CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- The Wartburg College baseball team (26-15 overall) claimed the 2026 American Rivers Conference Tournament Championship with a 5-2 victory over Coe College Sunday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
The title marked the Knights' first A-R-C Tournament crown since 2017 and the program's league-best 11th tournament championship overall. Wartburg also became the first No. 4 seed to capture the conference tournament title since the 2009 Knights squad accomplished the feat.
Sophomore right-hander
Emerson Alberhasky delivered another dominant postseason performance on the mound, striking out seven across 7.1 innings. Alberhasky pushed his season strikeout total to 105, setting a new single-season program record and surpassing Ryan Doty's previous mark of 104 set during the 2012 campaign.
With the conference tournament championship, the Knights secured the program's 15th all-time berth into the NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament.
Andrew Robinson got championship action started with a double down the left field line to mark the Knights' first hit of the game in the opening frame. After a 122-pitch outing in the opening round Thursday, Wartburg starter Alberhasky (4-3) got the nod in the winner-take-all championship game. Alberhasky put the Kohawks down in order to work a hitless bottom of the first.
Wartburg struck first in the third when Robinson collected his second hit on a single up the middle to move
Liam Bender over to third.
Jayden Scott then laid down a suicide bunt to plate Bender, also reaching first safely to stick runners on first and second with one out. A double play by the Kohawk defense after a pitching change kept it at a 1-0 lead for the Knights.
Coe (30-14 overall) provided a one-run response in the bottom half on a wild pitch to knot it at one through three complete.
With just five hits combined from both teams, the eighth inning is when Wartburg gained its eventual championship edge with a four-run, four-hit frame. Three-straight singles from Robinson, Scott and
Andrew Gallegos to open the frame sparked a 2-1 lead, as Gallegos drove in Robinson. Later in the inning,
Charlie Krueger and
Bode Nagelmaker each drew walks to load the bases with two outs to bring
Keegan Schmitt to the plate. Schmitt continued his immaculate weekend with a two-run single into left field, as a crucial Kohawk error in the process plated Nagelmaker to see the Knights gain a 5-1 advantage heading into the bottom half. Coe made it a three-run game on one-out double, as Alberhasky exited his flawless outing after a hit-by-pitch to put runners on first and third.
Miles Mudd toed the rubber in relief, tallying a pair of flyouts to strand the two runners and get out of the eighth with a three-run lead.
Conner Funk (6) took over in the ninth, cruising to his sixth save of the season, as a 5-4-3 double play brought the American Rivers Conference Tournament title back to Waverly for the first time since 2017.
Schmitt led the offense during the tournament, hitting .500 (12-for-24) with five doubles and six total RBI and six runs scored, as Robinson hit .480 (12-for-25) with 11 singles and a double, and crossed the plate six times. Gallegos tallied a .417 average from the plate (10-for-24) with a team-best seven RBI on two doubles and homerun. Throughout the weekend, Wartburg outscored its opponents 39-to-29 with 65 hits, 18 of which were for extra bases.
Alberhasky tossed a total of 13.2 innings with 11 hits on seven runs and picking up 14 strikeouts. Overall, the Wartburg bullpen sat down 34 opposing bats in 49.0 innings of work.
"That's one of the best pitching performances I've ever been around", head coach
Casey Klunder stated about Alberhasky.
"On two days rest, we were hoping to get a couple innings out of him, maybe one time trhough the batting order, but he just kept getting outs and kept wanting the ball in his hands, I'm just super proud of him and our team for the gutsy performance we showed throughout the weekend", said Klunder.
"Keegan (Schmitt), I felt like he was hitting balls hard at people before the tournament, but what a weekend for him", stated Klunder. Schmitt hit .500 (12-for-24) in the five-game weekend.
Klunder added, "Just what a reslient group, you know, at one point in conference play we were 4-8, and so we've been playing elimination games for over a month now, and so the guys just kept battling back and competing their tails off".
"They making each other better and are laying a foundation for out program. They just kept going back to wirk and that's why I'm proud of them.", Klunder said.
SINGLE-SEASON STRIKEOUT LIST
1. 105- Emerson Alberhasky - 2026
2. 104 - Ryan Doty – 2012
3. 96 – Dylan Gotto - 2022
4. 95 - Scott Benson - 2012
5. 94 - J. Martijn - 2009
6. 93 - Potratz, Shane - 2000
7. 88 - Watson – 2011
8. 82 - Ben Rettenmeier - 2014
9. 77 - Taylor Gilson - 2017
77 - Watson - 2010
77 - Max Langheinrich - 2017
UP NEXT
Wartburg will return home tonight and see its name pop up for the NCAA Selection show, slated to begin tomorrow, May 11 at 12 p.m. (ET) on NCAA.com.
NOTES
Wartburg and Coe will saw each other for the sixth time this season (3-3 season record, 63-44 all-time)…Wartburg is 70-43 all-time in the league tournament…10-4 as the No. 4 seed…The last time a 4-seed won the A-R-C Championship, was when Wartburg did so back in 2009…Wartburg claimed its its first title since 2017…Wartburg has captured a league-leading 11 tournament titles, as well as made its 20th championship game appearance...Klunder earns his first A-R-C Tournament title in three seasons leading the Wartburg program...
