Ramblers close 2016 with Peosta, Prairie League titles

In an unprecedented season of championships, the Key West Ramblers rattled off two more titles over the final two days of the 2016 season. As part of a grueling final stretch, Key West won twice on Saturday to wrap up the Peosta Tournament title and then twice more on Sunday to capture the Prairie League crown for the fourth time in team history (2008, 2011, 2012, 2016).

Rambler hurlers starred over the weekend, allowing just two total runs over the four wins. MVP of the Peosta Tournament, iron man Nick Woltkamp fired 13 innings on Saturday before Brett LaMere and Anthony Ruden followed with dominant performances of their own. Woltkamp blanked Cascade on just two hits in the semifinals at Peosta. A day later, Ruden struck out nine hitters in a 1-0 squeaker over Bellevue in the Prairie League championship.

A thrilling final weekend ran Key West's record to 49-7 -- the best mark in team history. Only two other teams in Rambler history have reached the 40-win mark: the 2015 team (44-14-1) and the 2012 edition (40-12).

Key West couldn't have asked for a better performance from LaMere in the Prairie League semifinal, which resulted in an 8-1 win over Bernard. LaMere allowed only one run over six innings while going off with the bat. He went 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles. Ryan Siems, a reliable middle-of-the-order hitter all season, collected two hits in both Prairie League contests. He knocked in the only run of the victory over Bellevue.

Ruden made that lone tally stand up by scattering four hits and three walks over a seven-inning complete game. Ruden also came around to score on the third-inning double by Siems.

"We knew this was the last day of the season, so we came out and played really relaxed," Ruden told the Telegraph Herald. "Everybody came ready to play, but I think everybody was kind of ready for the season to be done, too. It's been a long summer, but we definitely wanted to end it the right way."

The rubber-armed Woltkamp (14-2 in 2016) finished with a team record 122.2 innings pitched this season. He made 18 starts and 23 total appearances while posting a 2.57 ERA and 85 strikeouts. He tossed a shutout in the 1-0 win over Cascade on Saturday.

"My arm doesn't feel too bad actually," Woltkamp said after Saturday's action. "It just came down to focus, staying locked in and executing pitches, and I made the pitches I had to."

Key West won five tournaments and placed in two others throughout the 2016 season (see below).

2016 Tournament Placements
1st - Prairie League
1st - Peosta
1st - Bellevue
1st - Farley
1st - Dyersville
3rd - Cascade
3rd - Rickardsville
*EIHL regular-season champion/playoff qualifier

Ramblers motor past 40 wins

All Key West has done since capturing the Dyersville Tournament title is continue to win. The Ramblers have strung together 12-straight victories entering play on Monday night (Aug. 15) at the EIHL playoffs in Farley. Key West, now 41-5 overall, posted another tournament win on Sunday evening with a 5-3 triumph over the Dubuque Budweisers in the first round of the Peosta tourney.

In Sunday's win, Dan Spain tossed a complete game and was backed by Tanner Lupton and Nick Woltkamp, who both went 2-for-3. Lupton doubled twice and drove in three runs while Woltkamp tripled and scored a pair of runs. The red-hot Woltkamp is now hitting .355 with 13 extra base hits over 44 games in 2016.

In other recent action, the Ramblers pummeled both Holy Cross, 18-4, and Zwingle, 11-1. Then on Aug. 11, Key West shook off a six-run first inning by the Dubuque Packers and rallied for a 7-6 victory in EIHL action. Key West now owns league records of 12-1 in the EIHL and 9-0 in the Prairie League.

Leading hitter Ryan Siems has continued his tear. He knocked out four hits in the championship win at the Dyersville Tournament. He added another four hits in the drubbing of Holy Cross and a double and a triple in the thrashing of Zwingle. He's now slashing .441 (AVG) / .477 (OBP) / .676 (SLG) with four homers, 14 doubles and 38 RBIs.

Meanwhile, Woltkamp has surpassed 100 innings pitched for the second-straight season. The ace of the Rambler staff is now 12-1 with a 2.63 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 102.2 innings. He's tossed eight complete games while holding opposing hitters to a .229 batting average.

The team record for wins in a season was set last year when Key West went 44-14-1 overall. They've never lost fewer than 12 times in a campaign. The Ramblers entered Monday with an all-time record of 359-208-1 since returning the semi-pro circuit in 2004.

Monday's EIHL playoff semifinal was set to begin at 8:30 p.m. from Farley, where top-seeded Key West was readying to play fourth-seeded Cascade. The winner advances to Wednesday's championship game.

Ramblers reign in Dyersville

For the second time in five years, Key West has captured the Dyersville Tournament championship. Nick Woltkamp secured tournament MVP honors by earning the win on the mound as part of Saturday's 9-4 victory over host Dyersville in the championship game. With the win, Woltkamp equaled his own team single-season record for wins in a season.

The Ramblers (37-5) have won three tournaments this season and have placed third in two others. They own a record of 19-4 in bracket play.

Dyersville Tournament Results
1st Rd vs. Cascade - W, 5-4
Quarterfinals vs. Rickardsville - W, 15-5
Semifinals vs. Bernard - W, 4-2
Championship vs. Dyersville - W, 9-4

2016 Tournament Placements
1st - Bellevue
1st - Farley
1st - Dyersville
3rd - Cascade
3rd - Rickardsville

Ramblers run record to staggering 35-5

The Ramblers are back on a roll, winning six-straight games since a loss in the semifinals of the Rickardsville Tournament. Key West continues to go deep into bracket play having advanced to the semis of the Dyersville Tournament following a 15-5 drubbing of Rickardsville in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. The Ramblers are now 35-5 overall and have clinched their fifth tournament placement of the 2016 season.

