Leading off
•     The Washburn Ichabod baseball team (#6 NCBWA/#19 ABCA) will have a four-game set with Emporia State starting with a single game on Friday night at 4 p.m. in Emporia before returning for two games at Falley Field in Topeka with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m. The series will wrap up with a single game back in Emporia scheduled for a 1 p.m. start.
•    Prior to the start of the Saturday doubleheader at Falley Field, Washburn will honor former coach Steve Anson with a pregame ceremony starting at 1:40 p.m. 
•    Events planned for the day will include each Ichabod will wear No. 19 in honor of coach Anson as well as a ceremonial first pitch and the unveiling of a No. 19 sign on the outfield fence. 
•    The Ichabods were moved up from No. 6 to No. 3 in the NCBWA Top 25 poll and they made their first appearance in school history in the Collegiate Baseball Poll as voted on by the American Baseball Coaches Association at No. 19.
•    The Ichabods remained at No. 1 in the NCBWA Central Regional Poll released on Monday.
•    The 14-game winning streak by the Ichabods is the longest since the Ichabods won 17 between the 1947-49 seasons.
•    The longest winning streak for the Ichabods in MIAA play is 10 set during the 2000 season.
•    The Ichabods have won their first eight MIAA games of the season breaking the previous best start to an MIAA season of six set in 1998.
•    The Ichabods outscored their opponents 149 to 58 in 14 games this season and 20-1 in the second inning of games this year.
•    Washburn is batting .366 as a team and has a 3.71 earned run average while opponents have recorded a .251 batting average and a 10.75 ERA.
•    Of Washburn's 14 home runs this season, four have been grand slams … the NCAA Division II record is nine by Armstrong set in 1988 in 54 games played.

In the dugout
•     Washburn is led by first-year head coach Harley Douglas. He served as an assistant to former coach Steve Anson for three years and he's a 2002 Washburn graduate. He played at WU from 1997-00.
•    He is 14-0 in his first season in the Washburn dugout.
•    Douglas played for the Ichabods from 1997-2000. 
•    He was an all-MIAA second team selection as an outfielder his senior year at Washburn. 
•    He finished with a .363 career batting average, the 13th highest in school history. 
•    He's second in school history with 11 triples and eighth with 136 runs scored … third with 75 career stolen bases. 
•    Douglas graduated in 2002 from Washburn with an exercise physiology degree and in 2004 with an education degree. He earned a master's degree in adaptive special education from Emporia State in 2010.

Noting the Emporia State Hornets
•    The Hornets are 9-3 on the season, 4-3 in the MIAA entering a midweek doubleheader on March 11 against Colorado Mines in a game to be played in Hays, Kan. 
•    In the latest NCAA statistics the Hornets are leading the nation in home runs and are leading the MIAA with 19 in 12 games. 
•    They are leading the league in stolen bases and are third in batting average.  
•    Dean Long is leading the MIAA with seven home runs … Justin Harris is tied for the MIAA lead with nine stolen bases … Garrett Brummett is 3-0 on the bound with a 1.50 ERA and 23 strikeouts with just one walk.

Series with the Hornets
•    The Hornets lead the all-time series 147-69.
•    The two teams played nine times during the 2014 season and the Hornets won five of those including two of three in the MIAA Tournament ending the Ichabods' season.
•    The Hornets won two of three in 2013 and the Ichabods won four of five in 2012 and the teams split four meetings during the 2011 season.

Last time out
TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn Ichabod baseball team won its 14th straight game while improving to 14-0 on the season in a 9-0 win over Pittsburg State sweeping the four-game MIAA series. 
The Ichabods (14-0, 8-0 MIAA) jumped on the board first with a solo run in the fourth inning when David Gauntt drove in Riley Krane after Krane led off the inning with a single.
Washburn exploded for four runs in the fifth inning as Parker Gibson drove in Payton Soicher and then Carnahan tripled to center driving in Krane and Gibson. The Ichabods added another run on a throwing error on a failed pickoff attempt putting the Ichabods up 5-0. 
In the seventh, Gauntt drove in Krane with a double to left stretching the Ichabod lead to 6-0.
In the eighth inning, the Ichabods recorded back to back home runs by Zane Mapes and Dylan Turpin pushing the lead to 8-0. The Ichabods scored their final run when Cole Gardner drew a bases loaded walk scoring Tupin.
Eric Schmid picked up the win pitching 6 2/3 innings striking out four scattering three hits.
Krane recorded three hits in the game and Gauntt and Tanner Triggs each had two. Krane also scored three runs.
Gibson, Carnahan and Soicher all reached base for the 14th time in 14 games this season.

Last meeting with Emporia State
(5/3/14) EMPORIA, Kan. – Corey Gragg put Washburn ahead with an RBI single in the sixth but Emporia State tied the game in the seventh and went ahead in the eighth in a 3-2 win Saturday in the final game of the MIAA tournament first round series.
The Ichabods season came to an end at 26-24 while Emporia State improved to 36-16 and will play Central Oklahoma in the next round of the MIAA tournament.
Washburn was held hitless until Connor Crimmins singled with one out in the sixth. Parker Gibson then doubled to drive in Crimmins and Gibson later scored on Gragg's single to give the Ichabods a 2-1 lead.
The Hornets tied the game with a run off two singles in the seventh off Washburn starter Mark Biesma and then ESU went ahead in the eighth off reliever Drew Ridley with a single and a double.
Biesma went 6 1/3 innings and allowed two runs, just one earned, off six hits. He worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth and a double play ended the sixth after ESU loaded the bases then as well.
Ridley recorded one inning in relief and took the loss to fall to 1-2. AJ Green recorded two outs in the eighth to stop the damage but the Ichabods were retired in order in the ninth. Reliever Brenton Higgins pitched the final 3 2/3 innings allowing just a hit and a walk.
Washburn's top three hitters in the lineup each had one of their four total hits. The Hornets had eight hits.
Kyle Carnahan went 0 for 4 but reached base on a fielder's choice to end the year reaching safely at least once in the last 28 games. He reached safely in all but one game. He led the team with a .395 batting average and .513 on-base percentage. Those totals led the teams and were near the top of the MIAA entering the tournament.
Brett Ash finished his career third in wins with 21, second with 199 strikeouts and first with 25 complete games. His 3.48 career ERA is ninth in Washburn history.
Taylor Gentry led the Ichabod pitching staff this year with seven wins and 58 strikeouts. Maustin Otterstatter led the staff with a 3.00 ERA, mostly out of the bullpen.
David Gauntt led Washburn with eight home runs and a .568 slugging percentage.

On Deck
The Ichabods will step out of MIAA play with a midweek game on March 18 at Newman in Wichita starting at 2 p.m. Following the game with the Jets, the Ichabods will host Missouri Western in a four-game series starting on March 20 at Falley Field.