Steve Cook strode to the mound in the sixth inning Friday with a plan that might have been stolen from the Little League coaches manual.

It was time for a pitching change, but that's not all.

"AJ," the Coe coach began when he got the mound. "It's time for you to stop pitching and go play first base. Nice job, son.

"Jory, you switch from first base to third base. Remember to change gloves. Cole, you move from third base to right field. And Jack, you come in from right field and pitch.

"OK, fellas? And after the game we'll go for ice cream."

It may have looked like a Little League game, but it had big-time results (we're not sure about the ice cream).

All the maneuvers helped Coe whip Wartburg, 6-3, in the winners bracket final of the Iowa Conference tournament at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The Kohawks need one more victory on Saturday to claim the league's automatic berth in the NCAA tournament. The first championship game is set for 1 p.m.

There was a method to Cook's seeming madness in the sixth inning, when he moved four players to new spots. The Kohawks have a versatile team with players who are capable of playing a variety of positions and playing them well.

AJ Reuter pitched a good game for 5 2/3 innings, but it was time to summon Jack Hoffmann in from right field for another strong outing in relief. Jory Heckenberg moved from first base to third base, Cole Tomlinson switched from third base to right field and Reuter switched to first.

"It's an athletic group, being able to be versatile," said Reuter. "It's a big advantage for us to have great baseball players on this team that can play any position that Coach wants."

Cook laughed at the reference to a Little League game.

"It's funny you should mention that. I kind of felt that way," he said.

"Walking out there I'm thinking to myself, 'OK, I've got to remember to tell the umpire about four position changes and everybody stays on the field.' Nobody came off the bench."

Reuter left the mound in the sixth inning with a 4-3 lead, but he's an excellent hitter and Cook wanted to keep his bat in the game. That paid dividends when Reuter drove in two big insurance runs in the seventh and ninth innings to give him four RBIs in the game.

Reuter is enjoying a tremendous tournament so far. He's 6-for-9 as a batter with two doubles, a home run and six RBIs in two games, as well as being Friday's winning pitcher.

"It's going well so far," he said modestly. "The whole team is playing well. Everybody is stepping up to the plate with a lot of confidence. We're pounding the ball like we need to and putting runs up on the board."

Hoffmann mowed through the Knights without allowing a run in 3 2/3 innings. He had a chance to warm up in the bullpen between innings, something he's become accustomed to during his career. It did not affect his hitting (2-for-4 with an RBI) or his pitching.

Hoffmann was happy to get a small measure of revenge against the Knights, who swept a four-game series from the Kohawks earlier this season.

"It's just amazing," he said. "I keep telling myself, these are the best games of my life, the moments like this. I wanted to get a second chance at them. I knew no better time than right now."

This was a huge victory for Coe, in many ways. Wartburg has won the IIAC tournament nine times, compared to only once for the Kohawks, and is always among the favorites in the conference. The Knights are seeded No. 1 and the Kohawks are seeded No. 2.

"I still have chills from the game," Reuter said 20 minutes after it ended.

The Kohawks could meet the Knights again in the championship round on Saturday. Wartburg will be playing in the losers bracket final at 10 a.m. Saturday and would need to beat the

Kohawks two straight times after that to win the title.

The Kohawks (30-12) appear to have a confident and aggressive club.

"It starts with the kids. We've been noticing that too," said Cook. "The second half of the season it happened."

The confidence grew as the Kohawks won series after series, big game after big game.

"It seems like it took on a life of its own amongst them," said Cook. "And I just tried to stay out of the way, to be real honest with you. I'm not even kidding.

"If they stick with that and stick together, I think they've got a chance. There's nobody they don't want to face. That's going to take you a long way, or at least has a shot of taking you a long way.

"They want to be there, they want to be in the championship game, they wanted to play Wartburg."

They even enjoy swapping positions in the middle of a big game.

"This team is really well put together and I think we're going to have a lot fun the next two days," said Reuter. "We have a lot of confidence. We feel we are one of the better teams around."

Hoffmann, blessed with a rubber arm, could pitch again Saturday if he's called upon. If so, look for him to bend down and smooth the dirt around the pitching rubber, similar to the late Mark "The Bird" Fidrych when he pitched for the Detroit Tigers.

"I'm a little superstitious," Hoffmann confessed. "I'm not going to mess with it or alter it. There are a couple of holes that get in there, but it's become more of a routine."

There's no reason to mess with success, not at this point. Not with the Iowa Conference title and a berth in the NCAA tournament at stake.

Coe           002 020 101 - 6 13 2
Wartburg   000 210 000 - 3 9 0

W - Reuter. L - Langheinrich. S - Hoffmann.