Coe wins Iowa Conference baseball tournament, headed to NCAAs

CEDAR RAPIDS – They couldn't beat Wartburg in the regular season, but when the postseason rolled around, Wartburg couldn't beat the Coe Kohawks.

Coe put together another big offensive game, rallied from three runs down early and won the Iowa Conference baseball tournament, 12-7, Saturday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The Kohawks (31-12) didn't bother with the 'if needed” game, winning three in a row here, two against top-seeded Wartburg (32-12). The Knights swept four straight from Coe in late March.

This was a much different story.

'This makes it so much sweeter,” said Coe's Craig Konrardy. 'We said after we lost to them in the regular season, we knew we were going to make the conference tournament, so we set our sights right then on getting back at them. We weren't going to let that happen again.

'We said … that they're not better than us. We proved that this weekend.”

Konrardy set the school's single-season record for most hits, going 2-for-4 with four runs scored and two RBIs, those RBIs coming in a six-run sixth inning that put Coe ahead for good. With one out and runners on second and third, the junior from Waterloo Columbus roped a triple to the fence in left-center field for a 5-4 Kohawks lead.

A wild pitch scored Konrardy, then two more runs came home on clutch hits from Jack Hoffmann and Jory Heckenberg.

'We hadn't been there the first two days,” said Coe Coach Steve Cook. 'We'd been ahead. This was really our first test of having to come from behind. We had a little adversity thrown at us early … To see the guys regroup and believe in each other (was great). We never stopped. All the talk in the dugout, everything between innings was always positive.

'Everybody's been hearing me say it. We find ways to win. Today was just a little different, but we still found a way to win.”

Wartburg took a 4-1 lead in the second when senior Jackson Litterer hit his first career home run, a two-out grand slam against Coe starting pitcher Ben Jacobson. The runs were unearned because of a rough defensive inning by second baseman Alec Zwanziger.

But he atoned with two important sacrifice bunts later in the game and a brilliant diving stop and throw to first base for an inning-ending out. Coe had 16 hits in the game, three each by Hoffmann and A.J. Reuter.

Hoffmann threw the final 3 2/3 innings for the save, a day after going 3 1/3 relief innings against Wartburg.

'My arm was getting a little tingly, a little tired there at the end,” Hoffmann said. 'But then you think about moments like these and know you've got to power through it.”

Hoffmann is one of five Kohawk seniors slated to graduate Sunday morning. Then he'll concentrate with the rest of his teammates on a NCAA Division III regional tournament next week.

Coe doesn't know where it will be assigned, but it makes perfect sense it'll be part of a regional at Waterloo. Wartburg, ranked 14th nationally, is expected to get an at-large bid to a regional, likely Waterloo.

'It would blow my mind if we didn't play in Waterloo, but you never know, Cook said. 'Ultimately these guys just really kept believing in themselves. Our talks in practices were always positive. The guys just never wavered. They stayed even keeled, and the momentum just kept growing and growing. It culminated here. We're going to enjoy this. At this tournament, you saw the best of us in these three ballgames.”

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