WAVERLY, Iowa – Sophomore Charlie Krueger delivered a pinch-hit, two-out, two-strike RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to lift the Wartburg College baseball team (11-5 overall, 2-2 A-R-C) to a 6-5 walk-off victory over Luther College (13-5 overall, 3-1 A-R-C) Tuesday night at Hertel Field.

Trailing 5-4 in the ninth, Krueger capitalized on a bases-loaded opportunity to seal the win in the final meeting between the two programs at Hertel Field.

Wartburg plated the game's first run in the opening inning as Bode Nagelmaker lined an RBI single to right field, scoring Keegan Schmitt. Nagelmaker advanced to third on a fielding miscue by the Luther right fielder to apply early pressure on the Norse defense.

Starter Kam Volz delivered a clean top of the third, and the Knights followed with a three-run bottom half to extend their lead. Griffin Troha and Drew Conrad opened the inning with singles, with Troha advancing to third. Jayden Scott executed a sacrifice bunt to bring home Troha. Andrew Gallegos then drove a ball deep to right field, just shy of the warning track, to score Conrad, before Andrew Robinson capped the inning with an RBI single up the middle to give Wartburg a 4-0 advantage after three innings.

Luther responded with a solo home run to lead off the fourth and added two runs in the fifth to trim the deficit to one. Left-hander Owen Greco entered in the fifth and retired the only batter he faced to preserve the Knights' lead.

The Norse evened the score in the eighth, capitalizing on back-to-back hit batters and an RBI single before taking a 5-4 lead on a Wartburg error later in the frame.

Conner Funk took over on the mound in the ninth and worked out of trouble following a leadoff triple. Troha flashed the leather at third, tagging the runner and completing a double play with a throw to first before Troha snared another liner to record the final out of the inning.

Wartburg answered in the bottom half as Troha led off with his second hit of the game, followed by Conrad reaching after being hit by a pitch. Troha advanced to third on a fake bunt, putting runners on the corners with no outs. Scott laid down another bunt to score the tying run, while Conrad advanced to third on the play.

After Luther issued an intentional walk to Gallegos to load the bases, Krueger delivered in the clutch with a two-out bloop single to bring home the winning run, securing the 6-5 walk-off victory.

"I was really proud of the way our guys persevered late in that game," said head coach Casey Klunder. "We got some good at-bats down the stretch, but also some really good base running plays."

The Wartburg bullpen combined for six shutout innings in the contest.

"Our pitchers did a really nice job of hanging zeros up on the board, but the guys really went to work in the ninth and got it done," Klunder added.

TAKE NOTE

• Conrad extended his hitting streak to eight consecutive games
• Robinson has reached base safely in 16 consecutive games
• Tuesday marked the 105th all-time meeting between Wartburg and Luther, and the final matchup in Waverly as conference foes
• Wartburg leads the all-time series 57-48 (31-27 at home)
• The Knights snapped a two-game losing skid to the Norse

UP NEXT
Wartburg hosts a three-game series against Central College (7-10 overall, 2-1 A-R-C) this weekend at Hertel Field. The series begins Friday, March 27 at 6 p.m., followed by a doubleheader Saturday, March 28 starting at 1 p.m. The Dutch enter the weekend following a 12-2 victory over Cornell College on Monday.