with 35 starts. He has driven in 24 runs and has a .425 OB%. 

>> On the mound, Rockhurst's staff has a 7.33 ERA in 270.0 innings with 254 strikeouts and 179 walks issued. 

>> Jake Canent leads Rockhurst with a 3.99 ERA in 49.2 innings pitched across 19 games pitched with a 9-2 record and 56 strikeouts on the year. 

>>Michael Laudando has a team-high 57 innings pitched across 10 appearances and nine starts. He has a 4.89 ERA and a 6-2 record with 55 strikeouts. 

HEAD COACH GARY BURNS

>> Is in his 31st season as the head coach at Rockhurst 

>> has compiled a 812-708 record over the past 30 seasons. He has led the Hawks to 16 post-season appearances, including six berths in the NCAA Division II Regional Tournament

>> Prior to becoming the head coach at Rockhurst, Burns was an assistant coach at Indiana State, Vanderbilt and Clemson.

>> A 1981 graduate of Vanderbilt University, Burns posted a 9-3 record with four saves and was the ace reliever on Vandy's 1980 SEC championship team

SERIES HISTORY

>> Wednesday's game will be the 63rd in the all-time series between Washburn and Rockhurst with the Ichabods leading the series 33-29. 

>> The first game between the two programs came on May 12, 1958 and was a 6-4 win for the Hawks in a location unknown. 

>> Washburn is 10-12 against the Hawks in Kansas City. 

>> Earlier in the season the Ichabods defeated Rockhurst 29-19 in Topeka, tying the record for most runs scored in a game in program history for Washburn. 

>> The Ichabods finished with 26 hits, 2nd  most in a game in program history 

>> 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 

MILESTONE MARKERS

>> Cale Savage is two home runs away from 30 in his career, he is currently tied for 4th in program history in home runs hit, tied for 10th in walks and 17th in RBI. 

>> Cal Watkins is fifth in program history in doubles with 42 and is 14th in program history in total hits with 175.

>> Payton McHarg is tied for 4th in program history for the most home runs in a season and 5th in single season slugging percentage. 

WASHBURN BASEBALL HISTORY

>> The 2024 season will be the 72nd year of Washburn Baseball.

>> The Ichabods have gone 1350-1283-3 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 returns to MIAA play for its final home series of the season against Central Oklahoma beginning on April 19 at 5 p.m. Senior day will be the series finale on Sunday, April 21 at 1 p.m.  

>> The MIAA Tournament first round will begin on campus sites on Friday, May 3 and run until May 5 if needed.