Brett LaMere enjoyed a monster day in the rout of Rickardsville. He went 3-for-4 with a double, triple and five RBIs out of the No. 7 spot in the lineup. He highlighted a 14-hit attack for the Ramblers, who used three different pitchers to navigate the seven-inning affair.

Key West reached the quarterfinals by first squeaking by Cascade, 5-4, in the first round on Sunday (July 31). Nick Woltkamp fired a seven-inning complete game while striking out eight. Ryan Siems went 3-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Siems is now hitting .421 with a team-high tying four home runs and a Rambler best 33 RBIs. Siems and LaMere connected for back-to-back home runs to pull off a come-from-behind win as part of a doubleheader sweep at Monticello on Monday.

Trey Ertmer also played a starring role in the twin bill at Monticello. He put out a sixth-inning fire by getting a strikeout and a double play to end a bases-loaded threat and preserve a one-run victory. Ertmer then tossed a six-inning, one-hit shutout in game 2. Ertmer struck out nine Monticello hitters in the process of picking up his second win as a Rambler.

Thursday's scheduled league game at Farley was postponed due to rain. Key West will resume action at the Dyersville Tournament on Friday when it battles Bernard. First pitch is slated for 7:30 p.m.

Ramblers finish third at Rickardsville Tourney

Due to postponements, Key West ended up playing all four of its Rickardsville Tournament games in span of four days (July 22-25). The Ramblers ultimately finished third amongst the field of 19 teams at Rickardsville, marking Key West's fourth tournament placement of 2016. In Monday's consolation game, the Ramblers toppled Bernard, 4-1, behind a complete game outing from Dan Spain in his first start on the mound this season.

Prior to Monday, Nick Woltkamp started each of Key West's first three games in Rickardsville. He pitched a gem in the quarterfinals, surrendering just a single hit over seven innings in a 3-2 win over Peosta. He also earned the win in a 10-6 decision over Dubuque in the first round. That victory avenged a semifinal loss to Dubuque in the Cascade Tournament.

Chris Briggs homered in the win over Dubuque. Woltkamp did the same in the 7-5 defeat at the hands of Bellevue in the semifinals. Woltkamp fired 11 innings on Sunday before giving way to the Key West bullpen, which, along with a sloppy defense, failed to hold the lead versus Bellevue. Woltkamp also went 5-for-12 at the plate during the four-game tournament run.

The Ramblers (30-5) are now 15-4 in tournament action this season. They own tourney titles at Bellevue and at Farley.

Forever a Rambler: Kenny Capesius

When Key West returned to the semi-pro baseball circuit in 2004, Kenny Capesius was there. Then just a youngster, Capesius regularly attended Rambler games, serving as a bat boy and chaser of foul balls. It seemed it was his destiny to some day become a Rambler himself.

His hopes of wearing Key West royal blue became reality in 2007 when Capesius appeared in his first game for the Ramblers. Little did anyone know, it was just a start for the La Motte, Iowa, native, who went on to play baseball at Dubuque Senior High School before becoming a fixture out of the bullpen for NCAA Division III Cornell College in Mount Vernon.

"Kenny Cat," as some teammates refer to him as, may never play again for the Ramblers after manning left field in the 8-3 win over Bernard at the Cascade Tournament on Saturday. The next day Capesius packed up and embarked on a new journey, one that will take him to Washington, D.C., where he will work as a paralegal at a law firm. It will be a precursor to law school for the bright-minded Capesius.

An avid Cubs fan, Capesius displayed an unwavering passion for the game of baseball and a positive attitude matched by few. His talents go beyond the baseball diamond. At Cornell Capesius busied himself as class president of the student senate and as a member of mock trial. He was academic all-conference every season while throwing a total of 38.1 innings for the Rams.

With a career record of 18-3 with Key West, Capesius possesses the best winning percentage of any pitcher in Rambler history. This season Capesius allowed just a single earned run over his first 31 innings while putting together an all-star worthy season as a right-handed sidewinder. Capesius has gone 6-1 with a 1.32 ERA in 2016.

The Key West Ramblers wish Kenny the best of luck in Washington, D.C.

Ramblers take third place at Cascade

Bouncing back from a rough semifinal loss to Dubuque, Key West salvaged a third-place finish with an 8-3 victory over Bernard on Saturday evening in the consolation game at the Cascade Tournament. The Ramblers (26-4) jumped out to an 8-0 lead by taking advantage of sloppy defensive play by Bernard while riding the dependable right arm of Nick Woltkamp.

Woltkamp, now 8-1 as a pitcher, also came through with the bat, delivering a two-run double that increased Key West's lead to 5-0 in the fifth inning of Saturday's contest. Chris Briggs had broken a 0-0 draw in the fourth with an RBI single. Ryan Siems also supplied a run-scoring base hit in the fifth. Three unearned runs came across in the sixth thanks to three-straight infield errors committed by Bernard in the sixth.

Making his ninth start on the mound, Woltkamp held Bernard scoreless until the sixth inning. The righty workhorse worked all seven innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits and two walks while striking out four. Woltkamp owns a 2.15 ERA over 62.2 innings this season.

Brett LaMere (2-for-4) and Ben Oglesby (2-for-3, two runs) both collected two hits apiece. Playing his final game for the foreseeable future as a Rambler, Kenny Capesius drove in a run with a fielder's choice in the fourth.

Key West will get another shot at the Dubuque Budweisers, the Cascade Tournament runner up, on Tuesday (July 19) when it begins play at the Rickardsville Tournament. First pitch is scheduled for 8 p.m.