Washburn University Ichabods
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University baseball took the lead four batters into the game Wednesday afternoon and added to its advantage the rest of the way, knocking off Southern Nazarene at Bethany, Okla.,14-3, in the Ichabods' final non-conference game of the season.
Cash Jay had three hits with a home run in Washburn's 14-3 win at Southern Nazarene on Wednesday. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The Ichabods, 26-19 on the year, return to conference play this weekend for three games against Northeastern State at Falley Field, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
Washburn's offense led off with Payton McHarg slashing a single to right before Cale Savage traded places with him on a fielders choice. Savage was moved to second and scored on a single into left field by Hayden Priest to open up the scoring for the Ichabods.
Cal Watkins slashed a one-out single in the second and scored on a double from McHarg to left center. Savage followed with a run-scoring single to the outfield to make it 3-0 Washburn.
Charlie Kiefer got his third start of the season and delivered a pair of scoreless innings to begin the game.
The Storm (12-35) got on the board in the third with a hit batter followed by a home run to right, cutting the lead to one.
Washburn got the runs back the next half inning, scoring four runs that all came with two outs.
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Audrey Appuhn
AUDREY APPUHN, Washburn Rural
Appuhn won the 200-yard individual medley in the Topeka Invitational swimming meet by nearly seven seconds in a time of 2 minutes, 12.54 seconds and won the 500 free by more than 15 seconds in 5:15.37. Appuhn also teamed with Ava Von Lintel, Ella Bombardier and Madeline O'Brien to win the 400 free relay in 4:18.48 and swam on Rural's third-place 200 medley relay (2:04.07) as the Junior Blues finished second as a team, just a point behind Free State.
Aaron Merritt
AARON MERRITT, Seaman
Merritt, a senior track and field standout, captured the individual championship in the boys 100-meter dash in the prestigious Kansas Relays in Lawrence. Merritt won the 100 in the 101st Relays in 10.52 seconds, while Robert Collins of Staley, Mo. finished second in 10.56. Merritt also posted a third-place finish in the 110 high hurdles in 14.35 seconds.
Ryin Miller
RYIN MILLER, Seaman
Miller, a sophomore, was a double champion in the 101st Kansas Relays at Rock Chalk Park, winning the girls 3,200 in 10 minutes, 13.97 seconds and taking the 1,600 in 4:53.74. Salina Central's Katelyn Rupe, the Class 5A cross country champion, finished second to Miller in the 3,200 in 10:17.40 while Gwyn Meyers of Bishop Kelley (Tulsa, Okla.) was the runnerup in the 1,600 in 4:56.62.
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
TopSports.News, in partnership with the University of Kansas Health System St Francis Campus, A-1 Lock and Key, Washburn University, Capital Label, Peggy's Tax and Accounting and the Jamie Hornbaker State Farm Insurance Agency, will host the 19th annual Topeka Shawnee County Sports Awards/Hall of Fame induction ceremony on June 26, 2024 at Washburn's Memorial Union.
For the fourth straight year TopSports.news will serve as host for the Sports Awards/Hall of Fame banquet, a longstanding tradition for the Topeka and Shawnee County sports community.
The ceremony will highlight Shawnee County high school senior student-athletes’ achievements throughout the 2023-2024 school year along with the induction of the 2024 Topeka Shawnee County Hall of Fame class.
Schools have been asked to submit nominees with a minimum 3.0 cumulative grade point average for both female and male candidates for the fall, winter and spring seasons as well as nominees for most inspirational athlete. Overall outstanding male and female athletes for 2023-2024 will also be named.
Also recognized will be an outstanding female and male athlete from Washburn University.
The four-member 2024 Hall of Fame class and the '24 Washburn University Athletes of the Year will be announced on TopSports.news in the coming days.
The high school nominees for the 10 Shawnee County high schools will be announced in June after the conclusion of the spring sports season.
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn put up back-to-back five-runs innings and Seaman product Gavin Wilhelm notched his first career pitching win as the Ichabods took an 11-9 Senior Day decision over No. 21-ranked Central Oklahoma Sunday at Falley Field.
