Washburn softball ended the final game of the Washburn Classic the same way the first four had gone, this time with an 11-2 win over Southwest Minnesota State.
The Ichabods scored the final 11 runs of the game to complete a perfect 5-0 weekend, as well as a 10-game winning streak, the longest since head coach Brenda Holaday took over in the 2017 season.
“I don’t know about the streak, I know it is fun to win and the kids enjoy that and it is contagious,” Holaday said. “I think the big thing with this team is no one person has to carry the load.”
Unlike the previous games, Washburn fell into an early 0-2 deficit after a double and an error in the first inning with senior pitcher Raegen Hamm in the circle. The offense responded quickly, with five hits all coming with two outs, scoring four in the first inning.
Freshman first baseman Jaden LaBarge, sophomore left fielder Kimi Patterson and sophomore center fielder Jaycee Ginter each singled to plate one run in the inning, and junior right fielder Maddie Stipsits doubled to make it 4-0.
“I thought we were a little off of our game in the top of the first, but in the end I’m not going to complain,” Holaday said. “I think our kids believe in our lineup. And you never want to start out behind, but there’s no panic in that they know they have a lot of kids in the lineup that can hit.”
In the third inning, Ginter would pick up another RBI, this time on a solo home run into right field, her third of the weekend.
“I felt more relaxed at the plate,” Ginter said. “Once the person in front of you does something good it just continues throughout the lineup.”
After the first inning Hamm settled in, going four innings, striking out four and allowing only the one earned run to finish up a strong weekend.
Offensively, the Ichabods stayed hot, scoring six in the fourth inning. Sophomore second baseman Hadley Kerschen and senior designated player Ashton Friend both knocked in one run with singles and Ginter brought in two more with a double.
RBIs from freshman Rylee Seymour and sophomore right fielder Paige Robbins extended the lead to nine runs. The lead was large enough that a scoreless fifth inning in the circle from sophomore Ashlie Thissen would end the game with an 11-2 win for Washburn.
“It was really good, I’m glad we are finally coming together as a team and playing much better than we were at the start,” Ginter said. “It feels good and it motivates us to keep pushing.”
The perfect weekend moves the Ichabods to 12-6 on the year and a perfect 9-0 at home.
“The middle of our lineup was really good this weekend. I thought our pitching was really solid,” Holaday said. “When you get rolling like that it’s just one of those things where nobody has to do more than they can do.”
Washburn will play three more sets of games before the beginning of conference play, with the first coming Wednesday, Mar. 2 against Rockhurst University.
Edited by: Glorianna Noland, Ellie Walker