• The Washburn Ichabod softball team continues the MIAA Tournament facing the top-seeded Missouri Southern Lions on Thursday at 11 a.m. in Emporia in the quarterfinals in Emporia.
• The Ichabods are 36-18 this season and advanced to the MIAA Tournament quarterfinals with a 4-2 win over Missouri Western on Wednesday and have won their last five games in a row and nine of their last 10.
• The Lions are 45-7 and went 20-4 in MIAA play this season to earn the No. 1 seed and the conference regular season championship.
• The Ichabods were swept in a doubleheader by the Lions on March 27 in Topeka in a 4-3 loss in nine innings and a 9-0 loss in six innings.
• 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.
• Brenda Holaday is in her 10th season as the Ichabod softball head coach recording a 319-190 overall record going 146-86 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 and she broke the MIAA single-season steals record with her 66th against Northwest Missouri on April 18 breaking the previous record of 65 by Becca Alt set in 1997 … she enters the MSSU game with 66 … Sais' 85 career stolen bases at Washburn are trailing on Torrie Beauchamp's 87 from 1996-1999 and Marrit Mead's 96 from 2021-24 … Sais leads the NCAA DI, D2 and D3 levels in stolen bases and she is ranked 32nd in the nation in hits with 74.
• Dalaney Anderson is 21st in the in the nation in RBI with 64 passing the previous Ichabod single season record set by Savannah Moore's 62 RBI set in 2018 … Anderson's 1.21 RBI per game is ranked 23rd in the D2 ranks.
• Aspen Burgardt is 40th in the nation in walks per game at 0.68 per contest and she is ranked 40th in the nation in assists with 114.
• Sadie Walker is 13 in the nation in shutouts with seven and she is 44th in strikeouts with 151 … Walker's 35 starts is 26th in the national stats … Walker has gone over the 500 career strikeout mark and has 540 entering this week ranking second on the Ichabod career chart.
• Makenzie Sais has reached base in 20 games straight …she leads Ichabods this season with 23 multi-hit games and Dalaney Anderson has 16 while Kate Ediger has 15 … Anderson leads the Ichabods with 19 multi-RBI games.
• The Ichabods are outscoring their opponents 304 to 179 this season including 75 to 28 in the 3rd inning … the only two innings the Ichabods are being outscored are the seventh (19 to 16) and the ninth (1 to 0).
• As a team, the Ichabods are ranked 34th in the NCAA with 89 doubles while also ranking 46th in hits (442), 51st in RBI (274), 21st in shutouts (11), 22nd in stolen bases (121), 52nd in total runs (304) and 18th in walks (194).
• The 194 walks this season by the Ichabods is a school single season record.
• Washburn's .398 on base percentage is tops on the Ichabod single season chart.
• The Ichabods' 19 sacrifice flies in the most in Washburn single season history.
  • The Ichabods are making their 30th MIAA Tournament appearance and have compiled a 40-56 record in the MIAA Tournament dating back to the 1991 season when Washburn was first eligible for the event.
• Washburn was 0-1 in last season's MIAA Championship Tournament held at Fort Hays State falling 6-1 to Rogers State.
Against the MIAA Schools in the postseason tournament
Central Missouri • The Ichabods are 6-9 against the Jennies falling 5-2 in the 2024 tournament opener.
Central Oklahoma • The Ichabods are 0-1 against the Bronchos losing the last meeting on April 30, 2015 in Overland Park.
Emporia State • The Ichabods trail the ESU in tournament match ups 10-3. Washburn opened the 2022 MIAA Tournament with a win over the Hornets in a 8-0 victory in five innings.
Fort Hays State • The Ichabods are 1-1 winning 3-1 in the 2024 match up …the only other meeting was a 5-3 loss on May 7, 2011.
Missouri Southern • The Lions lead the conference tournament match ups 6-2 including a 3-2 win in 2023 that eliminated the Ichabods from the tournament.
Missouri Western • The Ichabods are 5-9 against the Griffons in MIAA Tournament meetings winning both meetings in the 2022 Tournament and the last one in 2026.
Northeastern State • Washburn is 0-1 against the RiverHawks.
Northwest Missouri • Washburn is 3-3 against the Bearcats winning the last meeting on May 2, 2024.
Pittsburg State • The Ichabods have played the Gorillas the most in the tournament, 10 times with the series tied 5-5. The Ichabods last played the Gorillas in the opening round of the 2015 tournament.
Rogers State • The Ichabods are 0-4 against Rogers State falling in Hays in a 6-1 loss in the 2025 MIAA Tournament.
  EMPORIA, Kan. - The Washburn Ichabod softball team earned a 4-2 win over Missouri Western on Wednesday afternoon at Trusler Sports in the opening game of the MIAA Tournament, improving to 36-18 on the season.
The Ichabods struck first in the bottom of the opening inning when Makenzie Sais worked a leadoff walk, moving into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by Taylor Brees and a wild pitch, then came home when Aspen Burgardt singled to left putting Washburn up 1-0.
Missouri Western briefly tied the game in the third, but Washburn answered when Sais singled to start the bottom of the inning and advanced on another sacrifice bunt by Brees. After Dalaney Anderson reached on a passed ball, Burgardt lifted a sac fly to center to bring Sais home, restoring a one-run advantage at 2-1.
The Ichabods broke the game open in the fourth when Madi Moore led off with a double to left and pinch runner Ashlyn Gaughan came home on Maddie McGee's double to right center. Moments later, McGee and Sais executed a double steal, with McGee swiping home to make it 4-2 to wrap up the scoring.
In the circle, Sadie Walker delivered a complete-game victory, allowing just four hits and one earned run while striking out nine. She retired the Griffons in order in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to close out the win, improving to 19-8 on the season.
Offensively, Sais finished 2-for-2 with two runs scored and a walk and a stolen base, while Burgardt drove in two runs with a single and a sacrifice fly. McGee added a double and an RBI, and Moore contributed an extra-base hit as Washburn tallied five hits on the afternoon. MISSOURI SOUTHERN
• The Lions are 40-7 this season going 20-4 in the MIAA and ranked No. 7 in the latest NFCA Top 25 poll after being ranked No. 11 last week … the Lions have won their last nine games in a row and have gone 21-3 in neutral site games this season.
• Bailey Dillon is batting .426 leading the team and Taylor Nuckolls is batting .392.
• MIAA Freshman of the Year Emily Davis is 18-4 in the circle with a 1.78 ERA and Kiki Pickens is 19-3 with a 1.85 ERA and was named the MIAA Pitcher of the Year for the second-straight season.
• As a team, the Lions have a 2.08 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP holding opponents to a .205 batting average.
  • is 319-190 in her 10th season as the Ichabod head softball coach and is the all-time winningest coach in program history.
• she has gone 146-86 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  1379-1007-1 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.