Washburn baseball honored its 12 seniors prior to Sunday's 11-9 MIAA win over No. 21 Central Oklahoma. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Before Sunday's first pitch was thrown, Washburn (24-19 overall, 18-12 MIAA) recognized its 12 seniors -- Teagan Tamiya, Trey Adams, Cal Watkins, Cole Warner, Jake Schroeder, Shane Morrow, Cale Savage, Otto Jones, Seger Holman, Ike Book, Jayden Payne and Charlie Kiefer.
The first two innings of the game were scoreless for both teams before the Bronchos (34-11, 20-10) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third on a wild pitch.
In the home half of the third Savage led off the inning with a home run to left field to tie the game.
Walks to Payton McHarg and Jett Buck and a single from Hayden Priest loaded the bases before Connor Scott singled in two runs and Grant Jones singled in another run. With two outs Watkins singled to score Scott to complete the five-run inning
One inning later Buck hit a three-run homer and WU scored a run on a bases-loaded walk and Savage plated a run with a sacrifice fly to make it back-to-back five-run innings for Washburn.
The next half inning the Central Oklahoma led off with a hit batter and two walks to load the bases. An RBI grounder scored one run and the next batter walked to re-load the bases. Two straight singles scored three runs to make it a 10-5 game and with two outs the Bronchos hit a three-run homer to right field to pull within two 10-8 with the seven-run fifth.
Gavin Wilhelm
Wilhelm came on to pitch with two outs in the top of the fifth and turned in a sterling relief effort, pitching the final 4.1 innings while allowing just one unearned run and striking out seven.
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University baseball scored eight runs in the middle three innings on Tuesday evening and held on late to knock off Emporia State 9-7 in a nonconference game to wrap up the regular-season home slate at Falley Field.
The Ichabods will play their second game in as many days Wednesday, going on the road to take on Southern Nazarene on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
Washburn's Jett Buck had two hits and drove in three runs in the Ichabods' 9-7 win over Emporia State on Tuesday. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Griffin Hurst threw two hitless innings against the Hornets to begin Tuesday's game, striking out four of the first seven batters he faced.
In the top of the fourth Emporia State (19-28) opened the scoring with a leadoff home run to right field by Kadyn Williams but Washburn's Cash Jay led off the bottom of the inning with a double and the bases were loaded after a walk to Hayden Priest and Connor Scott was hit by a pitch.
Jett Buck punched a double into the right-field corner, scoring two.
Two batters later Blake Scott blasted a double off the wall in right-center to score two more and complete a four-run inning for the Ichabods (25-19).
The Hornets got a leadoff single in the fifth, moving to second on a wild pitch. A single through the right side of the infield scored the run to make it 4-2. Washburn got out of the inning throwing out runners at both second base and home in a double steal attempt.
Jay, Priest and Connor Scott led off the sixth with three straight singles to load the bases before Cal Watkins hit a sacrifice fly to score Jay. Buck followed with his second straight RBI, hitting a single through the left side of the infield to bring Priest around.
By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Seaman's Ryin Miller and Aaron Merritt and Washburn Rural's Josh Sulzen-Watson combined for four individual victories in the 101st Kansas Relays track and field championships, which wrapped up Saturday in Lawrence.
Seaman sophomore Ryin Miller won the girls 1,600 and 3,200 meters in the 101st Kansas Relays. [File photo/TSN]
Miller, a sophomore, was a double champion, winning the girls 3,200 in 10 minutes, 13.97 seconds and taking the 1,600 in 4:53.74.
Salina Central's Katelyn Rupe finished second to Miller in the 3,200 in 10:17.40 while Gwyn Meyers of Bishop Kelley was the runnerup in the 1,600 in 4:56.62.
Seaman senior Aaron Merritt (middle) won the boys 100-meter dash Saturday in the Kansas Relays. [File photo/TopSports.news]
Merritt, a senior, won the championship in the boys 100-meter dash in 10.52 seconds, while Robert Collins of Staley, Mo. finished second in 10.56.
Merritt also posted a third-place finish in the 110 high hurdles in 14.35.
