CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — The second-seeded Coe College baseball team opened the 2026 American Rivers Conference Baseball tournament with a 9-1 victory over third-seeded Simpson College at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Thursday evening. Coe, which advances into the winner's bracket to face No. 4 Wartburg tomorrow at 12 PM, fell behind in the top of the first as Simpson got a one-out double to get to
Jack Walsh early on. Walsh's offense immediately brought it back to level in their half of the first as
Ryan Thoreson drove home
Jack Casey with a double two batters into the inning. The Kohawks exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the third inning and never looked back, sending 12 men to the plate during the outburst as four Kohawks picked up RBI in the frame. Walsh had plenty of insurance and settled in for the remainder of his outing, working around a bit of traffic before exiting after seven strong innings.
Trevor Morse entered out of the pen and handled business in the final two innings, scattering three hits in two scoreless frames as Coe picked up the victory. Thoreson led Coe's offense with three RBI and was one of three players with multi-hit performances as Casey and
Isaiah Espey helped drive the Kohawks.
#2 COE 9 - #3 SIMPSON 1
- Simpson got the perfect start, using a one-out walk to set the table for a run-scoring double that made it 1-0. Casey gave an immediate chance for Coe in the bottom of the inning, singling on a full count before Thoreson's double to center tied it. Casey was the table setter for the big Kohawk inning, starting with an infield single before Thoreson and Wille reached to load the bases. A groundout put a damper on the chance, but Jake Mitchell broke the tie with a bloop single to left for 2-1. A wild pitch allowed Coe's fourth run to score as Wille scored on a wild pitch ahead of another RBI single from Austin Gomez for 5-1. A passed ball allowed yet another run to score to make it 6-1 before Thoreson capped off the explosion with a two-run single to make it 8-1. Coe's offense added another insurance run in the sixth as Espey delivered a two-out double to plate Eli Elsbecker for 9-1. Morse relieved Walsh after the seventh and did surrender a pair of singles in the eighth and a double in the ninth, but the righty held on and finished off the victory with back-to-back flyouts.
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