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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University softball had to deal with some pitching issues Monday in its Ichabod Invitational doubleheader.
Not only did Ichabod ace Sadie Walker struggle in the opener, but WU also lost its scheduled second-game starter, Alexis Tanguma, to a hamstring injury in the first game.
Junior Jenna Sprague picked up her first Washburn pitching win in Monday's 12-10 decision over Concoria-St. Paul. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/Special to TSN].
Freshman Ava Bloyd improved to 4-2 in Monday's 2-1 Washburn win over Minnesotra-Crookston. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
But Ichabod newcomers Jenna Sprague and Ava Bloyd came through when it counted as WU pushed its winning streak to six games with a 12-10 win over Concordia-St. Paul and a 2-1 decision over Minnesota Crookston on the second day of the tournament.
"I don't think we played very well today, but we were gritty and you kind of build on that when you're heading into your season before conference play to teach yourself that you can come back when things aren't going well and you can find ways to win,'' Washburn coach Brenda Holaday said.
The Ichabods opened the second day of action with a wild one as the Ichabods and the Bearcats combined for 22 runs and 22 hits in a 12-10 win by the Ichabods.
CSP (1-7) scored two runs in its first bat to take the early lead, but the Ichabods came back with three runs in the bottom of the first, highlighted by a two-RBI double by Kaylee Wagner scored Erin Boles and Makenzie Sais.
Washburn stretched its lead to 5-2 in the bottom of the second when Jaden LaBarge started the frame with a double to center before a double by Boles scored LaBarge.
Another double by Sais scored Boles.
The Bears regained the lead at 6-5 with four runs in the third inning, capped with a bases-loaded triple from CSP, but WU came back to knot the score at 6-6 when a sac fly by LaBarge scored Kate Ediger, who reached on a single.
Again, CSP scored in its next at bat with two, two-run homers taking a 10-6 lead, but Washburn rallied to tie the score with four runs in the bottom of the fourth when Tanguma doubled, scoring Boles and Sais.
Ellington Hogle connected on a single up the middle that scored Tanguma after Ediger drove in another run on a fielder's choice as the score was tied at 10-10.
In the bottom of the sixth, Washburn took the lead after Ediger doubled to start the inning and then Mariah Wheeler's pinch-hit single scored Ashlyn Gaughan, who entered as a pinch runner.
LaBarge added a sac fly for Washburn's final run.
Sprague, a junior Kirkwood Community College transfer, picked up the pitching win, her first as an Ichabod, pitching the final 32/3 innings.
In the top of the seventh, Sprague retired the side in order to pick up the win in relief.
"I felt pretty good,'' Sprague said. "I've had a few outings that have been kind of rough and I kind of needed to prove to prove that I was better than what I've been doing.
"Once I stepped in I felt pretty locked in.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Career days for Hayden seniors Emily Lee and Chase Blaser helped propel Hayden to a sweep of the girls and boys team titles in Monday's Class 4A-1A bowling regional at Gage Bowl.
Lee claimed the girls individual championship with a three-game series of 602 while leading the Wildcats to the team title by a 2,550-2,354 margin over Ottawa while Blaser finished second individually with a 684 series as Hayden won the boys team crown by a 3,369-3,156 margin over the Cyclones.
Hayden's boys bowling team celebrates a mark during the Baker format games in Monday's Class 4A-1A regional. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
The Wildcats will compete in the 4A-1A state tournament for the second straight season next Thursday at Bowlero Northrock in Wichita.
Lee, who finished 11th in the state meet as a junior, rolled games of 217, 204 and 181, shattering her previous career-best series.
Hayden senior Emily Lee shot a 602 series to take girls individual honors in Monday's Class 4A-1A bowling regional. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"This is my first 600,'' Lee said. "I think a 546 was my next highest scratch series. I think it really helped having a coach always there. Mr. (Ed) Lee (Hayden assistant) was always there and he would help me with all my pickups and all of that.''
Hayden also got a third-place individual finish from Ashley Lee, Emily's twin sister, with a 487 series while junior Jenna Henkensiefken placed fifth (429), junior Emily Peterson 11th (382), sophomore Maura Valdivia 14th (367) and senior Viola Geminiani 21st (321).
Hayden senior Chase Blaser shot a 684 series with a 279 in Monday's Class 4A-1A bowling regional. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Blaser opened his day with a 183 before improving to 222 in the second game and finishing his series with a personal-record 279.
Blaser, ninth in 4A-1A as a junior, rolled 11 strikes in his third game, with only a one-pin spare in the third frame preventing him from a perfect 300 game.
"I was a little bit upset about that one, but I could kind of see it coming,'' Blaser said. "(The last pin) toppled over a little uneasily a couple of frames beforehand and I made a little move and got them the rest of the way. That is my new personal high game.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Anna Becker
ANNA BECKER, Seaman
Becker, a senior guard, scored 25 points last Friday as top-ranked (Class 5A) Seaman, playing its first game in 10 days, rolled to a 61-32 home United Kansas Conference victory over Basehor-Linwood. Becker, a Drake signee, hit 10 of 12 shots from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers, and all three of her free throw attempts as the Vikings improved to 17-0 overall and 13-0 in the UKC.
