SEWARD, Neb. – Each of the top three teams in the GPAC standings will be at Plum Creek Park this weekend as the Concordia University Baseball team hosts showdowns with Doane and Mount Marty. The anticipated matchups provide an opportunity for the Bulldogs to put behind a road trip that saw them drop each of the final three games this past weekend. Concordia split a doubleheader at Morningside before falling twice at Jamestown. Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad now stands at 23-10-1 overall (12-4 GPAC). Doane holds a three-game lead over the Bulldogs. Saturday will be senior day for Concordia.
The seniors who will be honored in between games on Saturday are Nathan Buckallew, Keaton Candor, Noah Janssen, Thomas Otte, Shane Whittaker, Dresden Wilson and Andy Xapsos.
This Week
Friday, April 15 vs. Doane (26-7, 15-1 GPAC), 1 p.m. DH
--Live Webcast/Stats
Saturday, April 16 vs. Mount Marty (26-10, 11-5 GPAC), 1 p.m. DH
--Live Webcast/Stats
By the numbers
· As of Tuesday, every team in the GPAC has played 16 conference games. The top three in the standings are Doane (15-1), Concordia (12-4) and Mount Marty (11-5) with Briar Cliff and Dordt (both 8-8) next in line. Friday’s matchup will feature two squads that shared the 2021 GPAC regular season title and then met in the conference tournament title game. The Bulldogs defeated the Tigers in the postseason championship matchup by a final of 7-2. Concordia is trying to remain the class of the conference. The Bulldogs won GPAC regular season titles in 2017 and 2019, would have been the favorite in the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign and then reigned supreme last spring by the time all was said and done.
· Heading into this week, the Bulldogs comfortably lead the GPAC in many key offensive categories, including runs scored (334), home runs (64), walks (184), batting average (.348), on-base percentage (.466) and slugging percentage (.613). Six of the GPAC’s top eight hitters, in terms of on-base percentage, are from Concordia: Jaidan Quinn (.545), Alec Blakestad (.527), Ty Nekoliczak (.518), Jesse Garcia (.496), Jay Adams (.487) and Joey Grabanski (.486). The Bulldogs are the only team in the league to have four players with at least eight home runs: Quinn (12), Adams (11), Grabanski (nine) and Keaton Candor (eight).
· The team’s pitching and defense was leakier last week than it has been most of the season. Concordia allowed a combined 29 runs over the three losses that closed this past weekend. Those results ballooned the team’s ERA to 5.09 for the season. Defensively, the Bulldogs would like to cut back on their average of 1.5 errors per game. Alex Johnson started the team’s 13-4 victory in game one last week at Morningside. He has established himself as Concordia’s top starting pitcher. He’s currently 5-0 with a 1.67 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 32.1 innings. Johnson has been stretched out more in recent starts. He’s pitched at least five innings in each of his last three outings.
· Candor homered once this past weekend. It pushed his school record career homer total to 37. The outfielder from Merrill, Iowa, is also the program’s all-time record holder in RBIs (164), games played (199) and walks (101). His 149 runs scored are second to only Zak Goodrich (152). A career .320 hitter, Candor has notched 205 career hits, which ranks behind Goodrich (234) and Christian Meza (216) for No. 3 in school history. On the season, Candor is hitting .342 with seven doubles, eight home runs, 36 RBIs and a .607 slugging percentage.
· A native of El Cajon, Calif., Garcia isn’t far behind Candor on the all-time home run list. In 157 career games, Garcia has collected 34 home runs, in addition to 129 runs scored, 38 doubles, 131 RBIs and 88 walks. His career batting average stands at .322. Garcia has moved up to No. 4 on the program’s career RBI list. Another of the program’s all-time best hitters, Garcia has twice been named Second Team All-GPAC.
· The combination of Ben Berg and Tanner Tompkins has supplied the Bulldogs with a catching combination about as good as any in the NAIA. Tompkins keeps on sticking the ball. He’s hitting .416 with nine doubles, four home runs and 30 RBIs. Meanwhile, Berg is hitting .288 with six home runs and 20 RBIs. The Bulldogs have gotten both in the lineup in some games by putting Berg at first base. Berg and Tompkins both homered in the first game of the doubleheader at Jamestown.
· The Bulldogs are 8-1 in their last nine games against Doane. They have also won four in a row and 12 of the past 13 matchups with Mount Marty. In addition, Concordia is 9-1 at home this season after going 13-3 at Plum Creek Park last season.
The opponents
Head Coach Josh Oltmans (sixth season) has done a tremendous job bringing Doane back to prominence. The Tigers went from 12-16 in conference play in 2019 (no GPAC games in 2020) to 21-7 in the league during last season’s co-GPAC championship season. The Tigers boast a prolific offense of their own, led by Joe Osborn. The sophomore outfielder is hitting .361 with 15 home runs, 43 RBIs and an .849 slugging percentage. In conference games only, the pitching staff owns a 2.79 ERA that leads the GPAC by a wide margin. Julian Vargas (5-1, 2.22 ERA) has been the team’s top starter while Thaniel Trumper (0.64 ERA in 28 IP) has been lights out in relief. Doane has moved all the way up to No. 9 in the NAIA’s latest national Bo Chip ratings.
Mount Marty’s offense will also provide a stiff challenge for Concordia pitchers. Catcher Billy Hancock is one of the league’s top hitters. He is batting .366 (.500 OBP/.821 SLG) with 12 home runs and 29 RBIs. As a team, the Lancers sport a .946 OPS and are averaging 7.0 runs per game. Now in his 18th season as head coach, Andy Bernatow has run a strong program. Last season, the Lancer skipper eclipsed 400 career wins. He was named the GPAC Coach of the Year in 2010 after leading the team to a GPAC regular season title and national tournament appearance. Mount Marty’s top four pitchers have each logged at least 40 innings. Myles Brown has been most dominant. He owns a 2.31 ERA while averaging 12.34 strikeouts per nine innings.
Next week
The final eight games of the regular season will all be on the road. That stretch begins with a four-game series at Dordt on April 22-23.