Wartburg Knights | |
---|---|
Founded | 1958 |
Head coach | Casey Klunder (1st season) |
Conference | ARC |
Location | Waverly, Iowa |
Home stadium |
Harms Stadium at Hertel Field (Capacity: 500) |
Nickname | Knights |
Colors | Orange and Black
[1] |
College World Series appearances | |
1964, 2000, 2005 | |
NCAA Tournament appearances | |
1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 | |
Conference tournament champions | |
1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2017 | |
Regular season conference champions | |
1961, 1962, 1963, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 |
The Wartburg Knights baseball program represents Wartburg College in college baseball. The program started in 1958. The team competes in the NCAA Division III and a member of the American Rivers Conference (ARC). [2] The team plays its home games at Harms Stadium at Hertel field in Waverly, Iowa.
The Wartburg Knights baseball team played its first season in 1958, with its first game coming against Iowa Wesleyan. The Knights reached the NAIA World Series in 1964. They hold the record for longest game played when they beat West Liberty State in a 16 inning game. [3] The program rose to national relevance in the late 1990s, early 2000s when Joel Holst was hired in 1996. The program has won a conference leading 22 conference championships, the most recent coming 2017 when they won three straight IIAC titles. [4]
Joel Holst was hired in 1995 and coached his first season at Wartburg in 1996. In his first season they finished with a .500 record at 20-20. Following that season the Knights would go on to win 12 straight conference regular season championships and appeared in the college world series on two occasions (2000, 2005). During the 2005 College World Series the Knights played in two games that set records; the first was the longest game in series history in terms of innings, when they defeated Rowan College in 16 innings 8–6 and then played in the shortest game in series history when they lost to SUNY Cortland 5–0 in 1 hour and 52 minutes. [5] Joel Holst resigned from his head coaching position prior to the 2023 season. [6] Following his resignation, Casey Chaplin was named interim head coach for the 2023 baseball season. [7]
Following the 2023 season, Casey Klunder, was tabbed as the fifth head coach in program history. [8] He began his tenure at Wartburg with a 12–4 win over Grove City, with a 3–0 start to the year. [9]
This is a table of the Wartburg Knights record year-by-year. [10]
Season | Coach | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wartburg (Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (1958–2017) | |||||||||
1958 | Earnest Oppermann | 11–7 | 7–5 | ||||||
1959 | Earnest Oppermann | 9–8 | 8–6 | ||||||
1960 | Earnest Oppermann | 7–5 | 6–4 | ||||||
1961 | Earnest Oppermann | 14–6 | 14–3 | 1st | |||||
1962 | Earnest Oppermann | 10–6 | 10–2 | 1st | |||||
1963 | Earnest Oppermann | 13–6 | 8–4 | 1st | NAIA Regional | ||||
1964 | Earnest Oppermann | 18–6 | 9–3 | 2nd | NAIA World Series | ||||
1965 | Earnest Oppermann | 3–8 | |||||||
1966 | Earnest Oppermann | 12–8 | |||||||
1967 | Earnest Oppermann | 15–5 | |||||||
1968 | Earnest Oppermann | 12–8 | |||||||
1969 | Earnest Oppermann | 11–9 | |||||||
1970 | Earnest Oppermann | 12–17 | |||||||
1971 | Earnest Oppermann | 11–19 | |||||||
1972 | Earnest Oppermann | 7–7 | |||||||
1973 | Earnest Oppermann | 9–14 | |||||||
1974 | Earnest Oppermann | 7–18 | 5–8 | ||||||
1975 | Earnest Oppermann | 13–14 | 6–0 | ||||||
1976 | Earnest Oppermann | 16–16 | 8–2 | ||||||
1977 | Earnest Oppermann | 12–20 | 10–2 | 1st | |||||
1978 | Earnest Oppermann | 16–20 | 9–3 | 1st | |||||
1979 | Earnest Oppermann | 14–11 | 11–1 | 1st | |||||
1980 | Earnest Oppermann | 9–23 | 6–6 | ||||||
1981 | Earnest Oppermann | 17–21 | 10–4 | ||||||
1982 | Earnest Oppermann | 13–19 | 7–3 | ||||||
1983 | John Kurtt | 10–22 | 6–6 | ||||||
1984 | John Kurtt | 11–16 | 9–9 | ||||||
1985 | John Kurtt | 12–15 | 10–10 | ||||||
1986 | John Kurtt | 16–22 | 14–8 | ||||||
1987 | John Kurtt | 15–20 | 11–7 | ||||||
1988 | John Kurtt | 16–20 | |||||||
1989 | John Kurtt | 14–22–1 | 10–7–1 | ||||||
1990 | John Kurtt | 12–19 | 10–10 | ||||||
1991 | John Kurtt | 10–22 | 8–8 | ||||||
