SEWARD, Neb. – The 20th-ranked Concordia University Baseball team will enter the national tournament on a high. The evening on Tuesday (May 11) closed with the Bulldogs dog-piling in the infield and celebrating with the GPAC postseason championship banner. For the first time in program history, Concordia has won the GPAC tournament title. Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad got the best of Doane, 7-2, in a championship clash between rivals at Plum Creek Park.
For an outfit that had won three GPAC regular season titles in four seasons, the moment that came on Tuesday seemed like one that was scheduled to arrive in just a matter of time. The Bulldogs (38-9) get to check off another box.
“It means a lot to me. It makes me think about the players and the teams from years past,” Dupic said. “This is seven years building. It’s a process. You don’t get there in two years or three years. I’m so grateful our guys get to experience this – but I’ve got so many names running through my head from past teams and guys that set the trend for us and got us on the right path. Every single one of them is a part of this thing.”
Dupic mixed and matched with four different pitchers that held a potent Tiger lineup to two runs on five hits. Concordia rattled off the game’s final seven tallies after falling behind 2-0 in the top of the third. The key play of the game came in the bottom of the fourth when Teyt Johnson’s drive to right eluded the glove of Nate Mensik for a two-out, two-run double. Suddenly, the Bulldogs grabbed a 4-2 advantage.
Concordia hitters may have struck out 12 times, but they never give in. For an exclamation point, Joey Grabanski pulverized his 17th homer of the season as part of a three-run eighth inning. In that same frame, Peyton Scott showcased his wheels by scoring on a shallow pop fly in foul territory. Additional RBIs throughout the night were delivered by Jakob Faulk on a solo homer in the third and by Keaton Candor on a single in the fourth.
“We put so much hard work into it this year,” Grabanski said. “We went out there and had to play our game, and we did it … with Doane being our rivals, knowing that’s who we were facing, it meant even more to us. We knew what we wanted and we came out here and we got it.”
On the mound, Nick Little took the ball and covered four innings, allowing one earned run on two hits and two walks. The Tigers (35-17-1) got their two runs in the third when Talon Little split the right center field gap for an RBI double (a second run came in on an errant throw back to the infield). Dupic then turned to a group of relievers that has been solid all spring. Caden Bugarske handled the fifth, Jacob Lycan navigated the sixth and seventh frames and closer Nathan Buckallew recorded the final six outs.
When a strikeout of Tucker Catlett ended the game, Buckallew tried to run away from jubilant teammates that were closing in on him. Eventually they caught him near the shortstop area, where the dogpile ensued. The Bulldogs didn’t even want to think about the sight had the outcome gone the other way.
“I wanted us to have this celebration and this experience,” Dupic said. “You look around and see these guys and how happy they are – and the opportunity to celebrate that together is great. We won the regular season. We obviously were very happy, but at the same time, we came up short of winning it on our own. We didn’t get to celebrate at the end like this (in the regular season). For them to share in this experience and get the banner is really neat.”
Concordia had come up short in GPAC tournament championship game appearances in 2017 and 2019. This team has a little something extra. In starring performances at the plate on Tuesday, Faulk and Grabanski both produced two hits while Johnson drove in three runs.
The GPAC’s automatic national qualifying bids have been locked up by Concordia and Doane. Both teams will learn of their NAIA Opening Round draws and destinations on Thursday. The Bulldogs will enjoy this championship and then get ready for the program’s third national tournament appearance.