CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Coe College defeated Wartburg College, 12-7, in the championship game of the 2015 Iowa Conference Baseball Tournament Saturday at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
The Kohawks (31-12) receive the Iowa Conference's automatic berth into the 2015 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship and will open regional play on Wednesday, May 13 at a site to be announced.
The Knights (32-12) must now wait until the full field for the championship is announced late Sunday evening to see if their season continues. Regardless of whether they are selected, Wartburg will host one of eight regional tournaments at Waterloo's Riverfront Stadium, also beginning on May 13.
#2 Coe def. #1 Wartburg, 12-7 [ BOX SCORE ]
An early grand slam by Wartburg didn't faze the Kohawks on Saturday, as they came back for a 12-7 win over the 14th-ranked Knights in the Iowa Conference Tournament Championship.
Coe started the scoring in the first inning. Craig Konrardy was hit by a pitch and stole second. A ground ball by Michael Goerdt moved Konrardy to third before he scored on a single to right field by AJ Reuter. The Knights came out firing in the second inning. With one out, Blake Wilson reached on an error by the Kohawks. Back-to-back singles loaded the bases before Mougin struck out. Two pitches later, Jackson Litterer hit a grand slam to left field, giving the Knights a 4-1 lead.
The Kohawks slowly crept back into the game before breaking it open. In the top of the fifth, Konrardy doubled through the left side to start the inning. With two outs, Jack Hoffmann singled to left center, plating Konrardy. The sixth inning was a big one for the Kohawks, as they crossed the plate six times on six hits and an error. The frame opened with back-to-back-to-back singles from Grant Henning, Michael Redmond and Cole Tomlinson. Tomlinson's base hit scored Henning. A sacrifice bunt by Alec Zwanziger moved Tomlinson and Redmond into scoring position.
Konrardy then tripled to left center, scoring Tomlinson and Redmond to give the Kohawks a 5-4 lead. With two outs, Reuter was hit by a pitch, putting runners on the corners. Konrardy scored on a wild pitch before Hoffmann plated Reuter with a single to left field. Hoffmann scored the final run of the inning on an RBI single by Jory Heckenberg.
Wartburg added two runs on two hits in the sixth as Milton Croes drove in Wilson with a double to right center then scored on a wild pitch, but the Kohawks added space again in the top of the seventh. Redmond and Tomlinson singled to start the inning before moving into scoring position on another sacrifice bunt by Zwanziger. Konrardy was intentionally walked to load the bases before Goerdt hit a sacrifice fly to center field, driving in Redmond. Reuter then doubled down the right field line, as Konrardy and Tomlinson scored.
Coe added its final run in the eighth inning. Henning was hit by a pitch to start the inning and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Redmond. Pinch-hitter Andrew Brierton hit a single up the middle, plating Henning for the final run.
Wartburg plated its final run in the eighth inning as Croes scored on a Matt Kruger RBI double down the left-field line. Croes had a team-high three hits and three runs scored for the Knights.
Reuter and Hoffmann led the Kohawks with three hits apiece, while Konrardy, Redmond and Tomlinson had two each. Reuter drove in three, with Konrardy and Hoffmann each plated a pair. Konrardy scored four runs, with Henning, Redmond and Tomlinson each crossing the plate twice. Konrardy set the school record for hits in a season (73) and runs scored (50) in the win. He also moved into a tie for second in school history with his fifth triple of the year. Hoffmann is now tied for seventh with 41 RBI on the season. Redmond became the 30th player in school history to record 100 career hits.
Ben Jacobson earned the win on the mound, improving to 6-3 on the year. He struck out four, while giving up five runs (one earned) on six hits. Hoffmann earned his second save of the tournament, as he threw the final 3 2/3 innings. He struck out three while giving up one earned run on three hits.
Five Wartburg pitchers scattered 16 hits and a walk while striking out four. Starting pitcher Michael Knouse took the loss, allowing seven runs on nine hits in 5 2/3 innings.
#1 Wartburg def. #3 Central, 4-3 [ BOX SCORE ]
Wartburg entered the bottom of the ninth inning of its elimination game with Central trailing, 3-1, but scored three runs on three hits and a Dutch error to rally for the walk-off win. After Jake Thumann opened the frame with a lineout to short, Blake Wilson reached on a single to center field and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Milton Croes drew a walk from Central reliever Andy Carr to put runners at first and second for Mike Brown.
Brown dropped a dribbler down in front of home plate that was fielded by Carr. Carr overthrew first base in an attempt to get Brown out, allowing Wilson and Croes to score and Brown, who was credited with an infield single, to advance to second base. Brown was lifted in favor of pinch runner Robbie Anstoetter and after a walk to Ty Mougin, Carr's day was done and on came Matt Schissel. Schissel had thrown eight scoreless innings against Loras less than 18 hours before to help move the Dutch into the Saturday morning matchup. He struck out Jackson Litterer on a full-count pitch, but taken to another full count by Tyler Willis, Schissel wasn't as fortunate. Willis dropped a single into left field scoring Anstoetter from second to win the game.
The Knights struck first in the contest, taking a 1-0 lead in the third inning on an RBI single to right center by Willis.
Central bounced back for a pair of runs in the top of the fourth inning as Zach Zylstra led off with a double down the right-field line off Wartburg starter Parker Bolt and scored after being moved around by successive 4-3 groundouts by Adam Lindell and Michael Reuter. Seth Griffiths reached on a two-out double of his own down the right-field line the scored on a Zach Brown single up the middle.
The Dutch added another run in the seventh inning after Griffiths scored on a single up the middle by Spencer Gritsch.
Bolt picked up the complete-game win for Wartburg, scattering nine hits and a walk around four strikeouts. Six of the nine hits allowed came in the fourth (3) and seventh (3) innings.
Alex Dornacker threw six innings of eight-hit ball, allowing one run while striking out two. Carr took the loss, allowing three runs (two earned) on two hits and three walks in 2 1/3 innings.
Willis finished the game with three hits and two RBIs to lead Wartburg, while Mike Brown had a pair of hits in only his sixth appearance of the season.
