MOLINE, Ill.-- The No. 21 ranked Wartburg baseball team (35-10 overall) advanced in the NCAA Regional with its 10-0 win over Ripon (24-17) Thursday. This was the biggest margin of victory for the Knights in the NCAA Tournament.

The Knights will play in Friday's 3:30 p.m. game. Opponent is TBD based on today's games outcomes.

Wartburg took the early 6-0 lead in the top of the second as Blake Wilson hit a sacrifice fly to score senior Drew Yoder (Wellman) and the next two runs were scored on bases-loaded walks. Junior Michael Schinstock (Urbandale) scored on a fielding error by Ripon’s shortstop and Yoder slugged a double to deep left field to drive in senior Andrew Krehbiel (Donnellson) and sophomore Jackson Litterer (Waverly).

In the fifth, freshman Ryan Kemp (Keokuk) took the first pitch he saw to deep left field for a triple. The next batter, Yoder, drove him in on the sacrifice fly to center field to extend Wartburg’s lead to 7-0.

The Orange and Black added two more in the eighth as a double-steal was signaled for and Schinstock successfully stole second and senior Levi Montague (Norway) scored as the throw to 2nd was not in time. Krehbiel hits one in shallow centerfield that scores Schinstock to make the score 9-0.

In the ninth, Montague slugged a double of the wall in left field and Kemp scored to take a ten run lead.

Kemp led all hitters as he went 3-5 while Montague and Yoder each finished 2-4. Yoder had a team-high three RBIs in the game.

"I knew we had to take one game at a time and I was going to do the best I could to help keep us here," said Kemp.

Junior Ben Rettenmeier (Cedar Rapids) picked up his ninth win of the season on the mound as he pitched all nine innings and struck out five.

With the win, Wartburg will play in the 3:30 p.m. game Friday. The opponent is to be determined based on the outcome of the rest of today’s games.