Key West conquers Bellevue

For the first time in team history, Key West celebrated a Bellevue Tournament championship. The Ramblers shook off a 4-1 deficit with a four-run eighth inning and claimed a 5-4 victory over host Bellevue in Saturday's title game. Key West has now won eight-straight games and sits at 9-2 overall (heading into Sunday's action).

The red-hot Ramblers advanced to the championship game by earning wins over Farley, 6-5, Peosta, 5-3, Cascade, 9-4, and Bellevue while making their way through the bracket. In Friday evening's semifinal triumph, Nick Woltkamp tossed a complete game for his third win of the season. At the plate, Andrew Redman went 3-for-4 and drove in two runs, Ryan Siems went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and Dan Spain connected for a monster solo homer in the third.

The win over Cascade set the stage for the team's first tournament title of 2016. Redman, named the MVP of the Bellevue Tournament, continued his big early season performance with two more hits in the championship. His two-run double in the eighth was part of a run of five-straight Key West hits that vaulted it into the lead. Redman also knocked in the game's first run with a sacrifice fly to score Anthony Razo, who led off the game with a triple.

Afterwards Redman told the Telegraph Herald, "We didn't always make the plays behind our pitchers, but they stayed positive and kept battling. And we just kept chipping away until we won. We had to come from behind late to beat Farley, and we had to do it again tonight against Bellevue."

Anthony Ruden tossed six solid innings, but got a no decision despite striking out 10. He retired the first nine hitters he faced and surrendered just one earned run. Austin Bradley (winning pitcher) worked the seventh and eighth innings and gave up one unearned run. Redman then pitched in with a 1-2-3 ninth to earn the save.

Redman (2-for-3), Chris Briggs (2-for-4) and Razo (2-for-5) each had two hits in the title game for the Ramblers. Key West totaled nine hits as a team.

The Ramblers were back in action Sunday with a 1:30 p.m. Prairie League contest at AJ Spiegel Park in Peosta scheduled.

Ramblers advance to Bellevue semifinals, push win streak to six

Winner of 44 games a year ago, Key West has gotten on a roll again after dropping two of its first three games to begin 2016. Thanks to their latest win, a 5-3 Bellevue tournament quarterfinal win over Peosta on Wednesday, the Ramblers (7-2) have won six-straight games. In the victory over Peosta, Key West followed the lead of Andrew Redman on the mound and the hot bat of Ryan Siems.

A Clarke University standout, Siems went 3-for-4 and sparked a two-run second inning that put the Ramblers on top. Siems (now a scorching 13-for-21 on the season) delivered a one-out single and then scored on Nick Woltkamp's triple. Key West then got a run apiece in the third, fifth and sixth inning to provide enough cushion for Redman, who earned his 21st career win as a Rambler.

Redman tossed all seven innings and allowed just two hits and two walks while striking out 10. It was his first appearance on the mound since early in 2015. Last season Redman fired 24 innings without surrendering a single earned run, lowering his career ERA to 1.71.

In other recent action, Key West stacked wins over Rickardsville, 6-5 (May 24), Farley, 6-5 (May 29) and Dyersville, 9-1 (May 31). The triumph over Farley came in the opening round of the Bellevue tournament. In addition to Redman's fine work, Kenny Capesius has run off 17-straight innings without giving up an earned run to begin the season. He owns a perfect 3-0 record.

A spot in the Bellevue title game will be on the line on Friday when the Ramblers take on Cascade at 8:30 p.m. The other semifinal matchup (7 p.m.) features host Bellevue against Epworth. The two winners will meet at 7 p.m. on Saturday in the championship game. Key West has never won the Bellevue tournament, but has finished runner up (2012) and in third place (2015) in the bracket in recent seasons.

Ramblers cruise past East Dubuque in Prairie League opener

With the bulk of its standouts back in place on Sunday evening, Key West rolled to a 17-6 victory over East Dubuque in the Prairie League-opening contest. The Ramblers racked up 19 hits while getting multiple hits from five different players.

Anthony Razo led the hit parade from the leadoff spot with a 4-for-6 day that included two runs and two RBIs. Three Ramblers piled up three hits apiece: Ben Oglesby (3-for-6), Ryan Siems (3-for-5) and Nick Woltkamp (3-for-4). In addition, Andrew Redman homered for the first time this season and Chris Briggs drove in three runs.

Kenny Capesius threw five scoreless innings to move to 2-0 on the season. He walked two and allowed two hits while striking out four East Dubuque hitters. Woltkamp got the final nine outs of the eight-inning affair played at Petrakis Park.

The Ramblers (3-2) had entered Sunday's game with a combined total of just eight runs scored over their first four games. Key West now owns wins over Dyersville, Dubuque and East Dubuque.

The 2016 season is scheduled to continue on Tuesday (May 24) with an EIHL battle at Rickardsville. First pitch is set for 7 p.m.

Ramblers release 2016 schedule

The 2016 schedule has been released. The slate includes 14 EIHL and 13 Prairie League games. Tournament dates will be added as they come available. View the complete schedule HERE. The permanent link to the schedule is available at the top right of the website.

The 2016 season will get started on May 2 when Key West plays at Dyersville at 7 p.m. The 2015 team finished the year with an overall record of 44-14-1, setting a new team record for wins in a single season.

