The regular-season Iowa Conference champion Wartburg baseball team will be making its second-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament today (Wednesday, May 18, 2016).

The 19th-ranked Knights (33-11) received an at-large bid the NCAA Central Regional after falling to Luther in the championship game of the league tournament Saturday afternoon.

The Wartburg Knights are the No. 2 seed in the six-team Central Regional, hosted by Webster University. The other teams include top-seeded Wisconsin-Whitewater (29-14); third-seeded Augustana (Ill.) (30-12); fourth-seeded Washington University (Mo.) (31-16); fifth-seeded Rose-Hulman (29-11); and sixth-seeded Westminster (Mo.) (28-13).

Wartburg plays Rose Hulman at 3:30 p.m. today at GCS Ballpark Sauget, Ill., a suburb of St. Louis. The Fightin' Engineers, however, hold the all-time series lead at 6-2. Wartburg beat Rose-Hulman, 11-7, when the two meets last met during a spring break trip to Florida in 2015.

Prior to the IIAC Tournament, the Knights reeled off victories in 11 of 12 contests. They enter the regional with one of the best defenses in the country (.966 fielding percentage).

Wartburg has a team earned run average of 3.07, which is among the 15-best in the nation. All four of the Knights' starting pitchers were named to an IIAC All-Conference team, which tied a program record.

On offense, Jake Thurmann slugged .686 during the season with 105 total bases accumulated. He hit 11 home runs and 14 doubles to go along with 32 RBIs. Clay Henning hit .358, while Blake Mahoney stole 28 bases for the Knights.

The Fightin' Engineers' offense features nine starters who are all hitting .300 or better and a deep and talented pitching staff that's led by senior Alec McNally, who has a 6-0 record and a 1.99 earned run average.

Rose-Hulman is making its seventh NCAA Tournament appearance after winning the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Tournament title for the fifth time last weekend. This marks the 13th NCAA appearance in program history for Wartburg, which is 19-24 all-time in the tournament and finished a program-best fourth in 2005.

The Division III NCAA Central Regional continues through Saturday. The full double-elimination bracket is available below.

NCAA Division III Central Regional Tournament Bracket:

Wednesday May 18
Game 1 — #1 Wisconsin-Whitewater (29-14) vs. #6 Westminster (Mo.) (28-13), Noon
Game 2 — #2 Wartburg (33-11) vs. #5 Rose-Hulman (29-11), 3:30 p.m.
Game 3 — #3 Augustana (Ill.) (30-12) vs. #4 Washington University (Mo.) (31-16), 7 p.m.

Thursday May 19
Game 4 — Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, Noon
Game 5 — Winner Game 1 vs. Loser Game 3, 3:30 p.m.
Game 6 — Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3, 7 p.m.

If four teams remain after Game 6, the following procedure will be observed:

Friday May 20
Game 7 — Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, Noon
Game 8 — Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 6, 3:30 p.m.
Game 9 — Loser Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 7 p.m.

Saturday May 21
Game 10 — Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 9, Noon
Game 11 — If necessary, same teams as in Game 10, 3:30 p.m.

If five teams remain after Game 6, the following procedure will be observed:

Friday May 20
Game 7 —
Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6, Noon
Game 8 — Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 3:30 p.m.
Game 9 — Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 7, 7 p.m.

2 Teams Left After Game 9:

Saturday May 21
Game 10 — Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 9, Noon
Game 11 — If necessary, same teams as in Game 10, 3:30 p.m.

3 Teams Left After Game 9:

Saturday May 21
Game 10 — Winner Game 8 vs. Loser Game 9, Noon
Game 11 — Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10, 3:30 p.m.

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