1992 | John Kurtt | 9–25 | 6–15 | ||||||
1993 | John Kurtt | 4–16 | 2–8 | ||||||
1994 | Randy Moore | 17–14 | 8–8 | 5th | |||||
1995 | Randy Moore | 12–21 | 5–14 | 7th | |||||
1996 | Joel Holst | 20–20–1 | 7–9 | 4th | |||||
1997 | Joel Holst | 30–16 | 16–4 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
1998 | Joel Holst | 40–10 | 20–4 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
1999 | Joel Holst | 33–13–1 | 17–6 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
2000 | Joel Holst | 41–9 | 22–2 | 1st | College World Series | ||||
2001 | Joel Holst | 37–9–1 | 20–2 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
2002 | Joel Holst | 29–15 | 16–5 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
2003 | Joel Holst | 33–12–1 | 14–6 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
2004 | Joel Holst | 30–15 | 15–5 | 1st | |||||
2005 | Joel Holst | 37–11 | 18–3 | 1st | College World Series | ||||
2006 | Joel Holst | 27–15 | 11–5 | T–1st | |||||
2007 | Joel Holst | 28–13 | 18–5 | T–1st | |||||
2008 | Joel Holst | 27–15 | 17–3 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
2009 | Joel Holst | 28–20 | 14–10 | 4th | NCAA Regional | ||||
2010 | Joel Holst | 25–19 | 17–7 | 2nd | |||||
2011 | Joel Holst | 26–18 | 16–8 | 2nd | |||||
2012 | Joel Holst | 23–20 | 14–10 | 3rd | |||||
2013 | Joel Holst | 35–10 | 20–6 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
2014 | Joel Holst | 25–17 | 19–9 | 2nd | |||||
2015 | Joel Holst | 33–14 | 19–5 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
2016 | Joel Holst | 34–13 | 24–4 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
2017 | Joel Holst | 33–14 | 19–5 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
2018 | Joel Holst | 26–13 | 15–6 | 2nd | |||||
Wartburg Knights ( American Rivers Conference) (2019–Present) | |||||||||
2019 | Joel Holst | 13–26 | 9–15 | 7th | |||||
2020 | Joel Holst | 9–1 | 0–0 | Season canceled due to COVID-19 | |||||
2021 | Joel Holst | 14–28 | 12–20 | 6th | |||||
2022 | Joel Holst | 25–21 | 12–12 | 6th | |||||
2023 | Casey Chaplin | 14–21 | 9–15 | 6th | |||||
2024 | Casey Klunder | 23–19 | 12–12 | 6th | |||||
Total: | 1251–992–4 | ||||||||
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
|
Wartburg has made 29 appearances in the American Rivers Conference tournament and 19 appearances in the tournament championship game; both of which is the most in tournament history. [11] They appeared in 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023. They have an overall record of 66–40, with 10 championships, the last in 2017. [12]
NCAA Regional Results |
---|
1997 NCAA DIII Central Regional in
Carroll, IA |
1998 NCAA
Oshkosh Regional hosted by
Wisconsin-Oshkosh Lost to
Wisconsin-Oshkosh, 0–7 |
1999 NCAA
Geneva Regional hosted by
Aurora |
2000 NCAA
Bloomington Regional hosted by
Illinois Wesleyan Defeated
Aurora, 8–7 |
2001 NCAA
Bloomington Regional hosted by
Illinois Wesleyan Lost to
Hope, 1–2 |
2002 NCAA DIII
Monmouth Regional hosted by
Monmouth (IL) |
2003 NCAA
Clinton Regional hosted by
Mississippi College Lost to
Emory, 4–10 |
2005 NCAA
Bloomington Regional hosted by
Illinois Wesleyan Defeated
Washington University St. Louis, 4–2 |
2008 NCAA
Moline, Illinois Regional hosted by
Augustana (IL) Lost to
Augustana (IL), 5–6 |
2009 NCAA
Moline, Illinois Regional hosted by
Augustana (IL) Lost to
Millsaps, 3–5 |
2013 NCAA
Moline, Illinois Regional hosted by
Augustana (IL) Lost to
Adrian, 4–5 |
2015 NCAA
Waterloo Regional hosted by Wartburg Lost to
Anderson (IN), 3–4 |
2016 NCAA
Sauget Regional hosted by
Webster Lost to
Rose–Hulman, 2–7 |
2017 NCAA
Sauget Regional hosted by
Webster Defeated
Webster, 3–0 |
NAIA Area Tournament Results |
---|
1963 NAIA Area 4 Tournament in
Kansas City, MO hosted by
William Jewell Defeated
William Jewell, 3–1 |
1964 NAIA Area 4 Tournament in
Waverly, IA hosted by
Wartburg Defeated
William Jewell, 5–2 |
NCAA DIII College World Series Results |
---|
2000 College World Series in
Appleton, WI Defeated
Southern Maine, 2–1 |
2005 College World Series in
Appleton, WI Lost to
Chapman, 1–8 |
NAIA College World Series Results |
---|
1964 NAIA World Series
St. Joseph, Mo Defeated
West Liberty State, 2–1 |
† Mayville State's games were all ruled forfeits, with their opponents awarded 9–0 victories.
