By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University baseball will play its final road series of the season this week at No. 19 Pittsburg State, beginning at 5 p.m. Thursday, with the Ichabods looking to end what has been an up and down campaign with a late-season hot streak.
Washburn senior standout Jett Buck is in the midst of an outstanding season for the 21-21 Ichabods. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Washburn fell to 21-21 overall and 14-15 in the MIAA after losing 10-8 to No. 20 Fort Hays State in 10 innings on Tuesday.
"It's hard because it seems like the whole team can't play good at once,'' WU senior standout Jett Buck said. "It seems like one part of the game is off at a time.''
Washburn is 6-2 in games against NCBWA nationally ranked opponents this season.
"I think it's showed that when we have everything clicking at the same time we're really hard to beat, but it's just consistency and everyone playing like we should,'' Buck said.
The Ichabods posted a third straight 30-win season in 2024, going 32-21 overall and 21-12 in the MIAA.
Pittsburg State improved to 31-7 overall and 19-7 inside the MIAA after defeating Missouri S&T 17-12 on the road Tuesday evening, winning its program-record 13th game in a row.
Washburn is scoring 8.67 runs per game while opponents are averaging 7.79 runs a start.
At the plate the Ichabods are hitting .307 with 74 home runs, 96 doubles and drawing195 walks while striking out 291 times.
The WU pitching staff has a 7.05 ERA with 293 strikeouts across 365.1 innings. The Ichabods have allowed 397 hits and issued 259 walks.
Buck leads the team with 15 games of recording multiple RBI and he has two games with five or more driven in.
Buck is hitting .360 while starting in all 42 games. He has a team-high 17 home runs on the year with 58 RBI, also tops on the team. He ranks second in the MIAA and seventh nationally in home runs. Buck is also second in the conference in RBI, hits and total bases while ranking fourth in slugging percentage. He has multiple hits in each of the last five games.
With a 12-game hitting streak, Jackson Mervosh carries the longest current streak for WU into the weekend. Cash Jay had the longest of any Ichabod player this season at 17 games.
On the mound Caleb Lunnon has thrown 50.2 innings over 10 starts and is 4-0 with a 4.09 ERA. He has 33 strikeouts on the year. He has allowed just two earned runs in his last 20 innings of work. He is 11th in the MIAA in ERA.
Pittsburg State is 19-3 this season when playing at Al Ortolani Field, 9-4 on the road and 3-0 in neutral field games.
As a team the Gorillas hit .322 with a .434 OB% and a .547 SLG%. They have tallied 49 home runs with 195 walks and 246 strikeouts.
Pitt State ranks first in the MIAA in batting average, OB%, runs per game and triples.
Seaman product Dagen Brewer is hitting .350 on the year across 31 games with 30 starts and has a team-high 1.247 OPS. He leads the Gorillas with 14 home runs and 54 RBI. He is second in the MIAA in SLG%, third in RBI and fourth in home runs.
Former Seaman standout Kolby Dougan has made 10 starts throwing 62.0 innings with 102 strikeouts to 16 walks and a .150 opponent batting average. He is 7-0 with a 2.03 ERA, 0.77 WHIP and one complete game. He is first in the nation in strikeouts and also first in the MIAA and second in the nation in hits allowed per nine innings.
Maddox Thornton has started 10 games throwing 60.1 innings with 51 strikeouts and just eight walks. He has a 8-1 record with a 2.98 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. He is first in the MIAA in victories, second in strikeout to walk ratio and fifth in the MIAA in ERA.
Washburn leads the all-time series with Pittsburg State, 67-61.
The Ichabods are 36-36 against the Gorillas in Pittsubrg.
If weather does not alter the schedule, Game 2 will be at 2 p.m. on Friday with the series finale at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Washburn returns home for one game, taking on Northwestern Oklahoma State in a non-conference contest on Tuesday.
Senior Day for the Ichabods will be on Sunday, April 27, against Newman, with first pitch set for 1 p.m.
The single elimination MIAA Tournament will begin in Joplin, Mo. at Warren Turner Field on May 7 and run through May 10.