Sulzen-Watson, a senior, won the boys javelin event with a top toss of 195 feet, 7 inches on his fifth of six throws in the competition.
Joe Loughman of St. Thomas Aquinas finished second to Sulzen-Watson at 189-11.
Other area highlights:
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn baseball hosts No. 21-ranked Central Oklahoma for three games this weekend, beginning on Friday at 5 p.m. and concluding with the series finale at 1 p.m. on Sunday for Senior Day.
Junior Payton McHarg leads Washburn with a .359 batting average and is tied for the national lead with 18 home runs. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The Ichabods are coming off a 6-1 loss to Rockhurst on the road on Wednesday in a non-league contest.
Washburn is now 23-17 overall and 17-10 inside the MIAA, including a 13-5 record at Falley Field. The Bronchos enter the weekend with a 32-10 record on the year and an 18-9 record in the MIAA.
Before the game on Sunday all 12 members of the Washburn baseball senior class will be recognized on the field. The group playing in their last series at Falley Field includes Teagan Tamiya, Trey Adams, Cal Watkins, Cole Warner, Jake Schroeder, Shane Morrow, Cale Savage, Otto Jones, Seger Holman, Ike Brook, Jayden Payne and Charlie Kiefer.
Through 40 games Washburn is scoring 9.23 runs per game while allowing 7.55.
At the plate the Ichabods are hitting .322 with a .419 on-base percentage and are slugging .579 as a team. Washburn has 77 home runs and has drawn 202 walks.
Washburn's pitching staff has an earned run average of 7.32 this season in 341.2 innings pitched. The Ichabods have struck out 287 batters while allowing 380 hits and issuing 216 walks.
The Ichabods have a .968 fielding percentage with 46 errors on the year and have turned 33 double plays.
WU is second in the nation in home runs with an average of 1.93 per game and 77 blasts on the year.
The Ichabods are tied for sixth in the nation and second in the conference in doubles with 103.
Junior Payton McHarg has started and played in all 40 games for the Ichabods hitting .359 and a team-high 18 home runs and 50 RBI.
McHarg has scored 51 runs and 56 total hits and is tied for the national lead in home runs.
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Jackson Esquibel
JACKSON ESQUIBEL, Shawnee Heights
A senior distance star, Esquibel won the Class 4A-6A 800 meters in the Shocker Pre-State Challenge at Wichita State in a personal-record time of 1 minute, 58.46 seconds and finished second in the Elite division in the 3,200 in 9:22.37. Esquibel, a Kansas State signee, currently ranks No. 1 in Shawnee County in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200.
Kate Hinck
KATE HINCK, Washburn Rural
A junior, Hinck scored a pair of goals for Washburn Rural last Friday in a 3-0 Centennial League soccer win over Hayden in a battle between two schools that had posted third-place state finishes in 2003. Hinck led the way as the Junior Blues improved to 7-2 on the season with their fourth straight victory.
Ryin Miller
RYIN MILLER, Seaman
A sophomore multi-sport standout, Miller broke two school records for the second straight week in Friday's Leitel Legacy Invitational track and field meet at Free State. Miller won the 3,200 meters in 10 minutes, 19.29, bettering her own school record by more than seven seconds, and broke the Seaman record in the 800 meters with a time of 2:10.25.
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Saturday was an opportunity for the local tennis community to celebrate its proud heritage with the induction of its 10-member Topeka Tennis Association 2024 Hall of Fame Class at the Bettis Family Sports Complex.
Mary Brownback and Kent Lammers, former college players and longtime supporters of Topeka tennis, were inducted into the Hall of Fame along with eight former city high school stars, who all won state championships during their prep careers -- Cory Buck, Drew Hanson, Trevor Hedberg, Shane Johnston, Branden Joost, Sean McManus, Sumeet Patel and Alex (O'Neal) Trobough.
