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Coe wins A-R-C baseball tournament title thanks to 2 guys just returning from injury
Pitchers Jordan Joselit and Drew Osterhaus close out 6-2 championship game win over Buena Vista
May. 11, 2024 6:47 pm, Updated: May. 12, 2024 8:34 am
CEDAR RAPIDS — Coe College finished off a perfect American Rivers Conference baseball tournament with a 6-2 win in the championship game Saturday over Buena Vista.
The pitcher who got the final six outs was Drew Osterman. The pitcher who got the three outs prior to that was Jordan Joselit.
That they threw on this big stage was pretty amazing. That they threw as well as they did even more so.
The “UCL Crew” has missed virtually this entire season rehabbing from respective surgeries on their throwing elbows.
“Proud as heck of them for how hard they worked to come back from their surgeries,” said Coe Coach Steve Cook. “The whole year we had a plan, we had a date in mind, and it was going to bring us to about the weekend before the conference tournament. Both of them stayed on schedule. Honestly, I had all the confidence in the world in them. But beyond that, they earned it. They earned the right to get back and be a part of what we did here at the end.”
Joselit threw in his first game April 29. Saturday was just his third appearance this season.
Osterman threw in his first game May 3. He pitched in Coe’s tournament-opening win Thursday over Loras and then again here.
Joselit had his elbow surgery last April, Osterman last July. They had each other to lean on during the rehabilitation process, which was a very good thing.
“Just lucky I have great guys behind me. They helped me get back,” said Osterman, from Macomb, Ill. “The coaching staff was fantastic. Our athletic trainer Nikki (Trumpold), she helped me a lot throughout the season. A lot of help, working hard to come back this season. I knew I wanted to try my best to get back. It feels great.”
As seniors, they easily could have just graduated and gone on with their lives. But they wanted one more season, even if meant only being able to pitch in less than a handful of games.
“We both looked at each other like ‘We’ve got to put our heads down, we’ve got to grind and come back for this team maybe next year,’” said Joselit, from Phoenix. “Here we are now. The hard work paid off, and it just feels so damn good.”
Everyone on this Coe team can say that now. The Kohawks (29-14) won their three games in this tournament with really good pitching and defense and just enough offense.
Top-seeded Coe beat Loras in the first round, 6-4, beat second-seeded Buena Vista in Friday’s winner’s bracket game, 4-3, and scored a pair of go-ahead runs in the fourth here. Landon Moore threw three scoreless innings in relief to get the pitching victory for the Kohawks, who learn Sunday where they will go for an NCAA Division III tournament regional.
Mitchell Eckardt had three hits and Tyce Johnson two in this game for Coe. Johnson had a two-out RBI triple, then scored on a wild pitch for two huge eighth-inning insurance runs.
“All the hard work and preparation paid off finally,” Johnson said. “The beginning of the year, we didn’t think we were going to be a powerhouse like this, like we have been. We got off to a rough start, obviously, down in Florida. Then we just kind of took off when we got back home. We never lost stride, I guess.”
Coe was 4-8 at one point this season but won the A-R-C regular-season title and added the tournament double.
“You come into this tournament knowing that you’ve got to win,” said Cook, who has led Coe to seven NCAA tournament appearances in his 28 seasons as head coach. “You’ve got to win to get in. You earn that right by getting through this grind. It’s not easy winning a six-team, double-elimination tournament. They played unbelievable. They pitched and played defense. They earned it all the way.”
Comments: (319)-398-8258, jeff.johnson@thegazette.com
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