WAVERLY, Iowa – The Wartburg College Knights baseball team (6-18 overall, 3-8 A-R-C) dropped their doubleheader to the Coe College Kohawks (20-2) on Saturday, losing game one 7-0 and game two 9-4.
 
In game one, Coe struck first with a one-run second inning off of a RBI single from Isaac Evans to take early 1-0 lead. At the top of the third, Coe added their second run of the game off a RBI double to center field by Jacob Burns. The Kohawks went on to score another two at the top of fourth off of a two-run home run shot by Kevin Delany to push the lead to 5-0.
 
Coe plated their sixth run at the top of the fifth when Jordan Kaplan connected on the second Kohawk home run of the day to extend the lead to 6-0. The Kohawks scoredtheir final two runs of the day at the top of the ninth, coming off of two RBI singles to extend their lead to 9-0. The Knights couldn't generate any late-inning offense as the score would stand with Coe taking the win.
 
Junior Ben Milewski (Lake Villa, Ill.) gave up five runs in six innings of work in the loss, recording six strikeouts along the way. Coe's Jack Greene pitched a complete game and recorded seven strikeouts. The Knights were out-hit 12-5 in the game.
 
In game two, it was the Knights who were able to strike first by putting up four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning off of a two-run home run by junior Tyler Hovick (Roland), a RBI single from junior infielder Collin Guinn (Davenport) and a scored run by Guinn off of an error by Coe's pitcher.
 
The 4-0 lead stood until the top of the seventh, when Coe scored their first runs off of a two RBI single by Jacob Henry to trim the deficit to 4-2. Sophomore pitcher Darren Kilpatrick (Fairfax) pitched his final inning of the day in the eighth, forcing the Kohawks into three fly outs to close out the inning. A pitching change at the top of the ninth saw junior Manny Jeffery (Marion) take the mound for the third time this season.
 
Jeffery struggled in his limited appearance as he surrendered three hits, one walk and three earned runs before recording the first out of the inning. With the Kohawks taking a 5-4 lead, the Knights turned to junior Tony Rex (Oelwein), who surrendered five hits, one walk and four earned runs in the final two outs. Coe scored seven runs in the inning to take a 9-4 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth.
 
Freshman Bryce Butler (Mason City) singled up the middle to start the inning for the Orange and Black. Freshman Jarod Harris (Manchester) was the ensuing batter and grounded out into a double play to bring the Knights within one out of the defeat. Hovick, the final batter for the Orange and Black, struck out swinging to seal the 9-4 defeat.
 
Hovick led Wartburg in batting for game two, going 2-5 at the plate and hitting his third home run of the season. Junior catcher Joey Baumann (Woodbury, Minn.), sophomore infielder Ethan Hayes (Cedar Falls), freshman outfielder Max Goodhue (Carlisle) and Butler all went 2-4 at the plate in the game. With the loss, the Knights have dropped their seventh-straight game, with all seven coming against American Rivers Conference opponents.  
 
The Knights will return to action on Tuesday, April 9 when they welcome in the Luther College Norse for a single game beginning at 6 p.m.