Topeka Tennis Association 2024 Hall of Fame inductees (from left) -- Sumeet Patel, Alexandra (O'Neal) Trobough, Branden Joost, Drew Hanson, Trevor Hedberg, Shane Johnston and Sean McManus. Not pictured: Cory Buck. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Mary Brownback, 2024 Topeka Tennis Hall of Fame inductee
Kent Lammers, 2024 Topeka Tennis Hall of Fame inductee
"We all grew up playing together and I was a couple of years younger, but we were all on the court at the same time, running the same drills and it was nice because we had this little bit of camaraderie growing up in juniors and high school tennis and the coaches all knew each other, too,'' said Trobough, a three-time state champ at Hayden.
"The tennis community has always wanted to support one another.''
Retired longtime Washburn Rural coach Kevin Hedberg, a charter member of the local hall of fame, said Saturday was a special night for him as his son Trevor along with former Rural stars Hanson and Patel, who were a part of the Junior Blues' run of three straight Class 6A state team titles, were inducted into the shrine.
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't really thrilled and I knew all of these kids so well that I'm thrilled for all of them,'' Kevin Hedberg said. "They all worked at it and there's a lesson for the kids today that you can't do this halfway. You've got to be all in and these guys were and they were rewarded for it. It's a thrill.
"It's wonderful to see them all now as men and women, with children.''
Trevor Hedberg, a state doubles and team champ at Rural, said that it was a honor to join his father and his teammates in the hall of fame.
"My dad has quite a legacy with tennis in Topeka and there was a time in my life where tennis was a really big part of it, from 14 to 21,'' said Trevor Hedberg, a college professor at the University of Arizona. "And even though I've kind of moved on beyond that now, this certainly does mean something now and I think it's not really about me, it's more about the collective group and just being surrounded by all of these great players that were all playing at the same time.
"I played doubles with a lot of the players and played against them in singles, sometimes in the same tournament. I think back then it was really easy to get caught up in the competitive aspect of it and worrying about how you're stacking up against all these other people and lose track of the bigger picture of how much you're accomplishing along the way and also losing track of the team-oriented accomplishments. It's certainly cool to come back.''
Hall of Fame capsules:
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University baseball secured its second sweep of the season on Sunday afternoon at Falley Field in walkoff fashion, defeating Fort Hays State 7-6 after a home run in the bottom of the ninth from Cale Savage.
Washburn celebrates Sunday's walkoff home run by Cale Savage (21) that gave the Ichabods a 7-6 win and a series sweep over Fort Hays State. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The Ichabods now head out of conference play for one game, playing Rockhurst at 6 p.m. Tuesday on the road.
The Tigers (21-20 overall, 9-18 MIAA) led off the game with back-to-back hits, a double and a single, to score the first run of the game.
After one out another pair of hits scored two more runs to make it 3-0 Tigers after half an inning.
WU's Grant Jones ended the top of the first, robbing what would have been a grand slam in left field to limit the scoring.
Ichabod starter Chase Torkelson settled in the next two innings, holding Fort Hays State without a hit.
Washburn (23-16, 17-10) got on the board in the bottom of the third, beginning with a leadoff walk to Ike Book.
Payton McHarg moved him to second and Cash Jay did the rest, scoring Book with a single down the left-field line.
An inning later Grant Jones shot a one-out single straight up the middle.
Connor Scott tripled one batter later to bring Jones all the way around. Book tied the game with a sacrifice fly to left field to score Scott and complete the inning.
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
No. 23-ranked Washburn University softball wrapped up the home slate with a doubleheader sweep over Missouri Southern Saturday at Gahnstrom Field, winning 8-3 and 3-0.
Washburn seniors Sheyenne Creek, Hailey Neira, Marrit Mead, Jaycee Ginter and Autymn Schreiner were honored between games of Saturday's doubleheader sweep over Missouri Southern. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Washburn will now have a two week break from game action as they will not return to the field until April 27 when the Ichabods close out the regular season at Emporia State.
The MIAA Championships Tournament will start on Wednesday, May 1 in Edmond, Oklahoma hosted by Central Oklahoma.
The Lions took a 3-0 first-game lead through four and a half innings, but the Ichabods rallied with six runs in the bottom of the fifth inning while running through four Missouri Southern pitchers and sending a total of nine batters to the plate en route to the 6-3 lead.
Mariah Walker walked on four straight pitches to start the inning and then, after the first pitching change for the Lions, Autymn Shreiner drew a four-pitch walk.
