BALDWIN CITY, Kan. – After getting shutout in game one, the 18th-ranked Concordia University Baseball team regrouped with strong pitching of its own in game two and salvaged a doubleheader split at Baker University (Kan.) on Tuesday (Feb. 15). The twin bill marked the opening of the 2022 season for the Bulldogs, who were originally slated to play this past weekend. On opening day, Concordia fell, 3-0, in game one before taking game two, 7-2. In the victory, Alex Johnson retired all 11 batters he faced and Jayden Adams drove in four runs.
Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad has high expectations after coming off an NAIA World Series appearance in 2021.
“I think it looked like our first time out,” Dupic said. “We were a little jumpy the first game and maybe trying to do a bit too much at the plate. You could see us start to calm down into the second game and string together more consistent at bats. I was pleased with our pitching, by and large. I thought we did a good job. It was certainly a pitcher’s day. If you could fill up the zone with a couple pitches, you were going to be in good shape. We had a couple defensive plays get away from us, but I think we’re moving in the right direction. There were a lot of encouraging things.”
After breaking school records in 2021 for most hits and runs in a single season, Adams picked up where left off. It took until the third inning of game two for the Bulldogs to get on the board for the first time in 2022. That’s when Adams delivered a solo homer to right. The Waverly High School product added an RBI double in the seventh and a two-run single in the eighth. As part of the offensive attack in game two, third baseman Jaidan Quinn went 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI and Keaton Candor went 1-for-3 with two runs, two walks, a double and an RBI.
Solid outings were turned in by both Concordia starting pitchers on Tuesday. Johnson struck out four hitters in his spotless 3.2 innings in game two. His effort followed game one that saw Caden Bugarske get the ball and toss three shutout innings that featured three strikeouts and two hits allowed. In all, Dupic used nine pitchers to cover 15 innings.
Daniel Rivera relieved Johnson in game two and was credited with the win after he threw 2.2 innings and allowed one unearned run. The rest of the pitching duties were handled by Caden Johnson (1.0 inning), Cale Mathison (0.2 innings) and Nathan Buckallew (1.0 inning). Shane Whittaker and Christian Gutierrez threw a scoreless inning apiece in game one.
Said Dupic, “Early in the year we didn’t want to be pushing people too far. We wanted our pitchers to be fresh for this weekend and we’ll start to stretch them out a little more. Getting out there for the first time, we wanted to get a lot of relievers in the game and get experience. Hopefully we can learn from it and find some consistency.”
In the opener, the Baker pitching duo of Jaxon Kutch (four innings) and Hunter Gudde (three innings) combined on a two-hit shutout. The Wildcats (2-1) got all three of their runs in the fifth inning.
Adams and Candor were responsible for the two hits in game one. Adams went a combined 4-for-8 on the day. Seven of the nine starting position players were returners from last season. Quinn started at third base in both ends of the doubleheader while Anderson Xapsos got the nod at shortstop as part of a new-look left side of the infield.
The Bulldogs are scheduled to spend this weekend in Joplin, Mo. The four-game slate looks like this:
· Saturday, Feb. 19 vs. William Woods University (Mo.), 12:30 p.m.
-Joe Becker Stadium (Joplin, Mo.)
· Saturday, Feb. 19 vs. William Penn University (Iowa), 5:30 p.m.
-Joe Becker Stadium (Joplin, Mo.)
· Sunday, Feb. 20 vs. Viterbo University (Wis.), 10:30 a.m.
-Wendell Redden Stadium (Joplin, Mo.)
· Sunday, Feb. 20 vs. University of Saint Mary (Kan.), 3:30 p.m.
-Wendell Redden Stadium (Joplin, Mo.)