Wartburg has had seven professional baseball players and four selections in the Major League Baseball Draft since it began in 1965. [13] [14]
Year | Player | Draft Round | Team |
---|---|---|---|
1967 | Robert Meyer | 49 | Minnesota Twins |
1969 | Thomas Cain | 16 | Chicago White Sox |
1970 | Virgil Erickson | 22 | St. Louis Cardinals |
2001 | Matt Thede | – | Gulf Coast League Expos |
2008 | Ryan Grant | – | Sioux Falls Canaries |
2011 | Bradley Watson | 37 | St. Louis Cardinals |
2023 | Dylan Gotto | – | Idaho Falls Chukars |
As of the completion of 2024 season [10]
Tenure | Coach | Years | Record | Pct. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1958–1982 | Earnest Oppermann | 25 | 292–300–0 | .493 |
1983–1993 | John Kurtt | 11 | 192–210–0 | .478 |
1994–1995 | Randy Moore | 2 | 29–35–0 | .453 |
1996–2022 | Joel Holst | 27 | 761–407–4 | .651 |
2023 | Casey Chaplin | 1† | 14–21–0 | .400 |
2024–present | Casey Klunder | 1 | 23–19–0 | .548 |
Totals | 5 coaches | 67 seasons | 1251–992–4 | .558 |
† Casey Chaplin served as the interim head coach for the 1 season following the departure of Joel Holst.
Wartburg Knights | |
---|---|
Founded | 1958 |
Head coach | Casey Klunder (1st season) |
Conference | ARC |
Location | Waverly, Iowa |
Home stadium |
Harms Stadium at Hertel Field (Capacity: 500) |
Nickname | Knights |
Colors | Orange and Black
[1] |
College World Series appearances | |
1964, 2000, 2005 | |
NCAA Tournament appearances | |
1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 | |
Conference tournament champions | |
1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2017 | |
Regular season conference champions | |
1961, 1962, 1963, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 |
The Wartburg Knights baseball program represents Wartburg College in college baseball. The program started in 1958. The team competes in the NCAA Division III and a member of the American Rivers Conference (ARC). [2] The team plays its home games at Harms Stadium at Hertel field in Waverly, Iowa.
The Wartburg Knights baseball team played its first season in 1958, with its first game coming against Iowa Wesleyan. The Knights reached the NAIA World Series in 1964. They hold the record for longest game played when they beat West Liberty State in a 16 inning game. [3] The program rose to national relevance in the late 1990s, early 2000s when Joel Holst was hired in 1996. The program has won a conference leading 22 conference championships, the most recent coming 2017 when they won three straight IIAC titles. [4]
Joel Holst was hired in 1995 and coached his first season at Wartburg in 1996. In his first season they finished with a .500 record at 20-20. Following that season the Knights would go on to win 12 straight conference regular season championships and appeared in the college world series on two occasions (2000, 2005). During the 2005 College World Series the Knights played in two games that set records; the first was the longest game in series history in terms of innings, when they defeated Rowan College in 16 innings 8–6 and then played in the shortest game in series history when they lost to SUNY Cortland 5–0 in 1 hour and 52 minutes. [5] Joel Holst resigned from his head coaching position prior to the 2023 season. [6] Following his resignation, Casey Chaplin was named interim head coach for the 2023 baseball season. [7]
Following the 2023 season, Casey Klunder, was tabbed as the fifth head coach in program history. [8] He began his tenure at Wartburg with a 12–4 win over Grove City, with a 3–0 start to the year. [9]