Ramblers to host steak dinner fundraiser

The Key West Ramblers will host a steak dinner fundraiser at Kalmes Restaurant in St. Donatus from 4 p.m. - 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 2. The cost is $15 for a 10 oz ribeye steak and several sides. Tickets can be purchased at Airline Inn, Happy's Place, Kalmes Restaurant, The Wharf or by calling John Knabel (563-543-0781).

Season summary: Ramblers produce record-breaking results in 2015

The 2015 season started and ended with championships as the Ramblers won bookend EIHL preseason and postseason crowns. In between, Key West spent much of the season making a case for the title of best team in the area. The Ramblers won three tournament titles (Rickardsville included), were the Prairie League runner up, reached the semifinals of two other brackets and won more tournament games than any other area semi-pro team.

Led by its fearsome two-through-four hitters - Dan Spain, Andrew Redman and Chris Briggs - Key West broke the team record for wins in a single season by going 44-14-1 overall. It posted marks of 15-2 in Prairie League action, 9-5 in EIHL play and 20-7-1 in tournament contests.

Just how dominant were the 2015 Ramblers? They outscored their foes by a combined total of 321-151 and batted .298 as a team compared to a measly .187 by their opponents. Key West began the year by winning its first five games and proceeded to have two additional win streaks of six games each.

On the mound, Clarke University product Nick Woltkamp took over the roles of ace and staff workhorse. He broke numerous team pitching records while going 12-4 with a 2.16 ERA and 84 strikeouts. He logged 108.1 innings, becoming the first Rambler to ever eclipse the 100-inning mark. Woltkamp shined in his final outing of the season, tossing a seven-inning complete game to beat Cascade, 7-1, in the EIHL championship game.

Once again, Spain, Redman and Briggs supplied plenty of offense. Redman batted .373 with three homers and 24 RBIs and was an on-base machine (.500 OBP). After a slow start, Briggs punished the ball over the second half of the season. He ended up hitting five home runs and driving in a team high 36 runs. He had an impressive slash line of .323/.454/.508. Spain, who appeared in the all-star game along with Briggs and Redman, batted .317 and slugged a career best six home runs while playing in a team single-season record 50 games.

There were plenty of other key contributors in 2015. Anthony Ruden was a mainstay in the lineup and on the mound, finishing with a sterling 1.56 ERA. Chad Crabill (.297 BA, .394 OBP, 3 HR) enjoyed his best season as a Rambler. Ben Oglesby (.311 BA) got white hot down the stretch and Brett LaMere (4 HR, 25 RBI) delivered a walk-off home run to lift the Ramblers to victory despite a 23-strikeout game by opposing pitcher Andy Seabrooke of Farley. When he wasn't pitching, Woltkamp provided a steady bat (.325 BA) and plenty of stolen bases (team record 28).

Spain, the MVP of the Rickardsville Tournament, burned host Rickardsville with a 3-for-5 effort in the tournament title game as the Ramblers topped Rickardsville, 8-0. The victory marked win No. 300 for the Ramblers since rejoining the semi-pro circuit in 2004. Over 12 seasons (2004-2015), John Knabel has led the team to an overall record of 318-203-1 (.610). Since the beginning of 2010, Key West is 203-93-1 (.685).

In another key game with Rickardsville, Briggs pummeled a pair of home runs and eight RBIs to fuel a 14-5 victory in the EIHL semifinals. Briggs also drilled a homer to help Key West top Dyersville, 6-2, in the EIHL preseason title game.

The Ramblers have now won 11 tournament championships over the past five seasons (see below). They are back-to-back EIHL postseason champions. They captured Prairie League titles in 2008, 2011 and 2012.

Tournament Titles since 2011
2015: EIHL Postseason, EIHL Preseason, Rickardsville
2014: EIHL Postseason, Farley
2012: Dyersville, Prairie League, Worthington
2011: EIHL Preseason, Farley, Prairie League

Records broken in 2015

A record-breaking season in which Key West set a new standard for wins also included another seven individual and nine team records claimed by the 2015 Ramblers. Below is a summary of the new records for Key West, which finished 2015 as the EIHL champion and with an overall mark of 44-14-1.

INDIVIDUAL

Games

New record: Ben Oglesby / Dan Spain, 50

Previous record: Chris Briggs (2014), 47

Plate Appearances

New record: Dan Spain, 206

Previous record: Chris Briggs (2014) / Dan Spain (2011), 190

Stolen Bases

New record: Nick Woltkamp, 28

Previous record: Dan Spain (2011), 23

Wins

New record: Nick Woltkamp, 12

Previous record: Sean O'Connor (2011) / Ben Cottrell (2010) / Ned Schauff (2008), 10

Innings Pitched

New record: Nick Woltkamp, 108.1

Previous record: Jordan Hohensee, 96.1

Games Pitched

Record: Nick Woltkamp (2015) / Matt Farrey (2006), 20

Games Started

New record: Nick Woltkamp, 15

Previous record: Jordan Hohensee (2014) / Matt Farrey (2006), 13

TEAM

Wins

New record: 44

Previous record: 40 (2012)

Runs

New record: 321

Previous record: 303 (2014)

Walks

New record: 200

Previous record: 178 (2014)

Total Bases

New record: 654

Previous record: 618 (2012)

Stolen Bases

New record: 107

Previous record: 101 (2011)

Hits

New record: 480

Previous record: 440 (2012)

Triples

New record: 14

Previous record: 10 (2011)

Innings Pitched

New record: 397.2

Previous record: 360.2

Strikeouts

New record: 396

Previous record: 387 (2012)

Opponent Batting Average

New record: .187

Previous record: .195 (2014)