• The Washburn Ichabods will wrap up the regular season hosting Emporia State on April 26 on senior day.
• Seniors Mariah Wheeler, Alexis Tanguma, Jaden LaBarge, Kaylee Wagner and Ellington Hogle along with student assistant coach Riley Stephens will be honored between the games.
• The Ichabods (30-19, 12-10 MIAA) split a doubleheader with No. 5-ranked Central Oklahoma last week in their only action of the week.
• Emporia State is 29-21 this season and 9-13 in the MIAA after sweeping Newman in its last day of games on April 19 in Emporia.
• The Ichabods are in sixth in the MIAA standings entering the final weekend two games behind Central Missouri for fifth. The 2025 MIAA Championship Tournament bracket will be announced on April 26 at the conclusion of all games. The top 10 in the final standings qualify for the single-elimination tournament which will be hosted by Fort Hays State this year April 30-May 4.
• The Ichabods were in the initial NCAA Central Regional Rankings in the alphabetical listing from the NCAA last week.
• 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 20 seasons with at least 30 wins with six 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 282-168 overall record going 135-73 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. • The Ichabods lead the nation in the triple plays recording their second one of the season in Branson … the Ichabods are ninth in the nation in doubles with nine, which also leads the MIAA … Washburn is also 16th in the nation in walks and 18th in shutouts.
• Sadie Walker is ninth in the nation in games started (26), 11th in appearances (33 ) and 38th in shutouts (4) while also ranking 47th in strikeouts (47).
• Jenna Sprague is seventh in the nation with five saves.
  In 2025, Washburn is outscoring its opponents 39-19 in the sixth inning and 65-39 in the second inning but is being outscored 42-39 in the fourth inning and 37-30 in the third inning and 20-12 in the seventh inning … Washburn is 10-3 in shutouts … the Ichabods are 24-1 when leading after four innings, 20-1 when leading after five innings and 25-2 when leading after six innings … Erin Boles and Alexis Tanguma lead the Ichabods with 14 multiple-hit games and Kaylee Wagner leads the team with 14 multi-RBI games … Ellington Hogle has reached base in each of the last 15 games and Erin Boles has reached base safely in the last 12 games … Hogle leads the Ichabods in MIAA play with a .382 batting average going 11 for 22 in the last six games in MIAA action. (April 18, 2025) TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabod softball team split an MIAA doubleheader with No. 5-ranked Central Oklahoma rallying from a six-run deficit in the nightcap for the come from behind win. Washburn will wrap up the regular season on April 26 hosting Emporia State.
Game 1 – UCO 3, WU 2
In the opener, the Ichabods took the early lead scoring a solo run in their first at bat when Alexis Tanguma doubled down the line scoring Ellington Hogle who walked to lead off the inning.
UCO knotted the score in the fourth with a solo run. In the fifth, UCO took the lead taking advantage of two Ichabod errors scoring two unearned runs as the Bronchos went up 3-2.
In the sixth and seventh innings, Washburn stranded two in each inning but could not push across a run coming up one-run shy.
Washburn outhit the Bronchos 9 to 8 in the opener as Tanguma collected three this and Hogle and Jaden LaBarge each had two.
Sadie Walker struck out six Bronchos giving up one earned run.
Game 2 – WU 10, UCO 7
The Ichabods rallied from a 6-0 hole in the first inning to secure the program's 20th, 30-win season and sixth under Ichabod head coach Brenda Holaday, in a 10-7 win hitting three home runs in the win.
After falling behind the afore mentioned 6-0 as the Bronchos (41-8, 18-4 MIAA) sent 12 batters to plate, the Ichabods came back with two runs of their own as LaBarge picked up a 2-out single scoring both Hogle and Makenzie Sais who singled to start the inning.
Neither team scored until the third when UCO added a run taking a 7-2 lead.
Washburn cut the lead to 7-6 when LaBarge cleared the bases with a grand slam to center scoring Ashlyn Gaughan, Kaylee Wagner and Erin Boles.
In the fourth, Washburn (30-19, 12-10 MIAA) took the lead at 8-7 after a 2-run homer from Wagner taking advantage of a Broncho error and in its next at bat, Washburn added two more insurance runs building a 10-7 lead when Kate Dolan collected her first collegiate home run with an opposite field shot with two outs on a 1-2 pitch.
Walker replaced Jenna Sprague who picked up the win, pitching two scoreless innings of relief for her third save of the season while Sprague improved to 8-6 in the circle after tossing 4 2/3 innings. Walker struck out two in the relief effort.
The Ichabods outhit the Bronchos 13 to 10 in the second game as Hogle led the Ichabod attack with three hits and Tanguma, Wagner, Boles and LaBarge each had two. LaBarge tallied a career-high-tying 6 RBI while Wagner and Dolan each drove in two each.
The win in the nightcap was the first by the Ichabods over UCO since a 5-1 win over the Bronchos on April 20, 2019 in Edmond snapping an 11-game losing streak in the process. EMPORIA STATE
• The Hornets are 29-21 this season and 9-13 in the MIAA sitting in eighth in the conference standings.
• Sydney Wagner leads the team with a .353 batting average … Brooke Flewelling is batting .311 with a 1.132 OPS driving in 42 runs and Taryn Burkhardt has a team-high 40 runs scored and 39 stolen bases batting .300.
• Gracie Rabe is 10-10 in the circle with a 2.47 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP and Jordan Harrison is 14-7 with a 3.22 ERA.
• The Ichabods trail the all-time series 73-47 losing the last two and three of the last four in the series … WU had a 37-game losing streak to the Hornets that stretched from March 26, 2006 to March 11, 2016.
  • is 282-168 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 135-73 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 (.791) 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. • The Ichabods are 1358-991-1 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.