LAKE WALES, Fla. – The second day at the Warner University Invitational presented a big opportunity for the Concordia University Baseball team to earn some national respect. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs were limited to six combined hits and were shut out by both No. 25 Warner, 4-0, and No. 10 Bellevue University, 3-0, in Lake Wales, Fla., on Friday (March 11). It was a sharp contrast to the previous day when Concordia combined for 14 home runs in two lopsided victories.
With one day left on the Florida trip, Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad now sits at 10-6-1. Said Dupic, “We played two good teams today and were tested. When we made mistakes it cost us more, and we couldn’t get our offense going today.”
Considering the pedigree of the hitters that make up the Bulldog lineup, the opposing pitchers were dealing on Friday. Warner pitcher John Bean fired all seven innings and allowed only five baserunners (four hits and a hit batter) while blanking Concordia. Then in the second game, Bellevue’s Elijah Johnson went all seven and racked up 13 strikeouts. The only two hits he surrendered were singles – one apiece by Alec Blakestad and Joey Grabanski.
On the other side, the Bulldogs got solid pitching from three different arms on Friday. Caden Johnson was credited with a six-inning complete game versus Warner. He gave up four runs (three earned) on seven hits and a walk and recorded five strikeouts. In the second game, starter Cale Mathison covered 4.1 innings and allowed only one run on two hits and four walks to go along with six punchouts. Jacob Lycan tossed the last 2.1 innings and allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits. He notched two strikeouts.
Warner is now 25-6 this season while Bellevue bumped its record to 13-6. Concordia got the best of the Bruins in the 2021 opening round of the national tournament.
There’s one more game day left in Florida. The Bulldogs will take on Concordia University Ann Arbor (14-6) at 11:30 a.m. CT / 12:30 p.m. ET on Saturday as part of the Warner Invite. On Thursday, the Cardinals manage to pick up a win, 14-10, over Bellevue. CUAA is 2-2 at the Warner Invite.