AUBURNDALE, Fla. – One day after spraying the ball all over the yard, the 18th-ranked Concordia University Baseball team was on the wrong end of two one-run decisions on Sunday (March 6). Defensive gaffes played a part in the Bulldogs falling at the hands of Indiana University South Bend by scores of 8-7 and 2-1. The Titans took game two without the benefit of a single hit. Five errors on the day proved costly for Concordia in its second day of action in Auburndale, Fla., as part of its spring break slate.
Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad now stands at 7-4-1 overall. On Saturday, the Bulldogs tallied a combined 29 runs while sweeping a doubleheader from Cornerstone University (Mich.). Concordia will need to shore things back up after the latest results.
“We had an opportunity to see our team play some close games today. That’s helpful,” Dupic said. “If we want to be a really good team, we have to learn to play well in tight games. Right now, we’re not executing well enough pitching or defensively in those situations, whether it’s a poor pitch here or an error. Hopefully we can learn from these experiences. We need to play some cleaner games for sure.”
The no-hitter in game two was spoiled by a lack of offense and Bulldog errors that led to an IU South Bend run apiece in the second and seventh innings. On the mound, Daniel Rivera threw four innings while striking out 10 hitters and Cale Mathison covered the final three innings and notched seven punchouts. Rivera and Mathison combined on the sixth recorded no-hitter in Concordia Baseball history (and first since both Nick Little and Jason Munsch each fired a no-hitter in 2020).
There were more walks than Dupic would have liked to have seen issued, but the pitching staff surrendered only three earned runs the entire day. Said Dupic, “Dan and Cale had really good stuff and created a lot of misses. They showed the ability to be very effective. We have to keep fighting for consistency, but it was a positive step for both guys.”
The Bulldogs let one get away to start the afternoon when they failed to hold a 7-4 lead in the bottom of the seventh. The Titans managed two hits in the frame off of Nathan Buckallew, but they got plenty of help via two errors and three wild pitches. The walk-off run came home with the help of an errant pitch.
All that came after Concordia had produced fireworks in the top of the seventh. With the Bulldogs trailing 4-3, Keaton Candor delivered a clutch three-run homer to left. Joey Grabanski immediately followed with another big fly. The homer marked the 31st in the career of Candor, who is the first player in program history to reach 30 career blasts. Also in game one, catcher Tanner Tompkins went 2-for-3 and center fielder Alec Blakestad drove in a run with a double.
Three Concordia hurlers appeared in game one. Caden Johnson put together a solid start that saw him toss 4.1 innings with one run allowed on two hits and two walks – to go along with three strikeouts. Christian Gutierrez and Buckallew followed. In a noteworthy effort on the other side, pitcher Zach Brooks Dehn threw a seven-inning complete game and held the Bulldogs to three hits while striking out seven.
Concordia will have Monday off before returning to action on Tuesday for a single game in Davenport, Fla., against Judson University (Ill.) at 9:30 a.m. CT / 10:30 a.m. ET. The Warner University Invitational in Lake Wales, Fla., will follow from Thursday through Saturday.