SEWARD, Neb. – Postponements continue to be a theme in the early going of the conference season for the Concordia University baseball team and the entire GPAC. The Bulldogs are hoping the weather will allow for Wednesday’s scheduled 4:30 p.m. CT doubleheader at Plum Creek Park versus Hastings. The Friday-Saturday trip to Northwestern and Dordt appears to be in jeopardy due to unfavorable weekend weather forecasts. Head coach Ryan Dupic’s program has already postponed Tuesday’s (April 3) scheduled twin bill versus Midland.
This week’s schedule
Wednesday, April 4 vs. Hastings, 4:30 p.m. (DH)
Friday, April 6 at Northwestern, 5 p.m. (DH)
Saturday, April 7 at Dordt, 1 p.m. (DH)
The bats were surprisingly quiet last week over action at Midland (17-10, 5-1 GPAC) and Hastings (9-16, 1-3 GPAC). Concordia (15-10, 3-3 GPAC) went 1-3 while totaling a combined six runs over those four contests. In the March 30 twin bill at Hastings, the Bulldogs waited until the fifth inning of game two to finally get on the board. Thomas Sautel recorded a pair of RBI singles and Dylan Jacob drove in two insurance runs with an eighth-inning base hit. Concordia had entered the week averaging more than 8.0 runs per game. The aforementioned results dropped the Bulldogs to No. 3 in the official GPAC poll released today (April 2).
Dupic and company like their chances any time sophomore Nick Little takes the hill. The Lithia, Fla., native tossed his fourth complete game already this season in the 4-1 win at Hastings. Little allowed one unearned run on six hits and two walks while striking out 10. Little tops the GPAC with a 1.12 ERA over his 48 innings. Little has covered at least seven innings in each of his six starts. Senior left-hander Cade Moring has also been throwing the ball well. He’s struck out 26 hitters in two GPAC starts after fanning 11 in a tough-luck loss at Hastings.
The Broncos have not been in action since hosting the Bulldogs last week. Making his first start this season, Vinny Schmidt hurled a four-hit shutout over seven innings in a 2-0 Hastings victory over Concordia. Schmidt has yet to allow a run in 14 innings in 2018. Northwestern (10-13, 3-3 GPAC) recently won three in a row against GPAC foes. That stretch included a 3-2 win over Midland, the early conference leader. Matt Martin leads the team with a .307 batting average and four home runs. Dordt’s (4-12, 1-5 GPAC) lone conference win was a 3-1 decision at Dakota Wesleyan. Colton Vanotterloo (.362) and Chris Schrieber (.349) are off to hot starts at the plate.
As it stands right now, the Bulldogs are set to play all six of next week’s games in Sioux City, Iowa: April 10 at Morningside (9-14-1, 3-3 GPAC) and April 14-15 at Briar Cliff (15-12, 4-4 GPAC).
Home varsity games can be streamed live via the Concordia Sports Network.