LAKE WALES, Fla. – One rough half inning was the culprit on Saturday (March 9) evening as the Concordia University Baseball team completed a successful run through its spring break Florida tour. With the Warner University Invitational championship on the line, the Bulldogs’ rally fell short in what amounted to a 6-4 defeat at the hands of eighth-ranked University of the Cumberlands (Ky.). As highlights for Concordia, Joey Grabanski belted his 67th career home run and the bullpen combo of Logan Fragomeni and Jacob Lycan kept hopes alive of a late-game rally.
Despite the loss, Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad will leave The Sunshine State with positive vibes. The Bulldogs went 8-2 over the past week in Florida and stand at 16-5 overall heading into league action.
“They’re a great team,” said Dupic of Cumberlands. “I was really proud of how our guys came back and fought. I thought we competed really hard. We just had an inning or two get away from us, especially the third when we gave away a few too many free things. I’m still very pleased with the trip. I think it was a good trip for our team. We took a lot of positive steps forward.”
An error with two outs in the Cumberlands half of the third inning resulted in four unearned runs coming across for the Patriots, a member of the NAIA’s Mid-South Conference. The first four hitters to reach in that frame did so via a hit by pitch, walk, error and another walk. From the fourth inning on, Concordia settled in from a pitching and defense perspective. Fragomeni worked 2.1 scoreless innings and Lycan shut down Cumberlands in the sixth and seventh frames. Their work gave the potent Bulldog offense a chance to chip away.
In the bottom of the third, Grabanski unloaded for a two-run homer to left (fifth of the season) to get Concordia within 6-3. Two innings later, Grabanski’s double plated Jaidan Quinn. However, the Patriots (19-4) closed the game out with a scoreless inning apiece from relief pitchers Caleb Plummer and Chipper Korbacher. Offensively, Trent Pokes drove in three runs to pace Cumberlands, a program that finished last season at 49-9 overall and was an NAIA World Series qualifier.
The pitching staff managed to limit the Patriots to five hits. Said Dupic, “Braxton (Greenburg) was good out of the gate. Logan Fragomeni was good and Jacob Lycan was great. There’s no question we’re going to have good depth within our pitching staff. That will be very important for us. We saw some good things out of those guys.”
Out of the No. 4 spot in the lineup, Adams went 2-for-4 with a run and pushed his career hit total to 294. One hit apiece was collected on Saturday by Ty Nekoliczak, Quinn and Matt Rhoades. While getting the start on the mound, Greenburg went 2.1 innings before handing off to Ernie Snyder (0.1 IP). Frogomeni and Lycan were the third and fourth pitchers used by Dupic.
Over the course of the stay in Florida, Concordia earned wins over Keiser University (Fla.) (two), Mount Vernon Nazarene University (Ohio), Valley City State University (N.D.), Calumet College of St. Joseph (Ind.), Lawrence Technological University (Mich.), Siena Heights University (Mich.) and Warner University (Fla.). The regular season schedule will be made up exclusively of conference foes the rest of the way.
The home opener and GPAC opener will be packed together as the Bulldogs now look forward to a return to Nebraska for an anticipated doubleheader with rival Doane (14-2). First pitch next Saturday (March 16) is slated or 1 p.m. CT from Plum Creek Park in Seward. It will be a rematch of last year’s GPAC tournament title game. It’s possible that both teams could be nationally ranked by the time the twin bill occurs. A new NAIA coaches’ poll is scheduled for release on Wednesday.