WAVERLY, Iowa – The Knights will open the 2022 American Rivers Conference Tournament on Thursday, May 12 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa against Nebraska Wesleyan University.
Thursday, May 12 – 11:00 a.m. – Cedar Rapids, Iowa – Veterans Memorial Stadium
No. 6 Wartburg Knights (22-19, 12-12 A-R-C) vs No. 3 NWU Prairie Wolves (20-9, 13-11 A-R-C)
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Tournament Seeds
1. Buena Vista
2. Loras
3. Nebraska Wesleyan
4. Luther
5. Coe
6. Wartburg
The A-R-C Tournament is set for double elimination, so the Orange & Black are guaranteed two games on Thursday. If Wartburg wins against NWU they will face Loras at 2 p.m. and if they lose the first game, they will face the other first round losing team at 8 p.m. All games will be played at Veterans Memorial Stadium or Daniels Park.
Last Time Out
The Knights split a doubleheader against Nebraska Wesleyan University at home to close the regular season. Wartburg won the second game with a season-high 19 runs in a 19-7 win in eight innings.
After back-to-back singles and a walk in the first, the bases were loaded for
Ben DeKruyf, who singled to score the first two runs.
Keaton Gray singled to bring home the third run home and it was 3-0 Wartburg after the first.
NWU got one hit in the second and none in the third to remain scoreless after the top of the third. In the bottom half,
Zach Walton led the inning off with a solo shot to right-center field. DeKruyf and
Caleb Andrews both singled before Gray hit a two RBI single that extended the lead to 6-0.
The Knights got the runs back in the bottom of the fourth after RBI singles from Walton and Andrews and an RBI double from DeKruyf. After four innings, Wartburg led Nebraska Wesleyan 9-2.
NWU didn't go away though, and in the fifth inning the Prairie Wolves scored four runs after back-to-back RBI doubles and an RBI single. The Orange & Black scored one run in the fifth after a
Max Goodhue single scored
Will Armstrong. DeKruyf continued his monster day at the plate in the sixth with another double that led to a two RBI single from
Carter Stubitz.
The bottom of the seventh was started by back-to-back solo home runs from Goodhue and Walton. The homerun marked Walton's third time this season with a multi-homer game.
The score was 14-7 heading into the bottom of the eighth. Stubitz and Goodhue both singled for another RBI each to push the score to 16-7. Just one run away from the mercy rule, DeKruyf stepped to the plate with two on and sent the first pitch way over the left field wall to end the game on a no doubt about it home run.
DeKruyf led all hitters in game two going 5/6 with six RBI and four runs scored himself. The senior finished his last game at Harms Stadium at Hertel Field with two doubles and a homerun.
Conference Leaders
Walton enters the conference tournament leading the A-R-C in OPS (1.345), RBI (53), runs scored (44) and walks drawn (35). The sophomore is batting at a .405 average and ranks second in the conference in home runs with 12 in the regular season. The first basemen's 35 walks drawn is four walks away from being a new Wartburg single-season record. Both Brian Bowman and Jay Bollman were walked 38 times during the 1987 and 2001 seasons respectively.
Goodhue tied a school record for most triples in a season after hitting three in his final five games of the regular season. The mark of eight leads the A-R-C and ties Andy Fischels 22-year-old record. The senior outfielder also leads the team in hits with 63, which is currently tied for second most in the conference behind Kaleb Knox of NWU.
On the mound for the Orange & Black,
Dylan Gotto led the team and conference in innings pitched and batters struck out with 76 and 85 respectively. The senior ace started 11 games on the bump for the Knights and finished with a 6-3 record. His ERA of 2.96 ranks fifth in the A-R-C and his 11 walks this season are the second least among eligible pitchers.
NWU
The Prairie Wolves finished the regular season 20-19 overall and 13-11 in A-R-C play to take the three seed in this year's conference tournament. NWU took the season series against Wartburg two games to one. Two of the three games played were cut short due to 10-run leads.
Nebraska Wesleyan is led by its high-powered offense that averaged nine runs per game in the three-game series against Wartburg this past weekend. The Praire Wolves have three of the top four home run hitters in the A-R-C at the top of their lineup in Derek Kolbush, Kaleb Knox and Evan Kling.
Kolbush leads all hitters with 13 homers this season and has drove in 38 runs for the Prairie Wolves. He is tied with three other players for most runs scored this season at 44.
Knox is coming off a big series against the Orange & Black that saw four home runs in three games to push his season total to 11. Knox leads NWU in both OPS and RBI with marks of 1.221 and 45 respectively.
Kling is the third player for Nebraska Wesleyan with 10+ homers this season and he is batting .311 this season. He has batted in 34 runs and leads the team with 30 walks drawn
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