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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Washburn University starter Casey Stewardfinished his six-inning outing without allowing a hit and striking out 10 Rogers State hitters while the Ichabod offense put up seven runs in the opening inning on the way to a 9-3 MIAA victory on Saturday afternoon at Falley Field.
Casey Steward pitched no-hit ball over six innings and struck out 10 in Washburn's 9-3 win over Rogers State Saturday. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics[
Washburn clinched the series win with Saturday's victory and will go for the sweep in its final home game of the regular season at 1 p.m. Sunday. The six Ichabod seniors will be recognized on the field 15 minutes prior to the first pitch.
Trying put itself in position for a second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament, the Ichabods (27-18 overall, 19-10 MIAA) have now won six of their last eight games.
"We go out and get two this weekend so far, so we're starting to get back to playing good baseball and finding a way to pitch it and taking care of opportunities,'' Ichabod coach Harley Douglas said. "This was definitely a week (five games on the week) that we needed to get some practice, get some opportunities, get some things that we could iron out and kind of get us moving forward.''
Washburn went through the batting order and then some in the first inning as the Ichabods scored seven runs on five hits and received four free bases.
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
The Washburn Ichabod softball team worked overtime in each game on Friday against Northeastern State, falling 4-3 in the opener in eight innings before taking the nightcap 7-5 in 11 innings.
Holton product Sadie Walker pitched a career-high 10 innings to pick up the win in Washburn's 7-5 11-inning win over Northeastern State on Friday. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Washburn returns to action on Saturday at Rogers State.
A walk-off home run by the RiverHawks pushed NSU to a 4-3 win in the opener in eight innings.
The RiverHawks took the early lead scoring one in the bottom of the second before Washburn (34-12, 13-9 MIAA) knotted the score in the fourth.
In the fourth, Paige Robbins' grounded out scoring Jaycee Ginter, who reached on a fielder's choice.
Neither team scored again until the bottom of the sixth when the RiverHawks hit a two-run homer to take a 3-1 lead, but the advantage was short-lived as the Ichabods came back with two of their own, tying the score at 3-3 in their at bat in the seventh inning.
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Caden Bressler capped off Washburn's run-rule victory on Friday afternoon with a three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh as the Ichabods rolled to a 12-1 decision over Rogers State in the series opener.
Game 2 is set for Saturday at 2 p.m. at Falley Field.
Caden Bressler ended Friday's 12-1 Washburn win over Rogers State with a three-run home run. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Washburn's Jack Brimacombe picked up a complete-game pitching victory in Friday's 12-1 win over Rogers State. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
After getting out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the second, Washburn (26-18 overall, 18-10 MIAA) got on the board in the home half of the frame.
Easton Bruce and Bressler drew back-to-back walks and both moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Shane Morrow worked the third straight walk to load the bases with one out.
Blake Scott brought the first run in on a sacrifice fly. Then, on a 1-1 pitch, Cale Savage's popup bounced out of the second baseman's glove and two runs scored on the play to make it 3-0 in favor of Washburn.
In the bottom of the third with two outs, Trey Adams was issued a free pass with a walk and Bruce followed that up with a first pitch no-doubt home run to right field to extend the Ichabod lead to 5-0.
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
Before Topeka High's non-league 3-2 overtime soccer loss to Free State the Trojans were already without four players with being absent or injured and by the time they left Hummer Sports Park on Friday night, three more players got significantly banged up.
Despite playing with a true 11 players, Topeka High (5-4-0) fell just short of overcoming all of its obstacles against a Free State squad hungry to snap its own nine-game losing streak and winless season.
Topeka High freshman Natalie Barnes (right) scored a goal for the Trojans in Friday's 3-2 overtime soccer loss to Free State. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
Despite being shorthanded, Topeka High's soccer team took Free State to overtime in a 3-2 loss at Hummer Sports Park. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
But even with the apparent dark cloud hanging above the Trojans' heads, they never gave up. Although disappointed in the loss, Topeka High coach Derek Snook was pleased with what he saw from players that aren't regularly on the varsity field.