This is a table of the Wartburg Knights record year-by-year. [10]
Season | Coach | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wartburg (Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (1958–2017) | |||||||||
1958 | Earnest Oppermann | 11–7 | 7–5 | ||||||
1959 | Earnest Oppermann | 9–8 | 8–6 | ||||||
1960 | Earnest Oppermann | 7–5 | 6–4 | ||||||
1961 | Earnest Oppermann | 14–6 | 14–3 | 1st | |||||
1962 | Earnest Oppermann | 10–6 | 10–2 | 1st | |||||
1963 | Earnest Oppermann | 13–6 | 8–4 | 1st | NAIA Regional | ||||
1964 | Earnest Oppermann | 18–6 | 9–3 | 2nd | NAIA World Series | ||||
1965 | Earnest Oppermann | 3–8 | |||||||
1966 | Earnest Oppermann | 12–8 | |||||||
1967 | Earnest Oppermann | 15–5 | |||||||
1968 | Earnest Oppermann | 12–8 | |||||||
1969 | Earnest Oppermann | 11–9 | |||||||
1970 | Earnest Oppermann | 12–17 | |||||||
1971 | Earnest Oppermann | 11–19 | |||||||
1972 | Earnest Oppermann | 7–7 | |||||||
1973 | Earnest Oppermann | 9–14 | |||||||
1974 | Earnest Oppermann | 7–18 | 5–8 | ||||||
1975 | Earnest Oppermann | 13–14 | 6–0 | ||||||
1976 | Earnest Oppermann | 16–16 | 8–2 | ||||||
1977 | Earnest Oppermann | 12–20 | 10–2 | 1st | |||||
1978 | Earnest Oppermann | 16–20 | 9–3 | 1st | |||||
1979 | Earnest Oppermann | 14–11 | 11–1 | 1st | |||||
1980 | Earnest Oppermann | 9–23 | 6–6 | ||||||
1981 | Earnest Oppermann | 17–21 | 10–4 | ||||||
1982 | Earnest Oppermann | 13–19 | 7–3 | ||||||
1983 | John Kurtt | 10–22 | 6–6 | ||||||
1984 | John Kurtt | 11–16 | 9–9 | ||||||
1985 | John Kurtt | 12–15 | 10–10 | ||||||
1986 | John Kurtt | 16–22 | 14–8 | ||||||
1987 | John Kurtt | 15–20 | 11–7 | ||||||
1988 | John Kurtt | 16–20 | |||||||
1989 | John Kurtt | 14–22–1 | 10–7–1 | ||||||
1990 | John Kurtt | 12–19 | 10–10 | ||||||
1991 | John Kurtt | 10–22 | 8–8 | ||||||
1992 | John Kurtt | 9–25 | 6–15 | ||||||
1993 | John Kurtt | 4–16 | 2–8 | ||||||
1994 | Randy Moore | 17–14 | 8–8 | 5th | |||||
1995 | Randy Moore | 12–21 | 5–14 | 7th | |||||
1996 | Joel Holst | 20–20–1 | 7–9 | 4th | |||||
1997 | Joel Holst | 30–16 | 16–4 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
1998 | Joel Holst | 40–10 | 20–4 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
1999 | Joel Holst | 33–13–1 | 17–6 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
2000 | Joel Holst | 41–9 | 22–2 | 1st | College World Series | ||||
2001 | Joel Holst | 37–9–1 | 20–2 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
2002 | Joel Holst | 29–15 | 16–5 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
2003 | Joel Holst | 33–12–1 | 14–6 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
2004 | Joel Holst | 30–15 | 15–5 | 1st | |||||
2005 | Joel Holst | 37–11 | 18–3 | 1st | College World Series | ||||
2006 | Joel Holst | 27–15 | 11–5 | T–1st | |||||
2007 | Joel Holst | 28–13 | 18–5 | T–1st | |||||
2008 | Joel Holst | 27–15 | 17–3 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
2009 | Joel Holst | 28–20 | 14–10 | 4th | NCAA Regional | ||||
2010 | Joel Holst | 25–19 | 17–7 | 2nd | |||||
2011 | Joel Holst | 26–18 | 16–8 | 2nd | |||||
2012 | Joel Holst | 23–20 | 14–10 | 3rd | |||||
2013 | Joel Holst | 35–10 | 20–6 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
2014 | Joel Holst | 25–17 | 19–9 | 2nd | |||||
2015 | Joel Holst | 33–14 | 19–5 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
2016 | Joel Holst | 34–13 | 24–4 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
2017 | Joel Holst | 33–14 | 19–5 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
2018 | Joel Holst | 26–13 | 15–6 | 2nd | |||||
Wartburg Knights ( American Rivers Conference) (2019–Present) | |||||||||
