Topeka Sun

Ichabod baseball opens home schedule against Concordia-St. Paul

Washburn baseball will finally have its home opener this week with four games against Concordia-St. Paul starting Saturday and going through Monday.

LEADING OFF

>> Washburn's originally scheduled home opener Wednesday against Minot State was canceled, due to soggy field conditions.

>> The Ichabods are 2-7 so far on the young season after non-conference tournaments in Arkansas and Florida.

>> The Ichabods posted a big 18-3 victory at Lynn in their last time out on Monday, Feb. 13.

>> The Golden Bears have not played a game yet in 2023.

>> These two teams have never played each other.

>> Washburn reached its first NCAA postseason last year and finished the season 33-22.

>> The Ichabods were picked sixth in this year's MIAA Coaches Preseason Poll.

>> The 2023 season is the 71st year of Washburn Baseball.

SERIES INFORMATION

>> The series opener will take place at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Falley Field.

>> Sunday will be a doubleheader with game one starting at noon and the second game, a seven inning contest, taking place after.

>> First pitch of the finale will be at 12 p.m. on Monday.

>> Fans not able to make the game can check in on live stats or purchase a subscription to the MIAA Network to watch the live stream online.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME

>> Falley Field has been the home of the Ichabods since 1990.

>> At home over the past 33 years, Washburn has a record of 404-282.

>> The Ichabods went 13-8 at home last year.

MIAA PITCHER OF THE WEEK

>> Junior right-handed pitcher Casey Steward earned MIAA Pitcher of the Week honors after his performance at Barry on Feb. 9.

>> Steward carried a no-hitter through 4 2/3 innings against the Buccaneers and finished his outing going 5 2/3 innings, allowing just one unearned run on two hits and two walks while striking out a career-high 12 batters.

>>  The one hit he allowed was a single and he also retired the side in order in the third and fourth.

>> Last season, the Ichabods won an MIAA Athlete of the Week award three times as Dalton Huggins was named Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 14, 2022, and on that same day, Parker Dunn was the conference Hitter of the Week.

>> Dunn repeated as the Hitter of the Week on March 7, 2022.

QUICK HITS - OFFENSE

>> Through nine games, Washburn is hitting .270 with 16 doubles and five homers.

>> Washburn has drawn an MIAA-best 45 walks so far this season and ranks ninth in Division II.

>> Easton Bruce, Cale Savage, and Trevor McCollum are all tied for second in the league in walks drawn with six each.

>> Cal Watkins leads the team and ranks in the top-five among MIAA players with 14 hits (first in MIAA/11th in DII), four doubles (tied for first), and 12 runs scored (tied for third) batting .368 after starting all nine games at short stop.

>> At Lynn, Watkins went a perfect 4-4 at the plate with two doubles, a walk, and three runs scored.

>> Trey Adams is hitting .353, has landed 12 hits, scored eight runs, and leads the team with eight RBI and five multi-hit games. In the second game at Barry, he went 3-4 with a two-run homer, a walk, three RBI, and two runs scored.

>> Caden Bressler also has double-digit hits on the year with 10 and has scored five times.

>> Andrew Paulsey made his first appearance as a hitter against Lynn and went 3-6 with a pair of two-run doubles. He also closed out the game on the mound and allowed only one walk in the scoreless frame.

QUICK HITS - PITCHING

>> The Ichabod pitching staff has a 5.68 ERA and currently ranks second among MIAA teams for the most strikeouts with 74.

>> Steward does not have a decision after two starts, but leads the team with 16 strikeouts. He holds a 2.89 ERA in 9.1 innings pitched.

>> Cole Warner has not allowed an earned run and only two hits in eight innings of work scattered across two appearances. Against Palm Beach Atlantic, he went 4 2/3 innings and allowed an unearned and one hit and two walks and struck out three.

>> Jayden Payne has also not allowed a run and only two hits in three appearances and 4 2/3 innings.

>> Cal Leonard earned his first collegiate win at Lynn after throwing two effective innings in relief. He allowed just one hit, one walk, and struck out three.

>> Charlie Kiefer has logged a team-high 9 2/3 innings pitched in three appearances, including one start. He is at a 3.72 ERA and six strikeouts.