"First and foremost, I was proud of the effort," Snook said. "We came into the game being down three or four more players already due to injury or being gone. We had an injury to one of our tweeners in the junior varsity game that gets time. We had another injury in the first half with a possible concussion, so I'm down to playing junior varsity players that don't play that often.
"But the effort was fantastic. Quite honestly, I thought we had some golden opportunities to put the ball in the back of the net. We missed a pass here and didn't make a good run on one there, but the effort was there. I thought we did some good things defensively as well. We had our opportunities, but it just didn't work out."
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural put away the visiting Seaman softball team with two five-inning games shortened by 10-run leads Friday.
The Junior Blues blasted four home runs and rode dominant pitching from seniors Emmerson Cope and Piper Titsworth for the 14-4, 10-0 sweep.
Senior Emmerson Cope picked up the first-game pitching victory and had a big day at the plate in Washburn Rural's 14-4, 10-0 sweep over Seaman. [File photo/TSN]
Cope pitched the first game, striking out six and allowing five hits over five innings. Seaman scratched out four runs against the University of Nebraska commit, but she responded with a double and a homer of her own.
“I’ve done better on the mound, but I think I did get the job done. And I definitely had really good hitting behind me,” Cope said. “So even though I wasn’t 100 percent on my game, I had batters to back me up, which is really huge. Not pitching the best, I really want my hitting to be there for my team.”
“She makes her own adjustments at the plate, knows what she needs to do, and she puts the ball in play even though teams are trying to pitch around her,” said Washburn Rural coach Elizabeth Stover. “The production from other batters is the big thing. One way we can keep getting her at-bats is to keep adding to the lineup.”
The Junior Blues lashed out 13 hits in the opener. Sophomore Nadia Wech ended the first contest in the fifth inning with a blast over the center field fence that gave the Junior Blues a ten-run advantage. Freshman Reagan Chapman homered earlier in the game.
“It’s been a while since we’ve had freshmen and sophomores jump into the lineup and starting,” Stover said. “They bring in a little bit of energy because a lot of these girls have played together for a long time.''
Titsworth was the star of the second game, pitching a shutout and drilling two doubles. The senior gave up just three hits over five innings.
“The goal of our team is just to pick each other up after each at-bat whether it was good or bad,” Titsworth said. “To be able to help in any way I can, whether it’s pitching or hitting, feels good.”
Seaman fell to 6-6. Leading the effort for the Vikings was Jersey Jellison, who doubled and homered in the first game, and Aspen Burgardt, who doubled twice in the second game.
The Junior Blues, who finished second in the Class 6A state tournament a year ago, improved to 12-2 with the doubleheader sweep. Though the team is a blend of returners and first-year varsity players. Stowe said she sees potential in this group.
“We’re a young team and there are still learning moments every game,” Stowe said. “But for the most part I feel pretty confident with the team we have on the field. It’s a well-rounded group and they’re keeping each other pumped up.”
Cope and Titsworth are two of five seniors providing leadership on and off the field.
“We have really good chemistry for a team that hasn’t really done a lot together,” Cope said. “Having that upperclassman leadership encouraging the underclassmen and leading this team really helps us.”
“We learn from each other,” Titsworth said. “The freshmen have had a big impact on our team. They’ve brought a new life that we needed. They keep it light-hearted in the dugout. And they look at us as the mature leaders so it balances out to make us a well-rounded team.”
GAME ONE
WASHBURN RURAL 14, SEAMAN 4
Seaman 202 00 — 4 5 2
Washburn Rural 433 31 — 14 13 1
Burgardt, O’Rourke (3) and McConnell. Cope and Rapp. W — Cope. L — Burgardt. 2B — Seaman: Jellison. Washburn Rural: Cope, Collins. HR — Seaman: Jellison. Washburn Rural: Chapman, Cope, Wech.
GAME TWO
WASHBURN RURAL 10, SEAMAN 0
Seaman (6-6) 000 00 — 0 3 0
Washburn Rural (12-2) 341 02 — 10 10 1
O’Rourke, Burgardt (3) and McConnell. Titsworth and Rapp. W — Titsworth. L — O’Rourke. 2B — Seaman: Burgardt 2. Washburn Rural: Titsworth 2. HR — Washburn Rural: Collins.
