• The Washburn Ichabod softball team wraps up the home slate this weekend hosting Missouri Western on Friday starting at 4 p.m. followed by Northwest Missouri on Saturday at 1 p.m. On Saturday against the Bearcats, Washburn will honor the five seniors, Sadie Walker, Erin Boles, Danielle Schlader, Kate Ediger and Jenna Sprague, between the two games of the doubleheader.
• The Ichabods are 30-17this season and 7-11 in the MIAA. Entering the weekend, the Ichabods are in ninth place in the conference standings. Northwest Missouri is 8-8 one spot ahead of Washburn and Missouri Western is 5-11, one spot behind the Ichabods.
• The Ichabods will finish the regular season on May 2 with a trip to Emporia State.
• The Ichabods have clinched their fifth 30-win season in a row …Washburn has hit the 30-win mark for five-straight seasons dating back to the 2022 season … that is longest streak of 30 wins since a run between the 2002-07 seasons when the Ichabods recorded 30 wins six seasons in a row.
• The Washburn Ichabods were tabbed sixth in the MIAA Preseason Coaches poll that was released before the season started by the MIAA office
• Brenda Holaday is in her 10th season as the Ichabod softball head coach recording a 313-189 overall record going 143-85 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. • Makenzie Sais became the Ichabod single-season leader in stolen bases against Montana State Billings with her 34th … she enters the weekend with a nation-best 64 stolen bases, 20 ahead of the No. 2-ranked player on the chart … the MIAA single season record is 65 by Becca Alt from Missouri-Rolla (now Missouri S&T) set in 1997 as a junior … Sais' 64 stolen bases are second on the MIAA top-10 single season chart …Sais' 81 career stolen bases at Washburn are trailing on Torrie Beauchamp's 87 from 1996-1999 and Marrit Mead's 96 from 2021-24 … Sais is also ranked 10th in the nation in hits with 65 … Sais is batting .439 in MIAA games.
• Aspen Burgardt is 26th in the nation in walks per game at 0.72 per contest and 29th in the nation in assists with 98.
• Sadie Walker is eight in the nation in shutouts with six and she is 31st in strikeouts with 126 … Walker's 23 starts is ninth in the national stats … Walker went over the 500 career strikeout mark last weekend and has 515 entering this wee ranking second on the Ichabod career chart.
• Makenzie Sais has reached base in each of the last 13 games and leads the Ichabods this season with 20 multi-hit games and Dalaney Anderson and Kate Ediger each have 14 … Anderson leads the Ichabods with 15 multi-RBI games.
• The Ichabods are outscoring their opponents 270 to 154 this season including 62 to 25 in the 3rd inning … the only two innings the Ichabods are being outscored are the seventh (17 to 13) and the ninth (1 to 0).
• As a team, the Ichabods are ranked 11th in the NCAA with 81 doubles while also ranking 16th in hits (391), 24th in RBI (241), 10th in shutouts (10), ninth in stolen (112), 24th in total runs (270) and fifth  in walks (181).
• The 181 walks this season by the Ichabods is a school single season record.
  WICHITA, Kan. - The Washburn Ichabods softball team rolled in a doubleheader sweep of the Newman Jets on Saturday afternoon winning its 14th and 15th game in a row over the host team, posting a 9-0 shutout in the opener before completing the sweep with an 11-2 win in the nightcap. The Ichabods combined for 28 hits and 20 runs on the day while holding the Jets to just two total runs across the two games. In the wins, the Ichabods secured their fourth-straight 30-win season, improving to 30-17.
Game 1: - WU 9, NU 0 (5 innings)
Washburn wasted no time in the opener, scoring twice in the first and adding four more in the second en route to a 9-0 run-rule victory.
The Ichabods opened the scoring when Dalaney Anderson drove in Makenzie Sais on a groundout before Madi Moore delivered an RBI single to plate Aspen Burgardt for an early 2-0 lead. Washburn broke the game open in the second inning, capitalizing on Newman errors while continuing to put pressure on the Jets defensively.
Maddie McGee singled in a run, Anderson added a sacrifice fly, and Burgardt doubled home another to extend the lead to 6-0. Taybor Moss kept things going in the third with an RBI double, scoring Moore, while Washburn added two more runs in the fifth to seal the run-rule victory.
At the plate, Moore went a perfect 3-for-3 with an RBI, while Moss finished 3-for-3 with an RBI of her own. Burgardt added two hits and an RBI, and Taylor Brees went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
In the circle, Sadie Walker tossed a complete-game shutout. Walker allowed just two hits while striking out eight over five innings to improve to 15-8 on the season.
Game 2 - WU 11, Newman 2 (6 innings)
The Ichabods carried their momentum into game two, erupting for four runs in the first inning and four more in the second to seize control early.
After Anderson singled home Sais in the first, Madi Moore smoked a three-run homer to left field, giving Washburn a quick 4-0 advantage. In the second, Anderson continued her big day at the plate by launching a two-run home run, and Washburn added two more runs on RBI hits from Moss and Kate Ediger to push the lead to 8-1.
Washburn continued to tack on runs throughout the middle innings, including an RBI groundout from Kierra Goos and another unearned run created by aggressive baserunning from Sais.
Anderson led the Ichabod offense by going 2-for-3 with 3 RBI, while Moore finished 2-for-3 with a home run and 3 RBI. Ediger added two hits and an RBI, Sais scored twice adding her 63rd stolen base of the season, and Moss remained perfect on the day, going 2-for-2 in game two. Washburn totaled 15 hits in the nightcap.
In the circle, Jenna Sprague (6-6) earned the win after allowing one earned run over four innings. Kendra Cook closed out the game.
The Ichabods will be in action for the final weekend of regular season action at home hosting Missouri Western on Friday starting at 4 p.m. at Northwest Missouri the following day at 1 p.m. for senior day festivities between games one and two. MISSOURI WESTERN GRIFFONS
• The Griffons are 24-15 this season and 5-11 in the MIAA and have lost their last seven games entering the weekend.
• Kalee Higdon leads the team with a .317 batting average with team-highs of 30 runs scored, 40 hits and nine doubles … Ashlyn Finarty has a team-best 11 home runs and 30 RBI.
• Harley Pruetting is 9-4 in the circle with a 2.90 ERA.
• The Griffons have a team batting average of .273 and a team ERA of 3.44.
 
NORTHWEST MISSOURI BEARCATS
• The Bearcats are 28-13 this season and 8-8 in the MIAA and will face Emporia State on Friday before traveling to Topeka on Saturday.
• Emma Hague is batting a team-best .358 with 10 doubles and Omara Love is batting .356 with 48 hits and 25 runs scored … Mackenzie Minarik has a .303 batting average with 35 runs scored going 16 of 18 in stolen base attempts.
• Jadyn Streigle is 14-4 in the circle with a 1.78 ERA holding opponents to a .225 batting average with a 1.16 WHIP … Rien Mooreis 10-4 with a 3.65 ERA.
  • is 313-189 in her 10th season as the Ichabod head softball coach and is the all-time winningest coach in program history.
• she has gone 143-85 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  1373-1006-1 in their 56th 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.