BODS AND ENDS

>> The Ichabods have scored in the first inning in six of their nine games.

>> The Washburn defense has turned seven double plays, which is tied for the third-most in Division II so far this year.

>> In the fourth inning, Washburn has outscored its opponents, 11-4.

>> Five different Ichabods have hit one home run.

>> The Ichabods are one win away from capturing the 1,300th victory in program history.

ICHABODS AROUND THE COUNTRY

>> Washburn's 42-man roster consists of players from eight different states.

>> There are 15 players on the roster who are from the Sunflower State.

>> Nebraska boasts the second-most players with seven.

>> Colorado has six Washburn players and Missouri has five.

>> There are four Ichabods from Oklahoma and three from Texas.

>> Mickey Coyne is from Nevada and Teagan Tamiya is from Hawaii.

MIAA PRESEASON POLL

>> In the 2023 MIAA Coaches Preseason Poll, the Ichabods were picked exactly where they finished a season prior in fifth place.

>> Central Missouri repeated as the conference favorite, earning 11 first-place votes.

>> Pittsburg State checked in at No. 2, Northeastern State was No. 3 and earned the final first-place vote.

>> Central Oklahoma and Washburn rounded out the top-five.

HEAD COACH HARLEY DOUGLAS

>> Former Washburn All-MIAA outfielder Harley Douglas enters his ninth season at the helm of the Washburn baseball program in 2023.

>> In eight seasons, Douglas carries an all-time record of 161-152 with four appearances in the MIAA Tournament and led the program to its first-ever NCAA Tournament in 2022.

>> He has also coached a total of 47 all-MIAA selections, including the MIAA Player and Pitcher of the Year in 2016.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION

CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL GOLDEN BEARS

>> The Golden Bears were picked 11th in this year's NSIC Coaches Preseason Poll after going 17-28 (11-22 NSIC) a season ago.

>> CSP returns 23 total players from last season, which includes seven starters (three pitchers).

>> Additionally, there are 11 new faces on the roster, with the addition of seven incoming freshmen and four transfer students.

>> Nick Thimsen was named a Preseason NSIC Player to Watch for the Golden Bears. The junior outfielder slashed .294/.356/.419 a season ago with 14 RBI and eight stolen bases on 11 attempts.

>> Infielder Jaden Werner led the team in home runs last year with five and in runs scored with 25.

>> Korey Dahlberg was named the Preseason NSIC Pitcher to Watch for the Golden Bears. In his freshman campaign, the RHP compiled a 4-4 (.500) record with 26 strikeouts in 39.2 innings. Dahlberg would begin his career with a solid 4-0 record in his first five starts.

>> He concluded the season with an ERA of 6.81, a WHIP of 1.76 and a .306 B/AVG

>> Head Coach Neil Lerner begins his fourth season leading CSP and has a record of 39-57.

>> Washburn has never played Concordia-St. Paul.

PRO BODS

>> At the conclusion of his collegiate career, Gilliam was signed by the Kansas City Monarchs on July 23, 2021 and has been with them since.

>> After a season and a half as a Monarch, he has appeared in 40 games and has a 9-5 record with 88 strikeouts in 88.1 innings pitched.

>> In the 2022-23 offseason, Gilliam joined the Perth Heat in the Australian Baseball League ... he made 10 starts and had a 5-1 record, a 3.04 ERA, and 36 strikeouts.

>> Tyler Clark-Chiapparelli, who graduated from Washburn in 2022, spent the summer playing for the Trois-Rivières Aigles, an independent professional baseball team located in Quebec, Canada and in the Frontier League.

>> Clark-Chiapparelli resigned to play with Trois-Rivières in the 2023 season.

>> Joel Casillas, also a graduate of the 2022 Washburn baseball team, signed to play the 2023 season with the Sultanes de Monterrey in the Mexican Baseball League in Monterrey, Mexico.

WASHBURN BASEBALL HISTORY

>> The 2023 season will be the 71st year of Washburn Baseball.

>> The Ichabods have gone 1299-1252-3 in that time.

>> There has been 31 seasons with 20+ wins; 21 seasons with 25+ wins; and 11 seasons with 30+ wins.

>> Washburn has earned 24 All-Region selections and nine All-America awards.

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