Ramblers off to 11-2 start entering Wednesday

Key West has jumped out to an 11-2 overall record, including 4-0 in Prairie League games, behind three regulars hitting above .400. NAIA All-American Andrew Redman picked up where he left off after completing his collegiate career at Clarke University. He's hitting .522 and has yet to allow an earned run in 21 innings of work.

In the team's latest outing, the Ramblers defeated Cascade, 11-4, in Tuesday's (June 2) EIHL action. Six different Ramblers pounded out two or more hits as part of a 15-hit attack. Dan Spain bumped his season average to .405 by going 3-for-5 with a pair of runs batted in. The offensive outburst was plenty of support for starting pitcher Nick Woltkamp (4-0). He tossed eight innings and scattered eight hits and three walks while striking out seven. He allowed four runs (three earned).

Woltkamp has also excelled with the bat. He's 19-for-41 (.452) with eight RBIs and seven stolen bases in his first 11 career games with Key West. Only Redman has a higher average among teammates. The Ramblers are hitting .319 and have already swiped 18 bases through the team's opening 13 games.

Key West was set to put its undefeated Prairie League mark on the line on Wednesday (June 3) with a road game at Bellevue. First pitch is set for 7 p.m.

2015 Farley Tournament bracket

2015 Bellevue Tournament bracket

Ramblers win EIHL preseason tournament title

The Ramblers have blazed to a 4-0 start and an EIHL preseason tournament title. On the way to the championship, Key West defeated Monticello, 8-2, Dubuque, 2-1, and Dyersville, 6-2. First baseman Chris Briggs homered in the title game win over Dyersville.

Redman no-hitter highlights 2-0 start

Defending champions of the EIHL, the Key West Ramblers have begun the 2015 season with a pair of victories. In the season opener on May 9, Andrew Redman fired a five-inning no-hitter in an 8-0 tournament victory over Monticello. The next day Key West defeated Zwingle on the road, 15-5, in a Prairie League contest.

Through two games, Anthony Ruden and Brett LaMere have both notched four hits. Redman, named the Midwest Collegiate Conference player of the year, went 2-for-3 while striking out 11 in his masterful effort versus Monticello. He faced just one batter over the minimum. The only Monticello baserunner that evening reached on a walk.

In the win at Zwingle, Nick Woltkamp picked up the win in his Rambler debut on the mound. He went six innings and allowed four runs (all earned) on nine hits and three walks. He also struck out seven.

Key West returns to action on Thursday when it begins EIHL play at Worthington. First pitch is slated for 7 p.m.

Ramblers announce 2015 schedule

The 2015 Key West Ramblers schedule has been announced. View this summer's slate by clicking HERE. The link is also available at the top right of the web page.

Last season Key West went 34-14 overall and won EIHL postseason and Farley tournament titles. The 2015 season will mark the 12th year of Rambler baseball since its rebirth in 2004. During that stretch, Key West has compiled an overall record of 274-189 (.591).

Ramblers finish 2014 with third highest win percentage in team history

With a final overall record of 34-14 (.708), the 2014 Key West Ramblers finished the season with the third highest win percentage in team history. The only Key West teams to produce better win percentages were the 2012 (40-12, .769) and 2011 (35-13, .729) Rambler squads.

While its 34 wins fell six short of the team record, the 2014 Ramblers accomplished something that had not been done in their history - they won the EIHL postseason championship. And they did it in dominant fashion. Behind a monster day from all-star second baseman Andrew Redman, Key West won 8-0 over Dubuque in the semifinals and 10-2 over Farley in the title game (both on Aug. 10).

Redman went a combined 6-for-7 with three home runs, a double and seven RBIs on that championship Sunday as part of one of the best seasons ever for a Rambler hitter. The Clarke University standout fell just short of a single-season team record with his batting average of .414 over 42 games. However, he did break a team record with his 50 runs scored. He also recorded a 1.167 OPS, seven home runs, 39 RBIs, 10 doubles and 14 stolen bases.

His efforts also helped pave the way for the Ramblers to claim the Farley Tournament title. During the annual event at Farley, Key West defeated Dubuque, Peosta, Dyersville and then host Farley. The championship game with Farley will go down as a classic as it took 12 innings to decide a winner. Rambler starting pitcher Jordan Hohensee covered all 12 innings and first baseman Chris Briggs delivered a walk-off RBI single for a 5-4 win.

Hohensee served as Key West's horse all season, breaking a team single-season record with 96.1 innings pitched. The Clarke graduate started the all-star game on the mound for the EIHL and finished his season with a record of 9-5 to go along with a 1.87 ERA, .211 opponent batting average and 83 strikeouts.

Shortstop Dan Spain came through with another great season and was the third Rambler to represent the team as an all-star game starter. Spain hit .333 with three home runs, 30 RBIs, 12 stolen bases and a team high 16 doubles while playing his usual stellar defense at shortstop.

After a slow start, Briggs got hot and produced solid numbers. Typically the team's No. 4 hitter in the lineup, Briggs batted .323 with a .411 on-base percentage, five home runs, 38 RBIs and seven stolen bases while playing in all 47 games (team record). His 28 career home runs are the most in team history.

One of the season's biggest surprises was right-handed pitcher Kenny Capesius, who carried an unblemished 8-0 record until being tagged with his first loss in the final game of the season. Capesius routinely frustrated hitters despite his lack of an overpowering fastball. He turned in a sparkling 1.84 ERA in large part because of his impeccable control - just nine walks in 63.2 innings of work.

The Ramblers played their best baseball during the period of May 20 through June 24 when they went 13-1, won the Farley Tournament and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 116-27. Included in that stretch was a 10-game winning streak - the longest in team history, surpassing the nine-game win streak of the 40-victory 2012 team.

In 2014, the Ramblers bounced back from the disappointment of a 20-20 record in 2013. From a statistical standpoint, the 2014 Key West squad was even better than the 2012 edition that holds the record for wins in a season. In 2014, the Ramblers set new team hitting records for batting average (.309), on-base percentage (.395) and runs (303). In addition, a dominant pitching staff broke team marks for ERA (2.17) and opponent batting average (.195).

While familiar stars like Briggs, Redman and Spain again shined, the emergence of regulars like Anthony Ruden, Brett LaMere and Ben Oglesby and pitchers such as Capesius and Austin Bradley proved just as important. Key West needed such contributions considering veterans Tim Carty and Justin Kuhle both registered career lows for games played in 2014.

With a record of 211-117 since the start of the 2008 campaign, the Ramblers will be expected to be one of the heavyweights on the Eastern Iowa semi-pro baseball circuit once again in 2015. While the Ramblers may have won 'only' two tournaments in 2014, they dominated league play with a combined EIHL and Prairie League record of 24-6. Further, they had an overall run differential of plus-188. Key West's place among the elite area teams has been well established.