No. 3 seed Luther faced No. 4 Dubuque in the first elimination game of the 2024 American Rivers Conference Baseball Tournament this afternoon at Mount Mercy University, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Trailing 8-3 heading into the bottom of the eighth, the Norse score four runs in that frame and added two more in the ninth to secure a 9-8 come-from-behind victory.

Gabe Atkins, who replaced starter Noah Kindem in left field due to an injury in the fourth, provided a walk-off single to center field that scored Mark Prince from second base for the game winning run.

The ninth was set up with a four-run eighth, where the Norse drew a walk and tallied four hits. Both Will Heithoff and Cullen Stamp provided two-run singles.

Multiple hit games were recorded by Joshua Matanich, Prince and Stamp, all with two hits.

Kaleb Thiesse (4-0) was credited with the win in relief. Thiesse pitched 3 2/3 innings, did not allow a run on one hit, walked one and struck out three.

With the win, Luther improved to 27-15. The Norse will now face the lowest seeded loser of games 3 and 4. That game is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Stadium tomorrow afternoon.

2024 A-R-C Baseball Tournament Schedule