(DH) FRIDAY, APRIL 10 | 3:30 P.M. & 6:30 P.M.
Wartburg vs Simpson
McBride Field | Indianola, Iowa
WATCH | LIVE STATS

SATURDAY, APRIL 11 | 1 P.M.
Wartburg vs Simpson
McBride Field | Indianola, Iowa
WATCH | LIVE STATS

The Wartburg College baseball team (13-9 overall, 4-6 A-R-C) resumes conference play this weekend, traveling to Indianola to face Simpson College for a three-game American Rivers Conference series at McBride Field.

The series begins Friday, April 10 with a doubleheader beginning at 3:30 p.m., before concluding with a single game on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Wartburg enters the weekend seventh in the league standings with a 4-6 conference mark, while Simpson stands third at 6-3 in A-R-C play.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Simpson

All-time series: Wartburg leads 74-24 (28-12 on road) (W3) – has won six out of the last eight matchups.
Last matchup: Wartburg claimed an 8-2 win at the A-R-C Tournament on May 8 of last season in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The second game on Friday will be the 100^th meeting between both programs.
 
ABOUT THE STORM
Simpson (15-9 overall, 6-3 A-R-C) comes off a series win over Nebraska Wesleyan..

Simpson began conference play with a series defeat against Coe (L 6-8, W 5-0, L 3-8), followed by a series win against Dubuque (W 3-2, 4-1, L 2-3), and most recently sweeping Nebraska Wesleyan (W 3-1, W 13-6, W 14-7).

The Storm lost last season's series with the Knights, as they finished with a 17-23 overall record and 11-13 in conference play.
 
TAKE NOTE

• Jayden Scott (.325) and Andrew Gallegos (.316) post the highest batting averages from the Wartburg lineup
• The Knights have four players with at least 20 hits on the season (Jayden Scott - 26, Griffin Troha - 25, Andrew Gallegos - 24, Keegan Schmitt - 20)
• Andrew Gallegos leads the Knights with six home runs, which ties him for fifth best in the A-R-C
• Andrew Gallegos (21), Jayden Scott (15), and Griffin Troha (11) lead the Knights in RBI's
• Emerson Alberhasky is tied for second in the A-R-C with 57 strikeouts
• Conner Funk is second in the A-R-C with four saves

 
CURRENT A-R-C STANDINGS
Luther: 20-7, 10-3 A-R-C
Coe: 18-8, 9-3 A-R-C
Simpson: 15-9, 6-3 A-R-C
Central: 12-14, 7-5 A-R-C
Loras: 10-10, 4-5 A-R-C
Dubuque: 8-16, 5-7 A-R-C
Wartburg: 13-9, 4-6 A-R-C
Nebraska Wesleyan: 7-18, 2-7 A-R-C
Buena Vista: 6-20, 2-10 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