Alec Zwanziger felt like crawling in a hole and hiding after he had a rough inning on defense in the Iowa Conference tournament Saturday, but it's hard to disappear in the middle of a minor league ballpark when everybody is looking at you.

Instead of hiding, Zwanziger and the Coe baseball team bounced back like champions.

The Kohawks overcame a rough start and dumped Wartburg, 12-7, in the championship game of the IIAC tournament at Veterans Memorial Stadium to earn the league's automatic in the NCAA Division III playoffs.

Zwanziger mishandled three straight chances at second base in the second inning. Only one of the plays was ruled an error, but he could have made all three plays.

Wartburg took advantage of the extra outs when Jackson Litterer belted a grand slam to give the Knights a 4-1 lead.

"I'll tell you what, I wasn't feeling too great," Zwanziger acknowledged. "I think that was pretty obvious. But that's what this season has been all about. We're fighters."

Some teams would have folded under the pressure, but not the Kohawks.

"We've been down in games before and came back and found a way to win," said Zwanziger. "I love playing with these guys and don't want to play with anybody else."

Zwanziger hung in there and contributed two key sacrifice bunts when the Kohawks broke the game open in the sixth and seventh innings with nine runs.

The day had a happy ending for Coe with a big dog-pile on the pitcher's mound after the final out, lots of hugs and an ice-water bath for Coach Steve Cook.

The Kohawks struggled last year with a 15-24 record, but the same group of guys returned this season and is heading to the NCAA tournament with a sparkling 31-12 record.

"They took it upon themselves and they wanted to do something about it," said Cook, who is taking Coe to the NCAAs for the fourth time since 2006. "I'm just so proud of this senior and junior group."

The Kohawks trailed 4-2 heading into the top of the sixth inning when they made their big move with a six-run outburst. Cole Tomlinson had an RBI single to make it 4-3, then Craig Konrardy ripped a two-run triple for a 5-4 lead.

Coe scored three more runs in the inning for an 8-4 lead and never trailed again.

"Craig Konrardy's at-bat was huge," said Cook. "He gets that two-run triple and things just started to unfold from there.

"You always have to have a catalyst. We've been fortunate to have different ones, but Craig stepped up in that at-bat and things just took off from there and the guys really started to believe."

Konrardy, a shortstop who plays with gusto, lit an emotional fire in the Kohawks with his performance and his histrionics, waving his arms and leaping in the air and high-fiving everyone in sight.

"I like to get energized," he said. "I like to lead more by example than going around and hooting and hollering at everyone, but I definitely did that today."

Wartburg responded with two runs in the bottom of the sixth to pull within 8-6, but Jack "Rubber Arm" Hoffmann relieved Ben Jacobson and pitched 3 2/3 innings for the second straight day for his second straight save.

As it turns out, Hoffmann's arm is not as rubbery as he makes it appear.

"It was getting a little tingly, a little tender towards the end," he allowed. "But when you talk about moments like these, you have to power through it and give it everything you've got."

AJ Reuter, who enjoyed a phenomenal tournament, provided a pair of insurance runs in the seventh inning with a bloop double that landed in a perfect spot down the right-field line. That made it 11-6 and was all the cushion they needed.

Reuter went 9-for-14 in three games in the tournament, drove in nine runs and was the winning pitcher Friday against Wartburg in the winners bracket final. Reuter broke the middle finger on his left (throwing) hand in the second game of the season in Florida, but he was in full force this weekend.

If the Iowa Conference had a tournament MVP, Reuter would have been it.

"It was really special and it was really needed for us," Cook said of Reuter's performances. "I don't know if we get this without AJ playing at what I call an All-American level."

The NCAA will announce the assignments for the national tournament late Sunday night, probably after the Coe players have gone to bed. The Kohawks planned to celebrate Saturday night, then the seniors have their graduation ceremony Sunday morning at 10.

"It's going to be a long day tomorrow," said Hoffmann. "We'll have to set our alarms."

The Kohawks might not have to travel very far for the NCAA regional tournament. One of the regional sites is Riverfront Stadium in Waterloo, which would be cozy for Coe.

"We're an hour away," said Cook. "It would seem to make sense to leave us there."

Whether it's Waterloo or Timbuktu, the Kohawks will be happy and proud to be playing in the NCAA tournament.

"It feels great," said Zwanziger. "After a year like last year, we weren't sure what we were coming into this year. It couldn't have happened any better than right here."

Wartburg (32-12) will be hoping for an at-large berth in the NCAA tournament after winning the regular-season title in the Iowa Conference.

Hoffmann said Friday's victory over Wartburg in the winner's bracket final was the greatest day of his life, but he had to amend that Saturday after they beat the Knights for the title.

"Now today is the greatest day of my life," he said. "Life can't get any better. These guys are my brothers and my family. It's a great, great day for baseball."

Coe       100 016 310 - 12 16 2
Wartburg  040 002 010 - 7 10 1

W - Jacobson (6-3). L - Knouse (4-3). S - Hoffmann.