Coe College - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Coe tops St. John's in NCAA tourney

LA CROSSE, Wis. - The Coe College baseball team got strong pitching Wednesday morning and clipped St. John's of Minnesota, 4-2, in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional tournament in La Crosse, Wis.

Connor Alberhasky (5-4) allowed only one earned run in seven innings and got the victory. Jack Hoffmann, one of the stars for Coe in the Iowa Conference tournament last weekend, tossed two innings of shutout ball for the save.

Coe (32-12) will face Ripon (24-14) in the second round Thursday at 4:30 p.m. The Kohawks anticipated meeting Wisconsin-Whitewater in the second round, but Ripon stunned Whitewater 15-7 Wednesday and dropped the No. 1 seed and 2014 national champs into the losers bracket.

Hoffmann has collected three straight saves for the Kohawks, twice against Wartburg in the league tournament and now against St. John's in the NCAA regional tournament. They are his only three saves of the season and have come at a perfect time for the Kohawks.

Craig Konrardy went 2-for-3 and two drove in two runs for Coe. Hoffmann and Grant Henning were both 2-for-5.

The Kohawks have tied the school record for most victories in a season, matching the 2011 club with 32 wins.

Coe scored its first two runs in the second inning on bases-loaded walks by Alec Zwanziger and Konrardy for a 2-1 lead. The Kohawks added two more runs in the fourth inning on RBI singles by Konrardy and Hoffmann for a 4-1 advantage.

St. John's pulled within 4-2 in the fifth inning, but drew no closer.

Coe             020 200 000 - 4 10 1
St. John's   100 010 000 - 2 10 1

W - Alberhasky (5-4). L - Delwiche (3-4). S - Hoffmann (3).

IIAC honors 7 Kohawks in baseball

Seven members of the Coe baseball team have been named to the Iowa Conference all-star team, the league announced Wednesday.

AJ Reuter, Craig Konrardy, Michael Goerdt and Jack Hoffmann were named to the first team. Connor Alberhasky and Grant Henning were named to the second team. Jory Heckenberg received honorable mention.

The Kohawks (32-12) won the Iowa Conference tournament last weekend and defeated St. John's of Minnesota, 4-2, in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional tournament in La Crosse, Wis., Wednesday.

Cedar Rapids Prairie grad DJ Utley of Wartburg was named first team all-conference.

Sprinkel, Rodgers honored in IIAC tennis

Coe senior Noah Sprinkel has been named the Iowa Conference Men’s Tennis Player of the Year for the third year in a row and Coe’s Eric Rodgers has been named the 2015 IIAC Men’s Tennis Coach of the Year.

Sprinkel was voted all-conference in both singles and doubles this season. He has a 31-11 record, including a 13-4 mark in singles despite playing only in the spring. Sprinkel will play in the NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Championships at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio, next week.

Rodgers received IIAC Men’s Tennis Coach of the Year honors for the seventh time and the fourth year in succession. He led Coe to a 21-7 record overall and a 7-0 mark in the league, winning the school’s 10th Iowa Conference title.

The IIAC also announced the 2015 All-Iowa Conference Men’s Tennis Team. Sixteen individuals were selected to fill the 12 singles and 12 doubles positions with Coe’s Sprinkel, Riley Galbraith, Ryan Hickman, Brady Anderson and Alex Bernt honored.

Marion High School grad Brandon Hornback made the all-conference team in doubles for Wartburg.

Chad Moklestad and Zack Decker of Coe received honorable mention. Kennedy grad Jimmy Cunningham received honorable mention for Central College.

Reuter, Hoffmann honored by IIAC

Coe baseball players AJ Reuter and Jack Hoffmann have been named Athletes of the Week by the Iowa Conference for their outstanding work in the league tournament.

Reuter went 9-for-14 in three games, drove in nine runs and was the winning pitcher against Wartburg in the winners bracket final Friday.

Hoffmann pitched 3 2/3 innings in relief on Friday and Saturday, both times against 14th-ranked Wartburg in the double-elimination tournament. He collected saves in both games as the Kohawks won the tournament. He allowed just one run in the tournament.

They were Hoffmann's first two saves of the season.