SATURDAY, APRIL 18 | 2 P.M.
Wartburg vs Buena Vista
Harms Stadium at Hertel Field | Waverly, Iowa
WATCH | LIVE STATS

(DH) SUNDAY, APRIL 19 | 1 & 4 P.M.
Wartburg vs Buena Vista
Harms Stadium at Hertel Field | Waverly, Iowa
WATCH | LIVE STATS

The Wartburg College baseball team (14-11 overall, 5-8 A-R-C) will continue conference play this weekend, as the Knights host Buena Vista University for a three-game American Rivers Conference series at Harms Stadium at Hertel Field.

The series begins Saturday, April 18 with a single game beginning at 2 p.m., before concluding with a  doubleheader on Sunday slated for 1 p.m. with game two to follow.

Wartburg enters the weekend sixth in the league standings with a 5-8 conference mark, while BVU stands eighth at 5-12 in A-R-C play.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Buena Vista
All-time series: Wartburg trails 51-52 (29-30 at home) – BVU has won eight out of the last 10 matchups overall, but Wartburg is 5-5 in its last 10 matchups at home against the Beavers.
Last matchup: Wartburg fell to BVU in last season's regular season series two games to one before falling to the Beavers in the A-R-C Tournament.
 
ABOUT THE BEAVERS
Buena Vista (9-22 overall, 5-12 A-R-C) comes off a doubleheader split against Nebraska Wesleyan earlier this week after BVU picked up its first A-R-C series win of the season against Coe the weekend prior.

Buena Vista began conference play with a series defeat against Dubuque (L 2-7, L 1-13, W 11-1), followed by a seven-game losing streak in conference play (losses to Loras, Central and Luther). After a 1-9 start in conference play, the Beavers have won four of their last seven conference matchups after a series win over Coe (L 0-1, W 9-8, W 6-5) and doubleheader splits against Central and NWU most recently.

Following this weekend's series, the Beavers will continue their road trip with a single game against Nebraska Wesleyan and a three-game series against Simpson.
 
TAKE NOTE

• Andrew Gallegos (.344) and Jayden Scott (.315) post the highest batting averages from the Wartburg lineup
  • Gallegos ranks eighth in batting average among the A-R-C
• The Knights have four players with at least 20 hits on the season (Andrew Gallegos – 31, Jayden Scott - 29, Griffin Troha – 29 and Keegan Schmitt - 21)
• Andrew Gallegos leads the Knights with seven home runs, which is sixth best in the A-R-C
  • Ranks third in slugging percentage (.685) and fourth in OPS (1.122) in the A-R-C
• Andrew Gallegos (21), Jayden Scott (15), and Griffin Troha (11) lead the Knights in RBI
• Griffin Troha (two) and Jayden Scott (two) are tied for seventh in the A-R-C for triples hit
  • Troha has also worked 19 walks this season (tied for fourth in A-R-C)
• Andrew Robinson is tied for 15^th in doubles (eight) among the A-R-C
  • Ranks third among A-R-C hitters for hit by pitches drawn (17)
• Emerson Alberhasky is tied for second in the A-R-C with 64 strikeouts
• Conner Funk is third in the A-R-C with four saves
• Nicholas Nin, Cael Funk and Kam Volz lead the pitching staff with three wins each
• Owen Greco leads all Wartburg pitchers with an ERA of 3.86 (min. 10 IP)

 
CURRENT A-R-C STANDINGS
Luther: 22-8, 12-4 A-R-C
Simpson: 18-10, 9-4 A-R-C
Coe: 19-10, 10-5 A-R-C
Loras: 13-13, 7-6 A-R-C
Central: 13-17, 8-8 A-R-C
Wartburg: 14-11, 5-8 A-R-C
Dubuque: 10-17, 5-8 A-R-C
Buena Vista: 9-22, 5-12 A-R-C
Nebraska Wesleyan: 9-21, 4-10 A-R-C
 
2026 SEASON OUTLOOK
The Wartburg College baseball team has been selected to finish third in the 2026 American Rivers Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, the league announced today.

The Knights earned 41 points, marking their highest preseason ranking since tying for third prior to the 2021 season. Wartburg finished fourth in last year's conference tournament.

Head coach Casey Klunder, entering his third season at the helm, has compiled a 56-47 overall record and has taken the Knights to the conference tournament in each of his two seasons. During the 2025 season, Klunder guided the team to four All-Conference honorees and saw four players recognized as College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District. Over his three seasons, Klunder has coached eight All-Conference players, two All-Region selections, and one All-American.

The Knights return a blend of experience with 15 freshmen, 18 sophomores, 10 juniors, eight seniors, and one fifth-year player. Wartburg ranked among the program's best in several statistical categories last season, including second in hit-by-pitches (62), fifth in home runs (38), seventh in strikeouts (304), and tied for eighth in runners picked off (6).
 
Wartburg leads the American Rivers Conference with 23 league championships, with its most recent title coming in 2017.
 
2026 A-R-C BASEBALL PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
1. Coe - 64 (8)
2. Buena Vista - 57 (1)
3. Wartburg - 41
4. Luther - 38
5. Nebraska Wesleyan - 33
6. Loras - 30
7. Central - 23
8. Univ. of Dubuque - 20
9. Simpson - 18