Coe shoots for 3rd straight IIAC baseball title

CEDAR RAPIDS - Maybe it meant something, maybe it didn't.

Coe swept Wartburg in a double-header to end the Iowa Conference regular season last week. The Knights still won the IIAC championship, but the Kohawks hope the twin wins will catapult them to a third consecutive conference tournament championship.

Maybe it will, maybe it won't.

“No doubt it's going to help our guys,” said Coe Coach Steve Cook. “Wartburg is a quality program, obviously, and is the regular-season champion. Coming up with (those) two wins, hopefully we'll be able to carry over some momentum and just some confidence, especially offensively. You want to go into the tournament with offensive confidence.”

The Iowa Conference baseball tournament begins this afternoon at 1 with first-round games at Daniels Park (Central vs. Simpson) and Veterans Memorial Stadium (Buena Vista vs. Loras). The remainder of the tourney is at Memorial Stadium, including second-seeded Coe's opener at 4 against the Central-Simpson winner.

Top-seeded Wartburg plays the BV-Loras winner at 7. As always, this is double elimination, with the winner qualifying for NCAA Division III regionals.

“For us, we've got to pitch and play defense,” said Cook, the former Cedar Rapids Kernels infielder who has won 337 games in 17 seasons at Coe. “Get some timely hitting. You talk about cliches, that's about as cliche as it gets ... And you've got to be ready for anything.”

Coe lost seven offensive starters from last season's regional qualifier but still went 26-12. The Kohawks have one of the top players in the league in senior outfielder Nick Stein, who led the IIAC in home runs (8), slugging percentage and stolen bases. Sophomore A.J. Reuter of Monticello had a club-best .372 batting average.

Wartburg (31-9) leads the Iowa Conference in just about every offensive category. In a double-elimination format, you've got to have deep pitching, so it'll be interesting to see which of the six teams can get the most of that.

“Our tournament, that double-elimination format, you've got to take care of business right out of the shoot,” said Wartburg Coach Joel Holst. “You just don't want to go into that loser's bracket.”

“Wartburg is just so deep,” Cook said. “They come to play and their lineup, one through nine, is so strong. And they're a veteran club.”

2013 IOWA CONFERENCE BASEBALL TOURNAMENT May 9-11 at Cedar Rapids Thursday, May 9

Game 1 – #4 Central vs. #5 Simpson, 1 p.m.^

Game 2 – #3  Buena Vista vs. #6 Loras, 1 p.m.

Game 3 – Game 2 winner vs. #2 Coe, 4 p.m.

Game 4 – Game 1 winner vs. #1 Wartburg, 7 p.m.

Friday, May 10

Game 5 – Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 10 a.m.

Game 6 – Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 1 p.m.

Game 7 – Game 5 winner vs. lower-seeded Game 3/4 loser#, 4 p.m.

Game 8 – Game 7 winner vs. higher-seeded Game 3/4 loser#, 7 p.m.

Saturday, May 11

Game 9 – Game 8 winner vs. Game 6 loser, 10 a.m.

Game 10 – Game 6 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 1 p.m.

Game 11 – Game 6 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 4 p.m. (if necessary)

^ - Game 1 will be played at Daniels Park; all other games will be played at Veterans Memorial Stadium

# - If ONE of the Game 3/4 losers has already had a bye, that team will play in Game 7, regardless of seed.