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By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

The Washburn University softball team went 2-0 on Saturday's final day of the Midwest College Classic in Shawnee, taking a 5-1 win over Southwest Baptist and a 6-5 win over Minnesota State.

Pitcher Jenna Sprague picked up the save in both Washburn wins on Saturday as the Ichabods improved to 21-4 on the season. [File photo/TSN]

With the two wins and a 4-1 record on the weekend Washburn improved to 21-4 on the season and will return to action with four games at the Grand Slam Classic in Branson, Mo. Friday and Saturday.

The Ichabods topped former MIAA foe Southwest Baptist in their first game on Saturday, winning their eighth game in a row over the Bearcats.

Washburn struck early and never trailed, plating two runs in the bottom of the first inning.

Makenzie Sais ignited the offense with a single, stole second, and scored on Taylor Brees' run-scoring single to center. Brees later came home on Dalaney Anderson run-scoring single to left, giving the Ichabods a 2-0 advantage.

After SBU trimmed its deficit to 2-1 in the third, Washburn responded with a big fourth inning putting some distance between the two schools.

Following a leadoff error, pinch runner Ashlyn Gaughan moved into scoring position before Aspen Burgardt delivered the biggest swing of the game -- a two-run home run to left field to extend the Washburn lead to 4-1.

The Ichabods added an insurance run in the fifth when Maddie McGee singled up the middle and later scored when Sais ripped a double down the leftfield line, pushing the margin to 5-1.

Sais paced Washburn's eight-hit attack, going 2 for 3 with a double, RBI, run scored and a stolen base. Brees also collected two hits and drove in a run, while Anderson finished 1 for 3 with an RBI.

Sadie Walker earned the pitching win to improve to 10-2, tossing 6.2 innings while allowing just one run on nine hits with seven strikeouts. Jenna Sprague closed the door, striking out the only batter she faced to record her second save of the season.

Washburn jumped on Minnesota State immediately, scoring four times in the opening inning.

Sais led off with a single, stole second and third, and scored on Anderson's groundout to short.

Brees walked and later scored when Madi Moore doubled into the left-center gap.

Kierra Coos followed with a two-run homer to right center, giving the Ichabods a 4–0 advantage.

Minnesota State answered with a run in the second on a hit by pitch with the bases loaded, then added two more in the third when a single to left center brought in a pair, trimming Washburn's lead to 4-3.

In the fifth Burgardt lifted a sacrifice fly to score Brees, and in the sixth, Danielle Schlager added another sac fly, scoring Kate Ediger to make it 6–3.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

No. 3 ranked Washburn University men's basketball closed out the regular season with a hard-earned 84-74 Senior Day win over Missouri Southern on Saturday, improving to 28-1 overall and 18-1 in the MIAA.

Junior Jack Bachelor led Washburn with a career-high 26 points, with nine assists and three steals, in Saturday's 84-74 win over Missouri Southern. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Washburn rode a flurry of 3-pointers and a second-half surge to win its school-record 29th game in a row in Lee Arena.

"Our defense was not great tonight,'' Washburn coach Brett Ballard said. "They had us on our heels and they're a really good offensive team. We got enough stops there in the second half, but we need to tighten that up.''

And Ballard said it was probably good for the Ichabods to get a test entering postseason, which will begin with the MIAA Tournament Friday in Kansas City, Mo. at the storied Municipal Auditorium.

"You don't love it as a coach, but that was really good for us to play a game with meaningful possessions, where there's a little bit of pressure,'' Ballard said. "And we had to execute and we had to get stops and had to dig in.

"Fortunately, we haven't had a ton of those this year and you're going to have those in the postseason, so I thought that was really good for us and it was good to see us respond.''

With the Lions holding a 10-7 lead, the Ichabods ripped off a 20-4 run over a 4:27 stretch to take a 27-14 lead with 11:31 to play in the opening half.

However, the Lions responded with a 16-6 run of their own to tie the score at 41 with 2:37 to play before the break.

Washburn outscored the Lions 7-2 down the stretch, capped by a 3-pointer from junior Jack Bachelor, to take a 48-43 lead to the locker room at halftome.

The second half began with a 3-pointer from junior Jeremiah Jones and two more treys from Bachelor as the Ichabods stretched their lead to 57-43.

