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Washburn improved to 13-23 overall and is 9-13 in the MIAA after defeating Northwestern Oklahoma State 2-0 on Tuesday.

"That gives us a lot of confidence and it gives us a lot of confidence in our pitchers, too,'' Washburn junior center-fielder Ian Luce said. "That helps out a ton, seeing that when we don't have our best bats they have our back.''

Luce, a Manhattan product, said that the Ichabods are now looking to build off Tuesday's non-conference win in the Arkansas-Fort Smith series and beyond.

"We've just got to start winning those one and two-run ballgames,'' Luce said. "We just can't lose them.''

Washburn is scoring 7.83 runs per game on the year while opponents are scoring 8.67 runs per game. 

The Ichabods are 6-6 playing at home.

At the plate the Ichabods are hitting .288. They have tallied 27 home runs with 194 total walks.

The pitching staff has a 7.34 ERA with 278 strikeouts across 312.2 innings. They have allowed 386 hits and issued 211 walks. 

Washburn has a .964 fielding percentage as a team with 48 errors and 16 turned double plays.

On the basepaths the Ichabods have gone 73-90 in stolen base attempts while opponents have gone 53-72. 

Luce has the longest current hitting streak at 15 games heading into the Arkansas-Fort Smith series, the longest hitting streak of any WU player this season.

Luce, hitting .414 with five home runs and 35 runs batted in, has reached base in all 36 games and has a team-high 20 games with multiple hits. 

He is 1st in the MIAA and fifth nationally in hits and batting average.

Levi Risenhoover is hitting .304 and leads the team with seven home runs and 39 RBI.

Jack Borgmann is hitting .314 with four home runs and 21 RBI and leads the team with 31 walks.

Former Seaman standout Maclane Finley leads Washburn with 48.0 innings pitched across his nine starts this season.

He has struck out 35 batters and has a 6.56 earned run average and a 3-3 record, posting a team-high in victories. He has thrown into the fifth inning in every start.

Seaman graduate Gavin Wilhelm has pitched in nine games out of the bullpen. He has a 1-0 record across 16.1 innings with 16 strikeouts and an ERA of 7.16.

Arkansas-Fort Smith fell to 4-30 overall and 3-22 in the MIAA after losing 17-3 to Rogers State on Tuesday at home.

Last season the Lions went 13-33 and 8-28 in MIAA play, missing out on the MIAA Tournament.

JJ Young leads the team with nine home runs and is hitting .313 with 23 RBI on the year. 

Caleb Eisenhower is hitting a team-high .322.

The pitching staff has a 13.40 ERA as a team across 265.1 innings.

Washburn leads the all-time series between the two teams 3-0, sweeping the season series last season on the road. 

Washburn heads on the road to face Fort Hays State on Tuesday, April 14, at 3 p.m.