By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn softball won its 11th and 12th games in a row Saturday, improving to 32-11 on the season and 14-2 in the MIAA with a 7-0, 4-3 doubleheader sweep at Nebraska-Kearney.
Jaycee Ginter
Kimi Patterson
The Washburn Ichabods opened the twinbill with a 7-0 shutout win over the Lopers (19-18, 9-6 MIAA) as sophomore Jaycee Ginter moved to 21-3 on the season while striking out 10 and Kimi Patterson led a 12-hit Ichabod attack with a career-high four hits.
Washburn scored its first run in the top of the second after Hadley Kerschen doubled and then came around to score on a single by Patterson.
The Ichabods put a solo run on the board in the fourth when Patterson singled and after a single by Maddie Stipsits, Marrit Mead drove in Patterson with a single to left.
In the fifth the Ichabods took advantage of a Loper error as Ginter reached on an error and then after Ashton Friend's single to left and a walk to Kerschen, Ginter scored on a passed ball and Patterson's single to right scored Friend and Jenna Moore's sac fly scored Kerschen as the Ichabods pushed their lead to 5-0.
The Ichabods wrapped up the scoring in the first game by scoring two more runs on RBI singles by pinch-hitter Kaylee Wagner and Mead scoring Autymn Schreiner and Wagner.
Ginter held the Lopers to one hit,, a single in the fourth inning, facing one over the minimum in the win while not walking any Loper batters.
In addition to Patterson's four hits, Mead and two and Kerschen scored a pair of runs.
Washburn scored a run in the top of the first to take the early lead after Paige Robbins doubled and then scored on a double by Friend.
Washburn sent two more runs home in the third inning to go in front 3-0 after Moore reached on a single and then scored on a two-run homer by Ginter.
The Lopers scored their first run of the day in the third inning and added another run in the fourth, trimming the Ichabod lead to 3-2.
In the fifth, Washburn pushed out to a two-run lead at 4-2 when Mead doubled to left and then scored when Robbins singled up the middle.
The Lopers scored a run in the bottom of the seventh and had the tying run at third after a triple and the winning run at first after a walk.
Ginter, who picked up her second save of the season with two innings in relief, struck out the final Loper to preserve the win.
Ashlie Thissen tossed two innings to move to 3-0 on the season and Ginter struck out five batters in two innings of work.
Ginter drove in two of the four runs and Mead and Robbins each had two hits.
Washburn will return to Gahnstrom Field next Friday, hosting Missouri Southern to start an eight-game home stretch.
Bronchos even baseball series with 12-3 win
Washburn baseball dropped a 12-3 MIAA decision to Central Oklahoma on Saturday, setting up the rubber game of the series at 1 p.m. Sunday at Falley Field.
Central Oklahoma (21-14, 13-9 MIAA) jumped out to an early lead after scoring three runs in the top of the second. The Bronchos went up 4-0 after pushing a run across in the fourth.
Washburn (24-12, 14-8 MIAA) got on the board in the bottom of the fifth as Otto Jones and Cale Savage Otto Jones worked back-to-back walks and Parker Dunn hit a single up the middle to bring in a run to make it 4-1.
Errors proved costly for the Ichabods in the sixth as UCO scored four runs on two hits and three errors to extend its lead to 8-1.
The Bronchos would go on to score four more times over the next three innings, with three of those runs being unearned.
In the bottom of the ninth, Andrew Schmidtlein and Jones started off the frame with two straight full count walks and moved into scoring position after a groundout. Dunn stepped up to the plate and knocked in a pair of runs with a single to centerfield to round out the scoring of the 12-3 game.
UCO out hit WU, 10-7, and there was only one extra base hit apiece for each team. Dunn drove in all three of Washburn's runs and had two hits on the afternoon. Cal Wakins also recorded two hits.
Jack Brimacombe received the loss after allowing four runs on four hits and five walks to go with three strikeouts.
