WAVERLY, Iowa --- No. 23 softball clinched the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) regular season title for a second-straight season after defeating Coe College 8-6 and 4-3 on Saturday, May 2. The title is the first outright championship for the Knights since 2008.
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This is the first time in program history the Knights have won back-to-back regular season championships and marks Wartburg's fifth title overall.
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With today's win, Wartburg will be the top overall seed and host of the A-R-C Tournament, which begins on Friday, May 8 at Lynes Field. As the number one seed, Wartburg has earned a first-round bye in the single elimination tournament.
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Game Summary
- Game One
- First Inning
- Coe started the game off with a three-run first inning following four hits, including back-to-back doubles
- The Knights responded in the bottom half of the opening inning as Reagan Hassel doubled to the left center field before being brought home by an RBI single from Jenna Wiebenga
- Second Inning
- In the top of the second, Stephanie Kiefer showed off the glove as she tracked down a foul ball while colliding with the first base line fence for the out
- Third Inning
- Following a scoreless second inning, Coe used five hits in the third inning to bring three more runs across to stretch the lead to 6-1
- Fifth Inning
- The Knights clawed their way back into the game with a three run bottom of the fifth that cut the Kohawk lead to 6-4
- Carley Bredar began the inning with a bunt single and was brought home by an RBI double to the gap for the first run of the inning
- Groundouts from both Addy Wells and Wiebenga moved Hassel around the bases to score
- With two outs, Bella Mulder doubled and then was scored by an RBI single from Kiefer to make the score 6-4
- Sixth Inning
- Lauren Dyer pitched a second-straight hitless inning to keep Coe off the board in the top half of the sixth
- The Wartburg bats stayed hot in the sixth inning as the Knights used four hits and two Coe errors to score four runs and take a 8-6 lead, highlighted by a go-ahead two run home run from Wiebenga over the left field wall
- Happ and Bredar both scored after Coe errors to make the score 6-6 before Wiebenga's homer put Wartburg in front for the first time of the game
- Seventh Inning
- Both Dyer and Hoefer closed out the game in the circle for the Knights keeping Coe off the board to secure an 8-6 win as well as a share of the regular season A-R-C championship
- Dyer earned the win and Hannah Hofer earned the save inside the circle in game one
- Game Two
- First Inning
- The Kohawks struck first in game one with two singles and a Wartburg fielding error to score one run in the opening frame
- Second Inning
- Coe added another run to its lead in the top of the second with a solo shot home run to left center field to make it 2-0
- Fifth Inning
- Coe used two singles to bring a third run across to make the score 3-0 headed to the sixth inning
- Sixth Inning
- The Wartburg offense broke through in the sixth inning as the Knights used five hits to tie the game up at 3-3 headed to the final inning
- Liz Kruckenberg led off the sixth with a double and came all the way around and scored on a sacrifice bunt from Bredar
- Following a single and a stolen base from Hassel, Addy Wells knocked in a run with a base hit
- Wartburg's third run of the inning came after a Kiefer single scored Wells to make it 3-3
- Seventh Inning
- Neither side allowed a run in the seventh inning to send the game to extra innings
- Ninth Inning
- Katelyn Klever pitched back-to-back hitless innings for the Knights in the eighth and ninth innings
- Klever began the ninth inning with a single and then Maddie Buskohl came in to pinch run and score the eventual game-winning run as a single from Mulder ended the game 4-3 in nine innings
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Top Performers
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Notes/Streaks
- Back-to-back champions for the first time in program history
- Fifth regular season A-R-C championship for Wartburg
- First time earning the top overall seed in the A-R-C tournament since 2008
- First time hosting since 2021
- Fourth-straight win over Coe
- Fourth home run of the season for Wiebenga
- Dyer is now 3-1 in pitching decisions, Klever is now 11-4 in pitching decisions and Hoefer has two saves now this season
- Game two marked the first extra-inning game of the season for the Knights
- Bredar and Wells extended their reached base streaks to 15 and 14 games respectively
- Four Knights have recorded multiple hits in 10+ games this season
- Bredar (18), Hassel (16), Mulder (13) and Kruckenberg (12)
- Sixth game this season with three or more hits for Hassel (game one)
- Wiebenga (41) and Mulder (40) lead the Knights in RBI this season
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Next Time Out
The Knights will close out the regular season at home on Monday, May. 4 against Augustana College beginning at 5 p.m.
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