2019 | Joel Holst | 13–26 | 9–15 | 7th | |||||
2020 | Joel Holst | 9–1 | 0–0 | Season canceled due to COVID-19 | |||||
2021 | Joel Holst | 14–28 | 12–20 | 6th | |||||
2022 | Joel Holst | 25–21 | 12–12 | 6th | |||||
2023 | Casey Chaplin | 14–21 | 9–15 | 6th | |||||
2024 | Casey Klunder | 23–19 | 12–12 | 6th | |||||
Total: | 1251–992–4 | ||||||||
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
|
Wartburg has made 29 appearances in the American Rivers Conference tournament and 19 appearances in the tournament championship game; both of which is the most in tournament history. [11] They appeared in 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023. They have an overall record of 66–40, with 10 championships, the last in 2017. [12]
NCAA Regional Results |
---|
1997 NCAA DIII Central Regional in
Carroll, IA |
1998 NCAA
Oshkosh Regional hosted by
Wisconsin-Oshkosh Lost to
Wisconsin-Oshkosh, 0–7 |
1999 NCAA
Geneva Regional hosted by
Aurora |
2000 NCAA
Bloomington Regional hosted by
Illinois Wesleyan Defeated
Aurora, 8–7 |
2001 NCAA
Bloomington Regional hosted by
Illinois Wesleyan Lost to
Hope, 1–2 |
2002 NCAA DIII
Monmouth Regional hosted by
Monmouth (IL) |
2003 NCAA
Clinton Regional hosted by
Mississippi College Lost to
Emory, 4–10 |
2005 NCAA
Bloomington Regional hosted by
Illinois Wesleyan Defeated
Washington University St. Louis, 4–2 |
2008 NCAA
Moline, Illinois Regional hosted by
Augustana (IL) Lost to
Augustana (IL), 5–6 |
2009 NCAA
Moline, Illinois Regional hosted by
Augustana (IL) Lost to
Millsaps, 3–5 |
2013 NCAA
Moline, Illinois Regional hosted by
Augustana (IL) Lost to
Adrian, 4–5 |
2015 NCAA
Waterloo Regional hosted by Wartburg Lost to
Anderson (IN), 3–4 |
2016 NCAA
Sauget Regional hosted by
Webster Lost to
Rose–Hulman, 2–7 |
2017 NCAA
Sauget Regional hosted by
Webster Defeated
Webster, 3–0 |
NAIA Area Tournament Results |
---|
1963 NAIA Area 4 Tournament in
Kansas City, MO hosted by
William Jewell Defeated
William Jewell, 3–1 |
1964 NAIA Area 4 Tournament in
Waverly, IA hosted by
Wartburg Defeated
William Jewell, 5–2 |
NCAA DIII College World Series Results |
---|
2000 College World Series in
Appleton, WI Defeated
Southern Maine, 2–1 |
2005 College World Series in
Appleton, WI Lost to
Chapman, 1–8 |
NAIA College World Series Results |
---|
1964 NAIA World Series
St. Joseph, Mo Defeated
West Liberty State, 2–1 |
† Mayville State's games were all ruled forfeits, with their opponents awarded 9–0 victories.
Wartburg has had seven professional baseball players and four selections in the Major League Baseball Draft since it began in 1965. [13] [14]
Year | Player | Draft Round | Team |
---|---|---|---|
1967 | Robert Meyer | 49 | Minnesota Twins |
1969 | Thomas Cain | 16 | Chicago White Sox |
1970 | Virgil Erickson | 22 | St. Louis Cardinals |
2001 | Matt Thede | – | Gulf Coast League Expos |
2008 | Ryan Grant | – | Sioux Falls Canaries |
2011 | Bradley Watson | 37 | St. Louis Cardinals |
2023 | Dylan Gotto | – | Idaho Falls Chukars |
As of the completion of 2024 season [10]
Tenure | Coach | Years | Record | Pct. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1958–1982 | Earnest Oppermann | 25 | 292–300–0 | .493 |
1983–1993 | John Kurtt | 11 | 192–210–0 | .478 |
1994–1995 | Randy Moore | 2 | 29–35–0 | .453 |
1996–2022 | Joel Holst | 27 | 761–407–4 | .651 |
2023 | Casey Chaplin | 1† | 14–21–0 | .400 |
2024–present | Casey Klunder | 1 | 23–19–0 | .548 |
Totals | 5 coaches | 67 seasons | 1251–992–4 | .558 |
† Casey Chaplin served as the interim head coach for the 1 season following the departure of Joel Holst.