By KYLE MANTHE
The Washburn Review
Washburn baseball rebounded from a three-game losing streak in just about the biggest way possible Saturday afternoon posting a 15-4 run-rule victory over No. 4 Central Missouri.
“We came out Friday night and gave some runs away, and we knew that if we would have kept it close we had some opportunities,” said Washburn coach Harley Douglas. “To go out and compete and do it the way we did and kind of flush what had been going on I thought it (showed) the resilience of this team.”
The Ichabods dropped Game 1 of the series 9-3 and fell behind 4-1 in Game 2 before scoring the final 14 runs of the game to end it early.
“Any time you got a chance to beat a team of that caliber and the scores that we had today that’s a pretty big accomplishment,” said senior Parker Dunn who had five RBI in the game.
The Mules entered the day with a 19-game winning streak, including a perfect 18-0 MIAA record, which was snapped by a sterling starting pitching performance from sophomore Casey Steward and the hot bats of Washburn led by Dunn.
Washburn pitcher Casey Steward turned in a strong pitching performance Saturday as the Ichabods topped No. 4-ranked Central Missouri, 15-4. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn celebrates a run Saturday's 15-4 MIAA victory over No. 4-ranked Central Misouri. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
“I think Casey did a really good job of settling in and giving us a chance to get that offense going. And then once we started going it just kept riding pretty well,” Douglas said. “When that happens you see this team is as good as anybody if we lock in and play.”
Early on it was the Ichabods who did damage first, with Dunn hitting a solo shot over the right-field wall in the first inning. That would be all of the scoring for Washburn in the first three innings.
Steward struggled with command early, hitting two batters in the second inning, both of which came around to score on doubles. A third run in the inning scored on a wild pitch.
A walk and another wild pitch put a runner on third in the third inning, with the run scoring on an error in the field to make it a 4-1 ballgame after three.
“At that point when we were down, you just got to think like, it’s a game, you got to go out there and have fun because that’s really all it is,” Steward said.
The Ichabods began their comeback in the fourth inning, scoring five runs on four hits. Two walks began the inning and sophomore Otto Jones made them count with a single, scoring one. Junior Cal Watkins was able to dash home on a groundout by senior Kros Bay.
Senior Tyler Clark-Chiapparelli continued his strong season with a home run into left field, giving Washburn the lead. Seniors kept swinging the bats as Dunn and Brett Ingram followed with back-to-back doubles to complete the five-run inning.
“We had a lot better bat speed at pitches in the zone throughout the lineup and a lot of guys played a big part in today’s game and I think that was the difference,” Dunn said.
Sophomore Connor Scott jumped on the second pitch he saw in the fifth inning for a leadoff home run. Two walks and a single from Watkins loaded the bases for Dunn who was hit by a pitch, scoring Watkins.
Two more runs were scored after an error by the Mules on a ball put in play by Ingram. Senior Zion Bowlin walked moving Ingram to second and Dunn to third.
Both scored on a single from Scott, picking up his second hit of the inning and putting Washburn up 12-4 after five.
Steward finished his day on the hill after a scoreless top of the sixth inning, allowing only one hit over his final three innings pitched and striking out a pair in the game.
“(I was) Just trying to trust my pitches and take it one pitch at a time and not try to think ahead, let my defense work a little bit,” Steward said. “As long as I can get ahead, stay ahead and just try to make them get weak contact, that is what I was focusing on”
The Ichabods loaded the bases with no outs to begin the sixth inning but a double play took one baserunner away before Dunn came up. He sent a 3-0 pitch over the right-field fence for his second home run of the day, fourth hit, and racked up five total RBI with the swing.
Senior Washburn Rural product Dalton Huggins came on to protect the 15-4 lead and did just that, striking out the side to complete the comeback, setting up a rubber match on Sunday.
“To be able to get today, and show that we are capable of playing with anybody in the country, that is what we have been trying to get our guys to understand and see,” Douglas said. “These are the games you live for, to try and go out and get a series win against a nationally-ranked team.”
Dunn’s 4-4 day was aided by three hits and three RBI from Scott and three hits from Jones. Ingram also finished with two hits.
Steward picked up the win, moving to 3-0 on the year after giving up just three runs over six innings of work.
The win moved Washburn to 22-10 on the year and 13-6 in conference play with the series finale against Central Missouri at 1 p.m.
WASHBURN 15, CENTRAL MISSOURI 4
Central Missouri (24-4) 031 000 0 – 4 4 1
Washburn (22-10) 100 563 x – 15 14 2
WP – Steward (3-0). LP – Little (1-1). 2B – Washburn: Dunn, Ingram Central Missouri: Young, Pennington. HR – Washburn: Dunn 2, Clark-Chiapparelli, Scott.
