Until the last day of March, the Washburn softball team had a perfect record against MIAA teams this season, beating Pittsburg State and Truman State in their last two tournaments.

Unfortunately for the Lady Blues, the wins came during tournaments, and they don’t count toward the team’s conference record.

The Blues opened the conference season last Tuesday and the results were completely different.

Missouri Western came to Topeka and swept the Lady Blues, winning 6-5 in game one and 5-3 in game two.

Amidst the losses, Tish Williams recorded her 40th career home run and brought her team-leading season HR total to 10. The home run from Williams came as a three-run shot to close out the second inning.

The Griffons’ second win of the day brought their record to an impressive 27-4 mark with a 2-0 MIAA record. At the beginning of the game Washburn (15-22, 2-4) struggled, but they rallied to cut the two-run lead in half. Ashley Podschun led Washburn’s charge as she grounded out, allowing Williams’ safe passage after leading the inning with a double.

After two more runs by the Griffons, Washburn answered in the fourth when Katie Duncan grounded out to drive in Whiney Tapp for the score. The other run came in the sixth on a single run from Duncan.

“So far we haven’t managed to put all aspects of the game together,” senior Dani White said. “We are a very talented team, but we need to turn that talent into wins.”

In the next contest, which was against Northwest Missouri, Washburn managed to pick up the hard fought split. In the first game, both teams combined for a total of eight hits, which led to a NWMSU 1-0 win against the Blues.

The second game was a different story, however, as the Blues packed on a 12-2 thrashing of their opponents. White tied a school record, hitting three home runs and scoring five times to move into second on WU’s all-time softball home run list.

“I just try to go out there and play my game,” said White. “The individual stuff is great but winning and the team aspect is what really matters to me.”

Williams hit her 41st career home run to lead off the game. White followed Williams’ lead with her first of the night, which in turn led to Ashley Podschun’s home run the very next at bat. White went on to hit her second home run in the fourth, driving Williams home after her previous single.

Washburn was scoreless in the fifth, then continued to add to the blowout, putting five more runs on the board. The Blues ended the night with six home runs, tying a school record that was set on April 15, 2006.

Just one day after the split with MWSU, the Blues had yet another split, this time against nationally-ranked Nebraska-Omaha.

In the first game, Washburn opened strong and won 11-4, setting a school record with seven doubles in the process. Podschun and Maggie West each had three hits, while Williams picked up her 42nd career HR, and the No. 12 on the season.

“Tish has had a huge impact on the team,” said White, “She leads by example and there is no way we would be where we are without her.”

In the second contest, despite out hitting their opponents 3-1, the Blues lost after they allowed a lone single in the third, which led to a 1-0 win for the Mavericks.

The Lady Blues play Truman State on April 8 at home, a double-header WU hopes to sweep, as the Bulldogs currently sit in last place of the MIAA standings.