Truman Brede
TRUMAN BREDE, Shawnee Heights
A senior swimming standout, Brede posted a city-best state performance in Saturday's Class 5A state championships, finishing fourth in the 100-yard backstroke in 56.15 seconds. A United Kansas Conference champion, Brede also posted a 14th-place 'B' final finish in the 200 freestyle.
Easton Broxterman
EASTON BROXTERMAN, Washburn Rural
A senior wrestling star, Broxterman claimed the 144-pound championship in Saturday's Class 6A West regional tournament, improving to 37-2 on the season. A two-time state champion and three-time state finalist, Broxterman went 4-0 on the day in Saturday's regional, posting pins in 35 seconds and 1 minute, 41 seconds and winning by 16-0 and 15-0 technical falls.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
It took some waiting and a lot of snow shoveling, but the Washburn University softball team finally got the opportunity to play its home openers on Sunday, running its winning streak to four games with a pair of victories in the Washburn Invitational at Gahnstrom Field.
Washburn opened its tournament bid in the delayed event with a 9-3 win over Missouri S&T, followed by a 4-3 victory over Minot State.
Junior Sadie Walker picked up her fifth pitching win of the season in Sunday night's 4-3 Washburn win over Minot State. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn went through some ups and downs, not a surprise given how early it is in the season, but veteran coach Brenda Holaday was pleased overall with her team's performance.
"I thought we had a lot more positives than we had negatives, but our negatives are things we can clean up and will clean up,'' Holaday said. "The first game we had a couple of errors that gave them the runs they had, but I liked our response to that. It was early in the game and I thought we really took control after that and had some good defensive plays and had good pitching and some key hits. The second game was a lot tighter game.''
The Ichabods will be back in action on Monday at 3:30 p.m., hosting Concordia-St. Paul, followed by a contest against Minnesota Crookston in the nightcap.
The Ichabods, 9-4 on the season after Sunday's wins, jumped on the Miners (0-11) in their first at bat in Sunday's opener, scoring three runs on four hits to take a 3-0 lead.
Erin Boles led off the inning with a single and then, after Makenzie Sais singled down the third base line, Kaylee Wagner singled to score Boles.
Sais then stole third and scored on a throwing error. Kate Ediger finished the inning with a single, scoring Wagner as the Ichabods took a 3-0 lead.
The Miners came back with three runs of their own in the top of the second to tie the score, but in the next Ichabod at bat in the bottom of the frame, Jaden LaBarge led off the inning with a solo home run to center field.
Wagner picked up her second RBI of the day, scoring Sais who singled and then stole second base.
Washburn then scored on a passed ball to go in front, 6-3.
Washburn added three more runs in the fifth inning when Mariah Wheeler doubled to left with a pinch-hit RBI and LaBarge picked up a sac fly, scoring Ellington Hogle. Danielle Schlader continued the inning with a single, driving in Wheeler to wrap up the scoring.
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BY ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
After not being able to practice on its own field and the weather forcing them to take serious time off, the Washburn Ichabods baseball team looked like it was in midseason form after sweeping an MIAA doubleheader against the University of Central Oklahoma on Sunday at Falley Field.
Washburn's Darian Duhon (right) is congratulated by his teammates after hitting a first-game home run against Central Oklahoma Sunday at Falley Field. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Connor Scott hit a walk-off sacrifice fly to give Washburn a 4-3 win in Game 1 and a barrage of runs in the early innings in the second game helped the Ichabods win, 10-5.
Washburn coach Harley Douglas was content with the way the Ichabods showed out in the home opener, especially with Mother Nature forcing them to pause for a couple of weeks.
“It was tremendous,” Douglas said. “We haven’t even been out on our field to practice yet. This was our first chance to really play on it. Being able to go out there and do that and also UCO is a great team. I thought we went toe-to-toe with them today and played pretty well, for the most part. Pretty good in the month of February to go out and get a couple of wins.”
Washburn's Cash Jay, applying a tag, drove in the Ichabods' first run in a 4-3 first-game victory over Central Oklahoma. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn scored first in the opener after Cash Jay drove in Jett Buck off an RBI single in the bottom of the first inning to give the Ichabods an early 1-0 lead.
UCO temporarily tied the game in the fourth inning with an RBI single. The Ichabods broke the 1-1 tie after Darian Duhon hit a solo home run to give Washburn a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning.
UCO capitalized on a Washburn error on the throwdown from home plate to second base in the top of the sixth inning. The Broncho runner made it from first to third, which led to a sacrifice bunt in the following at-bat to score the runner from third to tie the game 2-2. Another throwdown mis-fire occurred on a UCO batter stealing from first. The ball went into the outfield, scoring a UCO runner to break the tie, 3-2.
Washburn’s Easton Bruce brought the game even after a solo home run to left field in the bottom of the eighth to tie it, 3-3.
