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).