The Buena Vista University Athletics Hall of Fame welcomes its Class of 2025 during an induction ceremony this Friday, Sept. 26. Before the induction ceremony, we shine the spotlight on each of the four individual inductees and the team inductee. TODAY'S SPOTLIGHT: 2011 BVU Baseball Team

Following in the shadows of a team that won both the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) regular season and tournament baseball titles in 2010 and came within two wins of College World Series berth, the Buena Vista University baseball program brought back a healthy portion of its starting lineup in 2011 with its sights set on pushing through to that next level. 

The Beavers got off to a hot start by winning its first three games and eight of the first 10 but would go just 1-3 over the final four games of its spring break trip leading up to the start of league play. The team began conference play on the road at the University of Dubuque and saw the Spartans rally for four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to take the series opener, 11-10. BVU bounced back from the loss to win the final two games of the series and followed that series up with a doubleheader split at home versus Wartburg and then won 2-of-3 against Luther to sit at 6-2 overall. That set up a big week on the road where BVU had to play a single game with the Knights and then play at Coe. It all started strong with a thrilling 2-1 win over Wartburg but then the Beavers were outscored 22-2 during a three-game sweep by the eventual champion Kohawks.

Things turned around quickly for the Beavers, and the team went on to win four straight games and 10 of its final 12 regular season games to finish tied with Wartburg in the standings at 16-8. BVU was the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament but got edged, 5-3, to Wartburg in its first game that snapped the team’s seven-game win streak entering the tournament. It remained alive after slipping past Luther, 7-6, but was eliminated from the tournament after falling 7-3 to Simpson.

The Beavers were forced to sit and wait the remainder of the weekend and see if their 28-15 overall record (16-8 IIAC) was good enough to earn an at-large berth into postseason play. After nearly 48 grueling hours of anticipation, the team learned that the selection committee placed it among the field of the NCAA Central Regional Tournament, and the Beavers made sure to make the most of the opportunity. They traveled to Bloomington, Ill., later that week and leaned on the arm of senior righthander Luke Probasco in what turned out to be a commanding 8-1 victory over Carthage in the opener. That put BVU up against Illinois Wesleyan, who was the host school and the defending NCAA DIII College World Series Champions. That didn’t faze junior lefthander Michael Dirkx, who pitched a complete-game seven-hitter, allowing only one run, as BVU opened many eyes with a 7-1 triumph. After a second straight win over IWU, it set up the championship series rematch against No. 20 Carthage. BVU suffered its first loss of the tournament after a 12-7 defeat in game one but in the winner-take-all game that followed, the Beavers rallied with a big four-run bottom of the seventh inning to overcome a 6-3 deficit and go in front 7-6. Junior closer James Stone, who came on at the start of the eighth inning, would get the first two batters out to begin the ninth before back-to-back singles by Carthage put the possible go-ahead run on base. Stone, however, got the next batter to hit a grounder to first base and he covered first and took the toss from Ryan Scheetz for the final out and send the team into a frenzy around the pitcher’s mound. BVU earned the program’s first trip to the World Series since the 1968 team advanced into what was then the NAIA World Series.

The run of success against nationally-ranked teams didn’t stop after winning the Central Region. BVU opened the World Series in Appleton, Wis., against No. 12 UW-Whitewater. After allowing a pair of runs in the top of the ninth inning to see UW-Whitewater pull even at 4-4, senior lefthanded hitting Michael Hoffman laced a single back up the middle in the bottom of the frame to score senior Tyler Case from third and win in walk-off fashion, 5-4. The following day, it knocked off No. 25 Keystone by an 8-5 margin before suffering its first loss of the tournament, 5-1, to eventual national champion Marietta. The season would unfortunately come to an end and a spot into the championship game come up just short with a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to Chapman. Chapman took its first lead of the game with a run in the top of the ninth.

The Beavers had seven all-conference performers and five all-region selections for the year, led by Second Team All-American and 2024 BVU Hall of Famer Brad Blum. The 52 games played that season remains a school record.