After back-to-back wild pitches, with the second scoring Gracie Gallagher with the Ichabods' first run of the day, Madi Moore walked, sending another Lion pitcher to the circle.
Hailey Neira put down a punt that loaded the bases and then Erin Boles singled to moving the runners up 60 feet.
On the very next pitch, Marrit Mead singled in a run, forcing the third Lion pitcher of the inning to enter the game.
Alexis Tanguma then followed with a single to score Neira and then Jaycee Ginter singled in two runs, finishing the scoring in the inning.
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The No. 23-ranked Washburn University softball team will return to action on Friday, hosting No. 9-ranked Pittsburg State at 4 p.m., and then wrap up its home schedule on Saturday, facing Missouri Southern at Gahnstrom Field.
Washburn University softball will honor seniors Hailey Neira, Sheyenne Cheek, Jaycee Ginter, Autymn Schreiner and Marrit Mead between games of Saturday's twinbill against Missouri Southern. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Between games on Saturday the Ichabods will honor Ichabod seniors Sheyenne Cheek, Jaycee Ginter, Hailey Neira, Marrit Mead and Autymn Schreiner, who will be playing their final games at Gahnstrom Field this weekend.
Washburn enters the weekend with a 34-10 overall and 15-5 in the MIAA after going 4-0 last weekend with sweeps over Nebraska-Kearney and Fort Hays State.
No. 9-ranked Pittsburg State is 38-4 this season and 12-2 in the MIAA and the Gorillas have won their last six games. PSU has gone a perfect 20-0 in home games this season while going 5-2 on the road and 13-2 in neutral site games.
Missouri Southern is 29-12 and 9-5 in the MIAA and just outside the top 25 rankings entering the weekend.
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University baseball will host MIAA foe Fort Hays State for three games this weekend, beginning on Friday at 5 p.m. in Little League Weekend at Falley Field.
Payton McHarg leads Washburn with 18 home runs and 47 RBI entering a weekend series against Fort Hays State at Falley Field. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Last time out the Ichabods won 12-7 over Northwest Missouri State on Tuesday afternoon at home to wrap up the season series with the Bearcats.
Washburn is now 20-16 overall on the year and 14-10 in the MIAA. The Ichabods are 10-5 at Falley Field, 9-11 on the road and 1-0 in neutral field games.
Fort Hays State enters the weekend with a 21-17 overall record and a 9-15 mark in the MIAA after falling 12-5 to Newman on the road on Tuesday afternoon.
Through 35 games Washburn is scoring 9.56 runs per game while allowing 7.69.
At the plate the Ichabods are hitting .328 with a .424 on base percentage and are slugging .592 as a team. They have 74 home runs and have drawn 185 walks.
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
For a second straight game Washburn University erased an early deficit with a three-run eighth inning, winning Game 2 over Fort Hays State 7-4 on Saturday to clinch the series win over the Tigers at Falley Field.
Washburn's Griffin Huiatt picked up the win in relief in Saturday's 7-4 MIAA decision over Fort Hays State. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The Ichabods will go for the sweep on Sunday at 1 p.m. in the series finale.
Fort Hays State (21-19 overall, 9-17 MIAA) led off the game with a pair of first-inning singles, but a double play took one off the basepaths. A walk again put two runners on and a single up the middle scored one.
The Tigers then knocked a double into the right-field corner, scoring a run, but Washburn tagged out the second runner at the plate to end the inning.
The score stayed that way until the bottom of the third.
Connor Scott and Grant Jones earned walks with no outs.
Payton McHarg got Washburn (22-16, 16-10) on the board with a double into the corner in right field, scoring both runners to tie the game at two.
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Audrey Appuhn
AUDREY APPUHN, Washburn Rural
Appuhn, a sophomore swimming standout for the Junior Blues, earned three gold medals in last Thursday's Emporia Invitational as Washburn Rural won the team championship by a 527-374 margin over De Soto. Appuhn won the 500-yard freestyle by nearly 17 seconds in 5 minutes, 32.79 seconds and also swam on Rural's winning 200 medley relay (2:10.57) and 200 free relay (1:54.69).
