AUBURNDALE, Fla. – A short stay at the RussMatt Invitational in Auburndale, Fla., yielded a pair of victories for the Concordia University Baseball team. Michael Welch came through with the game-tying RBI triple and go-ahead run in the first game of the day and Matt Rhoades followed with a winning performance in his collegiate pitching debut as the Bulldogs won 4-3 over Mount Vernon Nazarene University (Ohio) and 10-1 over Valley City State University (N.D.) on Monday (March 4). It was also a fine day for Jay Adams, who pulled even for the program’s all-time doubles record.
Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad improved to 4-1 on the Florida road trip and to 12-4 overall this season. Concordia is halfway through its spring break slate.
“It was a really good day,” Dupic said. “Matt Rhoades pitched for us. We recruited him as a dual guy but he has been hitting so well that we kind of let him focus on that. Down here you have to have a lot of arms. He did a really nice job and we had great bullpen work today. Logan Fragomeni, Sam Rambajan and Kellen Ingram were really good and then Braxton Greenburg came in to get the last out. It was tight for a while, but we kept grinding out at bats and they started to struggle to find the zone.”
For a team that grabs headlines with its prolific offense, the Bulldogs flashed some pitching depth on Monday. Eight different Concordia hurlers combined to limit the day’s two foes to four runs on 13 hits and six walks. In the clash with Mount Vernon Nazarene, the Bulldogs turned to a bullpen that went 4.1 innings and surrendered only one run. The bullpen crew consisted of Ernie Snyder (2.1 IP), Jacob Lycan (0.2 IP) and Maverick Wylder (1.1 IP). Wylder earned the win two days after picking up two saves at Keiser University (Fla.).
Concordia simply needed some timely hitting as it trailed 3-2 heading into the bottom of the sixth in a seven-inning game. After Brad Hallock singled to start the frame, Welch tripled to right and then scored on an error by the shortstop, providing the game’s final tally. In the seventh, Wylder managed to get a hitter to line out for the final out with a runner at third base.
Nearing 300 career hits, Adams led the offensive attack with a 4-for-7 day. He belted a two-run homer in the first inning versus MVNU. In the matchup with VCSU, Adams doubled twice, scored twice and drove in two runs. Adams is now tied with Jesse Garcia for the most doubles in program history with 59. Joey Grabanski also went 2-for-4 with a pair of runs and two RBIs in that same game, Alex Draper notched a base hit, two runs and an RBI, Jimmy Blumberg doubled and knocked in a run and Tanner Tompkins supplied an RBI single. The Bulldogs broke the game open with six runs in the fifth with the help of some wildness by Viking pitching.
In his first career start on the mound, Rhoades worked 4.1 shutout innings and allowed just three hits and one walk while striking out seven batters. The ball was then turned over to Fragomeni (1.0 IP), Rambajan (0.2 IP), Ingram (0.2 IP) and Greenburg (0.1 IP). The day’s first starter was Cameron Pickens, who worked 2.2 frames.
The Bulldogs will take the next couple days off from game action before beginning play at the Warner University Invitational on Thursday. The opponents that day will be Calumet College of St. Joseph (Ind.) and Lawrence Technological University. A rundown of live coverage for games over spring break can be found HERE.