LINCOLN, Neb. – Playing in wind chills below 30 degrees, Wartburg College completed the three game conference sweep over Nebraska Wesleyan baseball with a 9-0 victory on Saturday afternoon (March 31) at NWU Field in Lincoln.
 
NWU has now dropped six straight games to open the year at 0-6 in IIAC play and they now sit at 4-13 overall.  Wartburg, which is receiving votes in the NCAA III Baseball Top 25, moved to 12-5 overall and 3-0 in conference play.
 
Knights starting pitcher Dylan Gotto was in complete control on the mound pitching eight shutout innings allowing just four hits while striking out seven with two walks.  NWU had only two players reach second base the entire game as the bats were kept quiet by the Wartburg pitching staff.
 
Wartburg got on the board first with two runs in the top of the 2^nd inning, then added one more in the 5^th to take a 3-0 lead.  The game was broken open in the 7^th inning as the Knights knocked out NWU starting pitcher Riley Ward with three runs to make it 6-0.  Three more runs were scored in the 9^th inning to make the game out of reach.
 
Ward was solid on the mound for the Prairie Wolves allowing just six hits and two earned runs in 6 1/3 innings.  He struck out six and walked two facing 26 batters.  Connor Cech pitched two innings of relief
Stay tuned to the NWU Sports and NWU Baseball twitter pages for any potential schedule updates. allowing one earned run and Dalton Hinrichs pitched the final 2/3 innings giving up two runs.
 
Third baseman Parker Ridge was 4-4 with a double and three runs scored to lead the Knights offense.
 
NWU had four different players record singles on the day with no extra base hits.
 
Next up for the Prairie Wolves is a doubleheader at Buena Vista that is scheduled for Tuesday in Storm Lake, Iowa.