SEWARD, Neb. – A three-team race for the GPAC regular season championship will come down to the final four games of the regular season. Concordia University, Nebraska Baseball finds itself two games out of first place as it prepares to take on GPAC leading Morningside and an improved Hastings squad during this week’s action. Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad won three of four games from Dakota Wesleyan last week and stands at 19-5 in league play (31-14 overall). Due to the one defeat, the Bulldogs lost ground on Morningside and Doane.
This week
Thursday, April 23 vs. Morningside (33-12, 21-3 GPAC), 3 p.m. DH
--Live Webcast | Live Stats: G1 / G2 | Location: Plum Creek Park (Seward, Neb.)
Saturday, April 25 at Hastings (20-22, 8-16 GPAC), 1 p.m. DH
--Live Webcast | Live Stats: G1 / G2 | Location: Duncan Field (Hastings, Neb.)
By the numbers
• Each of the top three teams in the GPAC appear to be in strong position from a national tournament standpoint. In the official NAIA RPI released on Monday (April 20), Doane landed at No. 13 while Concordia checked in at No. 35 and Morningside at No. 36. The Bulldogs have a strength of schedule ranked 87th in the NAIA. In the GPAC race, Morningside (21-3) has a leg up on Doane (20-4) and Concordia (19-5). In pivotal conference matchups, the Bulldogs will host the Mustangs on Thursday and the Tigers will travel to Morningside (Sioux City East HS) on Saturday. Concordia and Doane have been responsible for all GPAC regular season titles from 2019 to the present. The most recent GPAC program to break up that run was Northwestern in 2018.
• In last week’s split series (played April 16 and 19) at Dakota Wesleyan, the Bulldogs won games one, three and four. Overall, Concordia outscored the Tigers by a combined total of 47-29. In game one of the series, Bulldog ace pitcher Alex Johnson continued his strikeout binge with 14 punchouts in six innings (one run allowed) of work. The pitching staff has worked closely with catcher Jake Watson, who has been an iron man behind the plate. In last week’s series, he went 9-for-17 (.529) with three doubles, a home run and nine RBIs. Other leading hitters in the series included Luke Wilson (9-for-15 with a double and a home run), Jaeden Jordahl (7-for-13 with a double and a home run) and Bronx Lewis (5-for-16 with two doubles and a home run). Jake Tyler also added a double, a home run and three RBIs. Concordia hitters slashed .367/.497/.578 while DWU batters slashed .244/.333/.420 for the series.
• Johnson and the pitching staff continue to pace the NAIA in strikeouts per nine innings. The staff rate has jumped to 12.04 K’s per nine innings. Two relievers in particular contributed to strikeout totals last week. In game three of the series at DWU, Warren Rose threw the final 2.1 innings and recorded every out via the strikeout (no hits and no runs allowed). In the series finale, Harrison Hoiekvam got the final 10 outs, nine via strikeout, in another starring performance. Among regulars out of the rotation and bullpen, the highest strikeout rates have come from Hoiekvam (16.68), Johnson (15.75), Rose (14.16), Micah Sweeton (14.04), DJ Andersen (13.50) and Trent Schlim (12.05).
• The Olathe, Kan., native Johnson has won all six of his starts within conference play. In those starts, Johnson owns a 3.41 ERA with a remarkable 66 strikeouts in 37 innings. The late season run should put Johnson in the discussion for another GPAC Pitcher of the Week award. Nationally, Johnson is tied for the fourth most strikeouts with 91 on the season. The school record for strikeouts in a single season is 109 by Cade Moring in 2018. On the program’s all-time lists, Johnson currently ranks first in strikeouts (302), first in games started (48), fifth in wins (24), seventh in innings pitched (221.2) and seventh in ERA (3.45). He has piled up a combined 29 strikeouts over his past two starts.
• For his overall work at the plate and behind the plate, Jake Watson is drawing rave reviews from Dupic and the staff. In 39 games this season, Watson is hitting .354 with a .468 on-base percentage and .664 slugging percentage. The Lincoln Christian High School alum has also homered eight times and has driven in 39 runs. Defensively, he sports a .987 fielding percentage. Meanwhile, Bronx Lewis continues to lead the GPAC in home runs (18). Lewis also paces the Bulldogs in power categories such as RBIs (48) and slugging percentage (.735). Other regulars with slugging percentages north of .500 are Luke Wilson (.544) and Alex Draper (.505). Zackery Day is the team leader with 22 stolen bases.
• Concordia is hoping to add to the list of previous GPAC regular season championships it has won under Ryan Dupic: 2017, 2019, 2021, 2024 and 2025. Among GPAC teams, the current Bulldogs own conference rankings of first in strikeouts per nine innings (12.04), second in WHIP (1.42), second in home runs (66), third in on-base percentage (.421), third in slugging percentage (.504), third in ERA (4.74), fifth in fielding percentage (.961) and sixth in batting average (.285).
• Ryan Dupic is in his 12th season as Head Coach of the Bulldogs. His career record stands at 396-204-1. His resume includes a combined eight GPAC championships and seven national tournament appearances (including a 2021 NAIA World Series berth). Ben Berg is in his third season as Assistant Head Baseball Coach after a successful run as a Bulldog student-athlete. The staff also includes graduate assistants Ty Nekoliczak and Blaine Harpenau.
The opponents
Morningside enters the final week of the regular season leading the race for the GPAC regular season title. The Mustangs have never won a conference regular season championship in the GPAC’s history (2001-present). However, the program did celebrate GPAC tournament titles in 2008 and 2016. This past week, Morningside kept its perch atop the standings thanks to a four-game sweep of Mount Marty (played in both Yankton and Sioux City). Head Coach Adam Boeve’s (nine season) squad combines a strong mix of run scoring and run prevention (358 runs scored compared to 192 runs allowed in 2026). Three Mustangs have produced at least 13 home runs: Maston Conner (14), Jacob O’Dell (14) and Romani Perez (13). As a team, Morningside is slashing .304/.423/.536 with a GPAC best 74 home runs. From last season’s squad, the Mustangs returned First Team All-GPAC honorees in outfielder Michael Delzell and pitchers Sam Hanson and Cade Nolan as well as second teamers in O’Dell and Michael Snyder. Nolan has headlined the pitching staff with a 6-3 record to go along with a 3.17 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 54 innings. After playing at Concordia on Thursday, Morningside will host Doane on Saturday to close the regular season.
Hastings has made significant strides since last season when it finished at 9-33 overall (7-21 GPAC). The Broncos are under the direction of first-year Head Coach Victor Rojas, who has a unique resume that includes professional broadcast experience. Rojas has helped put Hastings in the running for conference tournament qualification (currently tied for seventh place). The Broncos’ chances took a hit this past weekend with them dropping all four games at home to second-place Doane. Among GPAC teams, Hastings ranks third in batting average (.294), fifth in slugging percentage (.445), sixth in runs scored (282), sixth in ERA (7.28) and seventh in fielding percentage (.955). The team’s brightest star has been junior first baseman Evan Morrison, who is slashing .387/.542/.806 with 12 home runs and 43 RBIs. The top two starting pitchers are Markus Miller (3-4, 6.61 ERA, 6.80 K/9) and Connor Weber (2-1, 6.64 ERA, 8.41 K/9). The Broncos play their home games at Duncan Field, known for its cavernous dimensions.
Next week
The GPAC tournament will get started on April 29 with pod play hosted by the league’s top two seeds. The conference tournament pairings will be announced this weekend after all regular season games have been completed.
GPAC Tournament: pod play runs April 29 – May 1 with the GPAC Championship Game to be played on May 4.
The GPAC standings can be found HERE.