TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabod softball team split a pair of 6-4 games on Saturday winning the first and falling in the nightcap. The Ichabods will wrap up the home slate on Sunday hosting Northwest Missouri, currently have a two-game lead in the MIAA standings for the eighth and final playoff spot.
Game 1 - Washburn 6, Missouri Western 4
Washburn used a six-run third inning to turn the tide, taking the opening game of the doubleheader 6-4.
Missouri Western opened the scoring in the top of the third with a solo home run to take a 1-0 lead. Washburn responded immediately in the bottom of the inning sending 10 batters to the plate scoring six runs.
Taylor Brees got the Ichabods on the board with an RBI single up the middle to score
Kate Ediger. Two batters later,
Dalaney Anderson delivered a big swing, sending a three-run home run to left field to put Washburn in front.
Aspen Burgardt followed with a double, and
Erin Boles capped the inning with a two-run home run to left-center as Washburn surged ahead 6-1.
Missouri Western chipped away with three runs over the next two innings, cutting the margin to 6-4, but Washburn pitching and defense shut things down from there.
Sadie Walker earned the win in the circle, allowing four runs on eight hits while striking out six over 5 2/3 innings.
Jenna Sprague closed out the final game picking up the save recording her school-record eighth career save.
At the plate, Anderson drove in three runs, Boles added 2 RBI, and Brees chipped in an RBI hit. Washburn totaled eight hits by eight different players overall.
Game 2 - Missouri Western 6, Washburn 4
Washburn rallied with a three-run home run in the third inning and brought the tying run to the plate in the seventh, but Missouri Western held on for a 6-4 to earn the doubleheader split.
The Ichabods (31–18, 8–12 MIAA) were paced offensively by
Dalaney Anderson, who delivered a three-run homer in the third inning to erase a four-run deficit and pull Washburn within one. Anderson finished 1-for-4 with 3 RBI, accounting for three of the Ichabods' four runs on the day.
Missouri Western jumped out early, scoring three runs in the top of the first inning on a two-run home run, then added two more in the second to take a 5–1 lead.
Washburn responded in the bottom of the third.
Makenzie Sais reached on a single and
Maddie McGee reached base after being hit before Anderson cleared the bases with her second three-run homer of the day , cutting the deficit to 5-4.
Washburn collected seven hits in the contest, including two apiece from Sais and Burgardt. Burgardt also drove in Washburn's first run of the game with an RBI single in the opening inning scoring Brees.
Missouri Western added an insurance run in the seventh inning, but Washburn mounted a final push in the bottom half.
Kate Ediger and Sais singled to put two runners on with two outs before the Ichabods fouled out to end the threat.
In the circle, Sprague went the distance for the Ichabods, allowing six runs (all earned) on nine hits over seven innings. Sprague struck out five.
