FIRST PITCH
• The Washburn Ichabods return home for the first time in over a month hosting Fort Hays State on Friday and then Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday in four MIAA contests at Gahnstrom Field.
• The Ichabods (22-13, 4-4 MIAA) are coming off a 1-3 weekend after splitting a doubleheader with Missouri Southern before getting swept by No. 25 Pittsburg State.
• Washburn opened MIAA play the weekend of March 7-8 play by sweeping Northeastern State 7-5 and 10-2 on March 7 before splitting with No. 6 Rogers State the following day falling 5-0 before winning the nightcap 4-2 in 11 innings.
• Washburn is coming off their sixth NCAA appearance in program history last season finishing the year with a 37-17 record placing fourth in the MIAA standings with a 17-9 record.
• The Washburn Ichabods have recorded 19 seasons with at least 30 wins with five coming under head coach Brenda  Holaday.
• The Ichabods were tabbed No. 4 in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll.
• Brenda Holaday is in her ninth season as the Ichabod softball head coach recording a 274-162 overall record going 114-62 in MIAA contests leading the Ichabods to two MIAA Regular Season titles (2018, 2022) and three NCAA Central Regional (2018, 2022, 2024). Holaday became Washburn's all-time winning coach with a 13-0 win over Illinois-Springfield on Feb. 8, 2025.

NOTHING BUT NUMBERS
In 2025, Washburn is outscoring its opponents 33-18 in the sixth inning and 48-26 in the second inning but is being outscored 34-18 in the third inning and 31-23 in the fourth inning … Washburn is 6-3 in shutouts … the Ichabods are 18-0 when leading after four innings, 15-0 when leading after five innings and 19-1 when leading after six innings … Erin Boles leads the Ichabods with 11 multiple-hit games and Kaylee Wagner and Ellington Hogle lead the team with nine multi-RBI games.

LAST TIME OUT
(March 22, 2025) PITTSBURG, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabod softball team was knocked off in a pair of 12-2 games on Saturday at No. 25-ranked Pittsburg State. The Ichabods will return home for the first time in three weeks when they will open an eight-game homestand starting with Fort Hays State on March 28.
 
Game 1 – PSU 12, WU 2 (5 innings)
The Gorillas took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, but Washburn came back tying the score in its at bat in the top of the second on a home run by Kaylee Wagner. However the Gorillas would score the next 11 runs of the game taking an 11-1 lead.
In the fifth inning, Erin Boles doubled to center scoring Makenzie Sais trimming the lead to 12-2. Sadie Walker took the loss in the cicle. Washburn was limited to two hits in the game.
 
Game 2 – PSU 12, WU 2 (6 innings)
Washburn jumped out to a 2-0 lead scoring both runs in the top of the third taking the early two run lead. Ellington Hogle started the inning with a walk and then Sais singled moving Hogle up 60 feet. After Boles reached on a fielder's choice, Washburn's Sais scored on a throwing error by the Gorillas. Wagner then doubled scoring Gracie Gallagher ending the inning.
Washburn (21-12, 3-3 MIAA) held the lead until the bottom of the fourth when the Gorillas scored four runs followed by three more in the fifth and then five more in the sixth leading to the run-rule victory.
Sais had two hits of Washburn's six hits. Jenna Sprague tossed four innings in the loss.

OPPONENT QUICK SCOUT
FORT HAYS STATE
• Fort Hays State enters their road swing on a nine-game win streak. The run started back on March 11 at UC-Colorado Springs with a win in the second game of a doubleheader. FHSU then swept doubleheaders with Adams State, University of Mary, Northwestern Oklahoma State, and Northwest Missouri State. The nine-game win streak is FHSU's longest since the 2023 season when it rattled off nine straight from March 14 to March 28.
• Lilly Mohr leads the Tigers in batting average (.400), extra-base hits (10), home runs (5), slugging percentage (.800), and on-base percentage (.492). Her sister Lexi Mohr has a team-best 18 RBIs for the season. Madison Pierce is having a big season with the bat as well, hitting .387 with 15 RBIs and a team-high 14 walks. Pierce also leads the team in runs scored with 18. Eight of the nine regular starters in the Tiger lineup are hitting over .300 for the season and the Tigers as a team are hitting .319 for the season, which is fourth-best in the MIAA.
 
NEBRASKA-KEARNEY
• The Lopers are 16-15 this season going 2-4 in MIAA play.
• Mary Cgavatal leads the team with a .407 batting average and in the circle Jerzie Schindler is 6-4 with a 3.53 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP.
 
HEAD COACH BRENDA HOLADAY
• is 274-162 in her ninth season as the Ichabod head softball coach and is the all-time winningest coach in program history.
• in nine seasons Holaday has gone 123-63 in MIAA contests leading the Ichabods to two MIAA regular season championships in 2018 and 2022 while leading the program to three of its six NCAA postseason in 2018, 2022 and 2024.
• In 2022, the Ichabods won their third MIAA Championship going 24-2 in the MIAA reaching the MIAA Tournament Championship game and the NCAA postseason as Holaday was named the MIAA Coach of the Year for the second time in her tenure at Washburn.
• Overall in nine seasons, Washburn has had 39 all-MIAA picks, one MIAA Player of the Year, one MIAA Pitcher of the Year, two MIAA Freshmen of the Year and 18 all-region selections and six All-American picks and five 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.

WASHBURN ICHABOD SOFTBALL HISTORY
• The Ichabods are 1343-982-1 in their 55th year of softball.
• The Ichabods have made six NCAA Tournament appearances (1999, 2006, 2008, 2018, 2022).
• Washburn won the 2002, 2018 and 2022 regular season MIAA titles.
 
UP NEXT
The Ichabods will continue their homestand with two more MIAA doubleheaders with Central Missouri on April 4 and Newman on April 5.