TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabod softball team split an MIAA doubleheader with No. 16-ranked Rogers State on Saturday afternoon at Gahnstrom Field. The Ichabods will be back in action on Friday, March 20 at Central Oklahoma.
Game 1 – WU 6, RSU 0
Washburn scored three runs in the opening inning and never looked back, rolling to a 6-0 victory in first game of the day.
The Ichabods pounded out 12 hits while pitcher Sadie Walker tossed a complete-game shutout, allowing six hits with one walk and five strikeouts in seven innings.
Washburn set the tone immediately in the first inning. Makenzie Sais singled to start the frame and stole second before Taylor Brees followed with a single and also swiped second. Aspen Burgardt then delivered a two-run double to right center, scoring both runners. Kate Dolan added an RBI single later in the inning to push the lead to 3-0.
The Ichabods added to the lead in the third when Dalaney Anderson singled and later scored on a Kate Ediger RBI single up the middle, making it 4-0.
Washburn extended the advantage in the fifth inning after Dolan doubled to center and later scored when Ediger singled through the left side. The Ichabods capped the scoring in the sixth as Sais singled, stole second and eventually scored on a Kierra Goos groundout to give Washburn a 6-0 lead.
Sais led the offensive attack going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two stolen bases. Brees added two hits and two walks, while Ediger went a perfect 3-for-3 with 2 RBI. Dolan chipped in two hits, including a double, and drove in a run, while Burgardt had a two-run double in the first inning.
Rogers State finished with six hits but stranded six runners and could not solve Walker, who induced eight groundouts and six flyouts in her shutout effort.
Game 2 – RSU 2, WU 0
Washburn outhit Rogers State but could not push a run across as the Ichabods dropped a 2-0 decision in the nightcap.
Washburn finished with seven hits while limiting Rogers State to just three, but two of those hits left the yard in the fourth inning and proved to be the difference. Chloe Cardona opened the frame with a solo home run to left and Jaden Jordan followed later in the inning with another solo shot to right center to give Rogers State the only runs of the game.
Jenna Sprague turned in a solid performance in the circle for Washburn, tossing a complete game while allowing three hits and two runs with four strikeouts and just one walk in seven innings.
Washburn threatened several times but could not deliver the key hit. The Ichabods stranded 10 runners in the game, including a strong opportunity in the fourth inning when Kate Dolan singled and Madi Moore followed with a double to center to put runners on second and third with one out, but Rogers State escaped the jam with back-to-back strikeouts.
Dolan led the Ichabods at the plate with two hits, while Makenzie Sais, Taylor Brees, Aspen Burgardt, Taybor Moss and Moore each added one hit. Moore's fourth-inning double was Washburn's lone extra-base hit of the game.
Washburn put at least one runner on base in six of the seven innings, including a leadoff single by Sais in the seventh, but Rogers State pitching combined to keep the Ichabods off the scoreboard and secure the shutout.
Washburn moved to 24-9 overall and 1-3 in MIAA play with the loss.