Erin Boles
ERIN BOLES, Washburn University
A sophomore right-fielder out of Lubbock, Texas, Boles went 7 for 11 with five runs scored and three runs batted in at the plate last Thursday and Friday as Washburn's softball team earned MIAA road sweeps at Nebraska-Kearney (8-0 and 3-0) and Fort Hays State (13-6 and 2-0). The Ichabods improved to 34-10 on the season while stretching their winning streak to 11 games.
Jackson Esquibel
JACKSON ESQUIBEL, Shawnee Heights
A senior who has won Class 5A state championships in track and cross country, Esquibel captured three gold medals in last Friday's Lansing Invitational track and field meet. Esquibel, a Kansas State signee, won the boys 1,600 meters in 4 minutes, 28.20 seconds and the 3,200 in 9:31.57 while also teaming with Mason Haas, Charles Hanson and Evan Carter to win the 4x800 relay in 8:38.00.
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University football coach Craig Schurig and his Ichabod coaching staff certainly had several things they wanted to get accomplished in spring football.
Washburn coach Craig Schurig talks to his team after Saturday's intrasquad scrimmage in Yager Stadium. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
But after battling through an injury-riddled 2-9 season last fall, one of the major goals for the Ichabods was to get through the spring with a minimum of injuries.
So with that in mind, Washburn wrapped up its spring with Saturday's intrasquad scrimmage in Yager Stadium that included a lot of passing, rushing and kicking, but no full contact.
"We wanted to keep them healthy so we didn't do tackle,'' Schurig explained after the scrimmage. "That's frustrating I'm sure for players and sometimes it is for the coaches, too, but it's probably the smart way to do it.
"They're revved up to get after it and they kind of have to tone it down a little bit, but we really feel like we got what we wanted out of spring and came a long way.''
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn University football team will hold its annual Spring Game on Saturday inside Yager Stadium, starting with warmups around 9:40 a.m.
Washburn's football team will hold its annual Spring Game Saturday mornng in Yager Stadium. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Following team stretches and special teams drills, a controlled scrimmage will last until approximately 11:45 a.m. going through 20 periods of plays.
Washburn coach Craig Schurig, whose Ichabods are coming off an injury-riddled 2-9 season last fall after three straight winning seasons, said he has been pleased with how the spring has gone. Most all of the players that suffered season-ending injuries last season are back on the field and healthy while a ton of young players who were pressed into duty last season are also making strides according to WU's veteran coach.
"You feel like the team is really coming together,'' Schurig said. "The youth that we had in the fall, the fact that they got all that playing time, you can see their sense of urgency to get better because they've seen what it takes in this conference.
"So they're focused. It's a fun group, a lot of enthusiasm. They go hard and you can see them starting to play together. We've got a ways to go but if we get this group to play with their instinct and their speed, we're good. They're getting more and more like that, where they're just playing.''
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The No. 24-ranked Washburn University softball team pushed its win streak to 11 games on Friday with a doubleheader sweep at Fort Hays State, 13-6 and 2-0.
Washburn, 34-10 overall, 15-5 in the MIAA, recorded a season-high 16 hits in the opener, scoring in six of seven innings, while senior Jaycee Ginter twirled a two-hit shutout in the second game.
Washburn senior Jaycee Ginter threw a two-hitter and recorded a fourth straight shutout in the Ichabods' 2-0 win second-game win over Fort Hays State on Friday. [File photo/TSN]
Sophomore Erin Boles went 5 of 6 with four runs scored in Washburn's doubleheader sweep over Fort Hays State on Friday. [File photo/TSN]
The Ichabods got on the board in their first at bat of the day when Erin Boles led off the game with a single and came around to score on Kaylee Wagner's single to left as Washburn took the early 1-0 lead.
In the second frame, Mariah Wheeler started things off with a single and then Gracie Gallagher entered as a pinch runner, moving to second on a sac bunt by Autymn Schreiner. A single from Ellington Hogle, followed by a stolen base from Hogle put runners and second and third. Boles hit a sac fly to score Gallgher as the Ichabods took a 2-0 advantage.
