| Wartburg Knights | |
| Founded: | 1958 |
| Conference: | ARC |
| Location: | Waverly, Iowa |
| Coach: | Casey Klunder |
| Tenure: | 1st |
| Stadium: | Harms Stadium at Hertel Field |
| Capacity: | 500 |
| Nickname: | Knights |
| Cws: | 1964, 2000, 2005 |
| Ncaa Tourneys: | 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 |
| Conference Tournament: | 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2017 |
| Conference Champion: | 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).[1] 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.[2] 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.[3]
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.[4] Joel Holst resigned from his head coaching position prior to the 2023 season.[5] Following his resignation, Casey Chaplin was named interim head coach for the 2023 baseball season.[6]
Following the 2023 season, Casey Klunder, was tabbed as the fifth head coach in program history.[7] He began his tenure at Wartburg with a 12–4 win over Grove City, with a 3–0 start to the year.[8]
This is a table of the Wartburg Knights record year-by-year.[9]
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.[10] 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.[11]
| NCAA Regional Results | + |
|---|---|
| 1997 NCAA DIII Central Regional in Carroll, IA Lost to Carthage, 2–3 Lost to Aurora, 11–22 | |
| 1998 NCAA Oshkosh Regional hosted by Wisconsin-Oshkosh Lost to Wisconsin-Oshkosh, 0–7 Defeated Wisconsin-Stevens Point, 7–0 Lost to St. Thomas (MN), 8–16 | |
| 1999 NCAA Geneva Regional hosted by Aurora Lost to Simpson, 4–6 Lost to Carthage, 4–14 | |
| 2000 NCAA Bloomington Regional hosted by Illinois Wesleyan Defeated Aurora, 8–7 Defeated Westminster (MO), 8–0 Defeated Carthage, 8–5 Regional Championship | |
| 2001 NCAA Bloomington Regional hosted by Illinois Wesleyan Lost to Hope, 1–2 Defeated Anderson (IN), 9–1 Defeated Wisconsin–Whitewater, 6–2 Defeated Illinois Wesleyan, 11–10(10 inn.) Lost to Illinois Wesleyan, 6–7 | |
| 2002 NCAA DIII Monmouth Regional hosted by Monmouth (IL) Lost to Carthage, 2–3(10 inn.) Lost to Aurora, 2–10 | |
| 2003 NCAA Clinton Regional hosted by Mississippi College Lost to Emory, 4–10 Defeated Millsaps, 13–12 Lost to Carthage, 2–5 | |
| 2005 NCAA Bloomington Regional hosted by Illinois Wesleyan Defeated Washington University St. Louis, 4–2 Defeated Illinois Wesleyan, 1–0 Defeated Illinois Wesleyan, 11–5 Defeated Edgewood, 11–3 Regional Championship | |
| 2008 NCAA Moline, Illinois Regional hosted by Augustana (IL) Lost to Augustana (IL), 5–6 Defeated Webster, 2–0 Lost to Linfield, 5–57 | |
| 2009 NCAA Moline, Illinois Regional hosted by Augustana (IL) Lost to Millsaps, 3–5 Defeated Fontbonne, 4–2 Lost to Wisconsin–Whitewater, 3–8 | |
| 2013 NCAA Moline, Illinois Regional hosted by Augustana (IL) Lost to Adrian, 4–5 Defeated Ripon, 10–0 Lost to Augustana (IL), 3–9 | |
| 2015 NCAA Waterloo Regional hosted by Wartburg Lost to Anderson (IN), 3–4 Defeated Wisconsin-Stevens Point, 4–2 Lost to Carthage, 1–4 | |
| 2016 NCAA Sauget Regional hosted by Webster Lost to Rose–Hulman, 2–7 Defeated Westminster (MO), 8–0 Lost to Washington University St. Louis, 1–5 | |
| 2017 NCAA Sauget Regional hosted by Webster Defeated Webster, 3–0 Lost to North Central, 3–8 Defeated Washington University St. Louis, 1–0(13 inn.) Lost to Birmingham–Southern, 1–6 |
| NAIA Area Tournament Results | + |
|---|---|
| 1963 NAIA Area 4 Tournament in Kansas City, MO hosted by William Jewell Defeated William Jewell, 3–1 Defeated William Jewell, 3–2 1963 NAIA Area 4 District Final in Waverly, IA hosted by Wartburg Lost to Winona State, 0–4 Lost to Winona State, 1–2 | |
| 1964 NAIA Area 4 Tournament in Waverly, IA hosted by Wartburg Defeated William Jewell, 5–2 Defeated St. Cloud, 5–1 Defeated Wisconsin State–River Falls, 4–0 District Championship |
| NCAA DIII College World Series Results | + |
|---|---|
| 2000 College World Series in Appleton, WI Defeated Southern Maine, 2–1 Lost to Allegheny, 2–3 Lost to Montclair, 2–7 6th Place | |
| 2005 College World Series in Appleton, WI Lost to Chapman, 1–8 Defeated Trinity (CT), 4–1 Defeated Rowan, 8–6 Lost to SUNY-Cortland, 0–5 4th Place |
| NAIA College World Series Results | + |
|---|---|
| 1964 NAIA World Series St. Joseph, Mo Defeated West Liberty State, 2–1 Lost to Grambling, 1–3 Defeated Mayville State, 9–0† |
Wartburg has had seven professional baseball players and four selections in the Major League Baseball Draft since it began in 1965.[12] [13]
| Year | Player | Draft Round | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | 49 | Minnesota Twins | ||
| 1969 | 16 | Chicago White Sox | ||
| 1970 | 22 | St. Louis Cardinals | ||
| 2001 | – | Gulf Coast League Expos | ||
| 2008 | – | Sioux Falls Canaries | ||
| 2011 | 37 | St. Louis Cardinals | ||
| 2023 | – | Idaho Falls Chukars |
As of the completion of 2024 season[15]
| Tenure | Coach | Years | Record | Pct. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958–1982 | Earnest Oppermann | 25 | 292–300–0 | ||
| 1983–1993 | John Kurtt | 11 | 192–210–0 | ||
| 1994–1995 | Randy Moore | 2 | 29–35–0 | ||
| 1996–2022 | 27 | 761–407–4 | |||
| 2023 | Casey Chaplin | 1† | 14–21–0 | ||
| 2024–present | 1 | 23–19–0 | |||
| Totals | 5 coaches | 67 seasons | 1251–992–4 |