By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University's softball wasn't scheduled to play its first home games of the season until later this week, but last Thursday's snowstorm moved up that timetable.
With Emporia State's field unplayable, the Hornets' tournament was moved to Washburn Sunday and Monday.
It took considerable work to get WU's field ready, but the result was just what Brenda Holaday's team was looking for, with the Ichabods jumpstarting their season with a pair of doubleheader sweeps.
After sweeping Missouri-St. Louis on Sunday, Washburn completed their 4-0 run with 7-2 and 7-6 victories over Quincy Monday at Gahnstrom Field.
"We started off (the season) kind of rough,'' Washburn coach Brenda Holaday said. "We were 3-6 coming into the weekend and 7-6 now with four games on our home field and there were some really good moments and there were some ugly moments, but when you go 4-0 on a weekend you're happy about that.
"Our players and our coaches worked their tails off to get this field ready. We hand-scooped the whole thing and their bodies were sore to start off with yesterday so I was really glad for them to get the wins and the payoff from that.''
Former Shawnee Heights star Jaycee Ginter picked up pitching wins for Washburn in both games Monday, giving her four wins in four games over two days. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/TSN]
As was the case on Sunday, former Shawnee Heights star Jaycee Ginter was the workhorse for Washburn against 0-7 Quincy, picking up the pitching wins in both ends of the doubleheader to give her all four wins in the two-day sweep.
Ginter turned in a complete-game seven-hitter in Monday's opener while recording a career-high 12 strikeouts and allowing just one earned run.
The sophomore standout moved to center field for the second game, but was called on in relief as the Ichabods' third pitcher and worked the final three innings, giving up three hits and striking out four to pick up the victory and improve to 6-1 on the season.
Ginter had to work out of a big jam in the top of the seventh of the second game, with the tying run on third base with no outs, but Ginter proceeded to strike out the side to end the game.
"I wasn't worried,'' Ginter said. "I felt in control. I trusted my defense, I trusted everybody else to do their own job.''
Holaday said she tries to be careful not to over-use her standout right-hander, but knows she can count on Ginter in any situation.
"It is interesting,'' Holaday said. "The conference and D-II sotball in general seems to have gone to bigger pitching staffs but not so long ago there was a lot of one pitcher carried everything for them and she has that kind of heart, she has good stuff and she doesn't give in. Just like that last inning. There's a lot of pitchers in that situation give up and you know she's never going to give up. She's a champion at heart and that's who she's been.
"Our big thing is protecting her from injury. You can over-throw them too much and she missed the first couple of weeks with an injury so she's still getting her stamina back, but if the game's on the line that's who you want on the mound.''
Ginter is happy to be back in action after missing time with a concussion suffered in a practice accident and said she's feeling like her old self
"I feel like last week I kind of struggled to start but this week and during practice this week, I'm back,'' Ginter said.
Ginter said there's no limit to how much she can pitch.
"It gets tiring but you've got to do what you've got to do to help the team,'' she said.
The Ichabods took control of Monday's first game with five runs in the borrom of the first.
After Santa Fe Trail product Marrit Mead led off the game with a walk, Autymn Schreiner singled and Hadley Kerschen rollowed with a run-scoring double.
A double by Ashton Friend scored a pair of runs before Jaden LaBarge hit a two-run homer to give the Ichabods their 5-0 advantage.
Quincy scored in the top of the fourth, but the Ichabods came back with two runs as Mead and Schreiner picked up RBI in the frame as Washburn went up, 7-1.
Quincy added a solo run in the top of the seventh off an Ichabod error.
After the Hawks scored three runs in the top of the first inning, the Ichabods came back with five of their own to take a 5-3 lead after the first frame.
Mead singled to lead the game off and then stole second base. Schreiner singled and Kerschen walked and Friend reached on a fielder's choice.
After LaBarge walked, Ginter tripled down the first base line finishing up the scoring.
In the fourth, the Hawks tied the score with a pair of runs in the top inning, but the Ichabods took a 6-5 lead after five innings when Friend singled and then came around to score on a double by Washburn Rural grad Jenna Moore.
Washburn pushed its lead to 7-5 when Rylee Seymour had a pinch-hit home run leading off the sixth inning.
In the seventh the Hawks scored a run on a pair of singles and a walk before Ginter shut the door on the Hawks..
Mead and Schreiner each had two hits and Friend scored two runs while Ginter drove in three.
The Ichabods will back in Topeka for the Hotel Topeka at City Center Invitational later this weekend, an event which will bring 13 teams from four different conferences to town for a total of 36 games played at Gahnstrom Field and the Lake Shawnee East and West Fields. Check wusports.com for any potential schedule changes with the weather.
FIRST GAME
WASHBURN 7, QUINCY 2
Quincy 000 100 1 -- 2 7 3
Washburn 500 002 x -- 7 7 1
McGinnis, Jennings (1) and Downen. Ginter and Darnell. WP -- Ginter (5-1). LP -- McGinnis (0-3). 2B -- Quincy: Downen, Hermann. Washburn: Friend, Kerschen. HR -- LaBarge.
SECOND GAME
WASHBURN 7, QUINCY 6
Quincy (0-7) 300 200 1 -- 6 10 1
Washburn (7-6) 500 011 x -- 7 10 1
Tanksley, Conger (5) and Maynard. Thissen, Hamm (4), Ginter (5) and Wagner. WP -- Ginter (6-1). LP -- Conger (0-3). 2B -- Quincy: Mitchell, Brennan. Washburn: Moore. 3B -- Washburn: Ginter. HR -- Washburn: Seymour.