The third inning saw the Ichabods get a two-runner homer by Wagner, her second of the season, scoring Alexis Tanguma, who had reached on a single.
The Tigers scored three runs in the third inning on three hits to get within 4-3, but Washburn came back with two runs of its own in the fourth inning when Hogle was hit by a pictch and then moved to second when Boles singled to center.
A sac bunt from Marrit Mead moved the runners up 60 feet and then Jaycee Ginter's second walk of the game loaded the bases before Tanguma stroked a two-run single.
Washburn added two more in the fifth on Mead's program-best 57th career double which scored Boles and Wheeler as the Ichabods increased their lead to 8-3.
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Topeka Tennis Association will induct its 2024 Hall of Fame class on Saturday, April 13, at the Bettis Family Sports Complex in the meeting pavilion, welcoming 10 inductees into the hall.
Doors will open at 6 p.m., with the event to get under way at 7 o'clock.
Mary Brownback and Kent Lammers, former college players and longtime supporters of Topeka tennis, will be inducted into the Hall of Fame along with eight former city high school stars who all won state championships during their prep careers.
That group includes Cory Buck, Drew Hanson, Trevor Hedberg, Shane Johnston, Branden Joost, Sean McManus, Sumeet Patel and Alex (O'Neal) Trobough.
Hall of Fame capsules:
Mary Brownback
MARY BROWNBACK
Brownback lettered three years in high school tennis (1973-1976), placing second in state doubles 1974-1975 and placing fourth in state singles 1975-1976.
Brownback lettered four years at the University of Kansas (1976-1980), winning the Big 8 No. 3 singles title in 1977 and 1979. Brownback helped Kansas win the Big 8 team title in 1979 (team was made up of all Kansas residents).
Played on the Missouri Valley circuit as a junior and played 4.0 USTA team tennis several years.
Cory Buck
CORY BUCK
Buck was a member of Topeka West's varsity tennis team for three years.
Buck teamed with Shane Johnston to win the Class 5A state doubles championship as a junior in 2005, with Buck and Johnston posting a 34-4 record.
Buck placed 10th in 5A singles as a freshman and fourth as a sophomore.
Drew Hanson
DREW HANSON
Hanson teamed with Sumeet Patel to finish second in Class 6A doubles his freshman year and won the Class 6A state singles championship his senior season.
Hanson was inducted into the Washburn Rural Hall of Fame in 2022.
Hanson was named the MIAA Freshman of the Year in 2005-2006 and was named Washburn's most valuable player in 2006-2007. Hanson was a three-time MIAA team champion and posted 56 singles wins and 60 doubles wins.
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
At 5-foot-11, 190 pounds, Washburn University outfielder Payton McHarg isn't likely to strike fear in Ichabod opponents... until he swings the bat.
Washburn junior outfielder Payton McHarg (5) celebrates after hitting his nation-leading 17th home run in Saturday's 15-7 win over Rogers State. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Payton McHarg leads the nation in home runs and tops Washburn in hits, runs, homers and RBI. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The native of Saskatchewan, Canada, McHarg has turned in an outstanding first season for Washburn, leading the nation with 17 home runs while batting .383 and leading the 18-14 Ichabods in runs, hits and runs batted in while compiling a .908 slugging percentage and and a .487 on-base percentage.
McHarg landed at Washburn after two seasons at Kansas City Kansas Community College and Ichabod coach Harley Douglas said he knew McHarg could be a special player after he first saw him in the fall prior to the 2023 season.
"The fall before the season when KCK came in here, he was facing Casey Steward and Rane Pfeifer and some of those arms and he hit one off the scoreboard against us and we were like, 'Man, this kid's really good,' '' Douglas said. "We loved him and made an offer to him.
"He wasn't ready to pull the trigger and we thought, 'Oh great, somebody's going to come along, some D-Is and like that,' but he hurt his wrist and he really didn't get to play the second half of the season.''
McHarg's injury worked out well for both McHarg and Washburn.
"He liked what he had here and he ended up jumping on it and taking it and it's been a blessing for us,'' Douglas said.
