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Washburn University baseball opens MIAA play with a three-game series against Newman in Wichita Friday through Sunday, with the Ichabods looking to bounce back from a 2-5 start to the 2026 campaign.

 

The Ichabods will take on the Jets at 3 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 20, 2 p.m. on Saturday and 12 p.m. on Sunday.

Washburn will be looking to get its MIAA season off to a productive start after going 1-2 last week at home in the Steve Anson Classic.

"I know we're young and inexperienced in places and I know we are going to make mistakes, but I think the level of fight and grit wasn't Washburn baseball and that's not how we play,'' Ichabod coach Harley Douglas said.

"I think we got very individually focused and not focusing on what the task was for us as a program and as a team. That was the hardest part is these guys not believing in themselves and there's been no reason for them to not.''

Now the goal is to bounce back against a Newman team that is 2-7 on the season after posting a 10-36 record a year ago.

"I know Newman's probably not having the season that they were hoping to start with, but it's a new coach, a new situation,'' Douglas said. "But every time we play Newman it's a good series.

"They always play tough, they always play hard and we need to be able to go down there and play. Traditionally we've had some good games down there and we need to be able to go out and try to handle our business and put it all together.'' 

The Ichabods are coming off a fourth straight winning season in 2025, going 28-25 overall and 18-18 ins the MIAA. Washburn finished seventh in the regular season and won two games in the MIAA Tournament before falling in the semifinal round.

Washburn was picked to finish fifth in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll for a second straight year.

Washburn is scoring 6.14 runs per game on the year while opponents are scoring 7.29 runs per game.

At the plate the Ichabods are hitting .217 with a .380 on base percentage and a .327 slugging percentage. Washburn has tallied three home runs with 47 total walks.

The WU pitching staff has a 5.88 earned run average with 57 strikeouts across 59.2 innings. The Ichabods have allowed 69 hits and issued 29 walks. 

Washburn has a .962 fielding percentage as a team with 10 errors and three turned double plays.

Ian Luce and Jarrett Herrmann both have four-game hitting streaks entering the weekend while Luce, who is hitting .333, has reached base in all seven Ichabod games with three multi-hit games.

Herrmann has played in five games, making four starts, and is hitting a team-high .357. 

Seaman product Maclane Finley has thrown a team-high 11.0 innings in his two starts. He has a 4.09 ERA with six strikeouts and a .211 opponent batting average. He is 0-1 on the year with a 1.18 WHIP. He is 13th in the MIAA in hits allowed per nine innings.

Kai Bennett has a pair of starts this year, throwing 10.0 innings. He has a .200 opponents batting average with a 2.70 ERA. The Liberty, Mo. native has struck out eight this season while going 0-1. He ranks 9th in the MIAA in hits allowed per nine innings. 

Caleb Lunnon has made two starts for the Ichabods throwing 10.1 innings on the year. He has a team-high nine strikeouts with a 2.61 ERA for a 1-0 record.

Douglas enters his 12th season as Washburn's coach and carries an all-time record of 286-247 with seven appearances in the MIAA Tournament. He led the program to its first-ever NCAA Tournament in 2022.

Newman is scoring 4.22 runs per game while opponents are scoring 8.44 runs per game against the Jets. 

Kaynan Kaku has started all nine games, hitting .382 with a home run and a team-high nine RBI. 

Nicolas Ely has played and started in eight games, hitting a team-high .393. He has driven in three and has a team-high four stolen bases. He is 11th in the MIAA in stolen bases.

The Newman pitching staff has a 7.36 ERA as a team across 77.0 innings. The Jets have struck out 60 batters while walking 52 and allwing 94 total hits.

Frank Fabian has thrown a team-high 14.1 innings in his three starts with one complete game. He has a 5.65 ERA and 1-1 record with seven strikeouts. 

Washburn leads the all-time series between the two teams 31-24. The Jets are 9-17 against the Jets in Wichita.

The 2026 season is the 74th year of Washburn Baseball and the Ichabods have a 1389-1318-3 record in program history.