Wartburg Knights baseball

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.

History

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 era (1997-2022)

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]

Casey Klunder era (2024-Present)

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]

Record by year

This is a table of the Wartburg Knights record year-by-year. ^[10]

Statistics overview

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         Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

American Rivers Conference tournaments

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 appearances

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

College World Series appearances

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†

† Mayville State's games were all ruled forfeits, with their opponents awarded 9–0 victories.

Professional Players

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

Current coaching staff

• Head coach: Casey Klunder
• Hitting, infield, recruiting coordinator: Tyler Willis
• Pitching: Matt Milewski
• Pitching: Dylan Gotto
• Catching: Hunter Destival
• Outfield: Jared Pirkl
• Strength and Conditioning: Ethan Hayes
• Athletic Trainer: Danny Drees

^[15]

Head coaching history

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.

References

1. "Brand Guidlines Wartburg College" (PDF). Retrieved March 22, 2023.
2. "Baseball History Wartburg College Athletics".
3. "NAIA Baseball Championship Records" (PDF). www.naiahonors.com. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
4. Petaros, Nick (May 6, 2017). "College baseball: Wartburg secures third consecutive IIAC title". Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
5. Dixon, Jim. "Championships record book". D3baseball.com. D3baseball.com. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
6. "Wartburg College baseball coach resigns ahead of beginning of season". KWWL. February 24, 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
7. Thompson, Nick (February 24, 2023). "Chaplin named interim Wartburg head baseball coach". Waverly Newspapers. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
8. Coleman, Rick (May 17, 2023). "Casey Klunder to become Wartburg College Head Baseball Coach". KWWL. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
9. Woods, Ben. "Baseball Opens 2024 Season With 12-4 Win". go-knights.net. Wartburg Athletics. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
10. "Wartburg Knights Baseball Record Book" (PDF). Wartburg Knights. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
11. "Conference Baseball Tournament History". rollriver.com. American Rivers Conference. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
12. Nelson, Jim (May 13, 2017). "College baseball: Wartburg charges into NCAA tournament". Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
13. "MLB Amateur Draft Picks who came from "Wartburg College (Waverly, IA)"". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2024-02-11.
14. "ProPlayers from Wartburg". www.baseball-reference.com. Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 8 March 2024.
15. "Baseball Coaches".

External links

• Official website