# Wartburg Knights baseball

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). 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. 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.

### 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. Joel Holst resigned from his head coaching position prior to the 2023 season. Following his resignation, Casey Chaplin was named interim head coach for the 2023 baseball season.

### Casey Klunder era (2024-Present)

Following the 2023 season, Casey Klunder, was tabbed as the fifth head coach in program history. He began his tenure at Wartburg with a 12–4 win over Grove City, with a 3–0 start to the year.

## Record by year

This is a table of the Wartburg Knights record year-by-year.
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 | |
| 2025 | Casey Klunder | 0–0 | 0–0 | | |
| Total: | 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. 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.

## NCAA Regional appearances

* NCAA Regional Results
* NAIA Area Tournament Results

## College World Series appearances

* NCAA DIII College World Series Results
* NAIA College World Series Results
† 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.
| 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: Kyle Dupic
* Catching: Hunter Destival
* Outfield: Jared Pirkl
* Strength and Conditioning: Ethan Hayes
* Athletic Trainer: Danny Drees

## Head coaching history

As of the completion of 2024 season
| 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.