Missouri Southern responded with an 8-0 run to trim the margin to 59–58, but Washburn delivered the knockout blow with a 25-9 run, including an 18-0 streak, over an 11:30 span of the second half that put the Ichabods up 84-67 with 2:53 remaining.

Bachelor led Washburn with a career-high 26 points and nine assists with no turnovers, shooting 5 of 9 from 3-point range.

Senior Brady Christiansen scored 18 points with four 3-pointers in Saturday's 84-74 win over Missouri Southern. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Senior Brady Christiansen added 18 points and 5 rebounds, including a pair of critical 3-pointers during Washburn decisive second-half run.

"We found a way to get it done,'' Christiansen said. "I think everyone stepped up and made big shots, especially Jack.

"As a senior, though, I was not letting us lose and I know everyone else was not letting us lose. It just feels incredible to win on Senior Night but also we're 28-1 and now the best time of the year is around so I couldn't be more proud of the guys and I'm just excited for what's next.''

Although he has another season left, Bachelor said it was also very important to him to make sure his senior teammates -- Christiansen, Sam Ungashick, Bryson Smith and Isaiah Saams-Hoy -- had a win to celebrate on Saturday.

"Those are my guys,'' Bachelor said. "Those are my brothers for life. I'll be in their weddings, they'll be in mine. I wasn't going to let those dudes go out bad, so I was giving it my all out there for them.''

Jones finished with 18 points, five rebounds, and three steals, while Smith contributed 13 points, three assists, and three rebounds.

By JUSTIN BURKHARDT

TopSports.news

The postseason is officially under way, and while Topeka High has been one of the hottest girls basketball teams in the state, the playoffs bring a new level of intensity where anything can happen.

Junior Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton scored 26 points to lead Topeka High to a 69-45 Class 6A sub-state win over Maize Tuesday. [File photo/TSN]

Sophomore Hailey Caryl scored 19 points for Topeka High in a Class 6A 69-45 sub-state win over Maize Tuesday. [File photo/TSN]

Ron Slaymaker's Trojans hosted Maize Tuesday in a Class 6A sub-state semifinal, and after a slow start, Topeka High took care of business, taking a 69-45 win.

Topeka High got off to a promising start when junior Ahsieryrhuajh Rayton knocked down a 3-pointer to open the scoring.

But the Eagles quickly responded with an 11-0 run to take an 11-3 lead, holding High scoreless for four minutes as the Trojans’ offense stalled.

Rayton helped spark life back into her squad by attacking the rim, drawing contact, and converting both free throws. She then forced a turnover and finished at the basket to cut the deficit to 11-7.

Despite the push, Maize held a 16-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Trojan senior Keimara Marshall made sure the momentum didn’t stay with the Eagles for long. She opened the second quarter with back-to-back steals, igniting an 11-0 High run.

Her first steal led to a breakaway layup, and the second turned into an assist to sophomore Hailey Caryl.

“Coach knew that we could play better than we were playing,” Caryl said. “But at the end of the the quarter, he just talked to us about how we just need to get our stuff together. Like, there's no reason we should be playing like this when this game is make it or break it. He just wanted to motivate us to get going.”

Marshall’s defensive energy fueled the comeback, giving the Trojans a 17-16 lead.

They kept building from there, finding Caryl for a layup before Rayton closed the half with five more points -- part of her game-high 26 -- to give High a 28-21 advantage at halftime.

“We changed our defense to be a little more aggressive and then things just started to roll,” Slaymaker said. “We got some loose balls and it was from the runouts and shots that go in -- and bingo. That’s why basketball is a really interesting game.”

The Trojans carried that momentum into the third quarter.

Senior Sasha Gotru got involved offensively, and Rayton went on a personal 7-0 run to stretch the lead to 37-21. Sophomore Sophia Brown made a big impact inside, scoring four straight points to push the lead to 47-31.

High maintained control throughout the third quarter, taking a 53-38 lead into the fourth quarter.

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Washburn softball 4-1 in Midwest College Classic, improves to 21-4

No. 3-ranked Washburn men survive tough test from Lions, cap 28-1 regular season with 84-74 win

Topeka High girls advance to 6A sub-state final with 69-45 win over Maize