On the first day of the most unique eight-day stretch in program history, the Bulldogs arrived at Plum Creek Park determined to put behind three frustrating defeats that ended a four-game series at Morningside. It was April 21 and Concordia had just spent six non-game days stewing upon results that left the Bulldogs two games out of first place. With eight games remaining, the margin for error had shrunk considerably in relation to the GPAC regular season championship race.
In kicking off the stretch run, the Bulldogs manhandled Hastings at home by a combined score of 32-5 as Joey Grabanski homered three times, eight days after he became the NAIA’s all-time home run leader, and two days prior to him becoming a father. From a team perspective, Concordia put its head down and played ball.
There would be little time to celebrate the wins over Hastings. Just before the Bulldogs boarded a bus bound eight-plus hours north, Dupic said frankly, “Our guys took a good approach. You just have to go play. There’s no way around it.”
In other words, Concordia would have to accept its never-before-done assignment: play a noon home doubleheader on Sunday, then get on the road and play a 2 p.m. doubleheader in Jamestown, N.D., on Monday (as a result of weather-related schedule changes). Whatever ‘woe-is-me’ thoughts that may have crept in were completely gone the evening of April 28. Scattered amongst four different vans, members of the team celebrated as they learned they had climbed into a tie atop the GPAC standings.
In eight days, the Bulldogs had gone 8-0 while playing four doubleheaders that had each been altered in some way – date, game time, location, etc. They had played as far north as Jamestown and as far south as Salina, Kan. (roughly 10 hours apart) and worked feverishly as their own grounds crew at Plum Creek Park in order to hold the four home games they managed to play. On senior day (April 27), a thunderstorm rolled in before game two could be finished (went final in the eighth inning). The postgame meal was forced indoors. Nothing went as planned – but the circumstances made it all the more incredible.
“It’s a pretty special experience for our players,” Dupic said. “I’m very proud of them and the opportunity they created for themselves. It’s no secret that we’ve had big challenges with health and big challenges with weather, but our guys have really handled it in a really good way and played their best baseball at the end. We had to reset after our trip to Sioux City a couple of weeks ago. I’m just really proud of them and grateful for the experience we got to share together.”
It seemed only fitting that the championship celebration was also a unique one. Because they were waiting on the results of the Doane-Morningside doubleheader, the Bulldogs never got a dogpile. What they got was a late-night gathering at a gas station on their way back from Salina. When hearing about this scene, NAIABall’s Conner Darnell remarked, “That’s the most NAIA thing ever.” Concordia had just taken care of its own business with thrashings of Mount Marty by scores of 12-3 in 14-4 in ‘home games’ played in Salina.
Dupic described the celebration to the crowd that gathered for the April 30 Bulldog Athletic Association Member luncheon. Said Dupic, “We pulled aside to a gas station and let everybody celebrate a little bit. We had four different vans going. We thought that might be a little bit safer so that our drivers could celebrate a little bit. It was definitely a memorable experience. To be part of that and to be able to win a conference championship is pretty special, especially with the challenges we’ve had with health and weather. I’m very glad our guys got to experience that.”
The leadership of Dupic and the culture that he’s built helped make a fourth GPAC regular season title since 2017 a reality. Of course, Dupic would be the first to credit the players. It certainly doesn’t hurt to be able to trot out a veteran-laden lineup highlighted by the record-breaking Grabanski in addition to First Team All-GPAC honorees such as Jay Adams, Alec Blakestad, Ty Nekoliczak and Jaidan Quinn. They helped set the tone for the attitude that would be necessary from April 21 and on.
“This run has been one of the most unique knowing that in order to give ourselves a shot, we had to win out,” Adams said. “During that stretch, Dupic kept preaching to stay on us and stay off the scoreboard. We did just that and continued to play our game, one inning at a time. That was crucial to our success.”
In that April 21 sweep of Hastings, the pitching of Braxton Greenburg, Ernie Snyder and Christian Gutierrez helped save the bullpen from being overly taxed. Dupic also made sure to substitute liberally in effort to keep the regulars fresh for the next day. In the quick turnaround, the Bulldogs won at Jamestown by scores of 4-1 and 6-3 on April 22. Quinn, Matt Rhoades and Alex Draper each supplied a solo homer and Caden Johnson was masterful on the mound in game one. When game two went to extra innings, Concordia showed its toughness in pulling it out with the help of RBI hits from Nekoliczak and Brad Hallock in the ninth.
The first leg of the eight-game journey was complete once the Bulldogs rolled back into town early on the morning of April 23. The final week of the regular season would bring plenty of uncertainty due to forecasted rain and thunderstorms. Director of Athletics Devin Smith and the baseball program explored numerous potential venues in the event that Plum Creek Park would be unavailable. Instead of playing Friday-Saturday, Concordia moved to Saturday-Sunday while relocating the doubleheader with Mount Marty to Dean Evans Stadium in Salina.
Assistant AD Levi Calhoun and a team of student-athletes helped move several trash cans full of water off the tarp that covered Plum Creek Park. Their work paved the way for the Bulldogs to win twice over Dakota Wesleyan, 3-1 and 2-1, on April 27. The pitching performances of Greenburg, Jacob Lycan and Gutierrez covered for an unusually sluggish offense as the wind blew in from center field. The next day would be very different. Concordia mashed nine home runs, including three from Quinn and two apiece from Blakestad and Grabanski, in two routs of the Lancers.
The Bulldogs had finished the regular season with a 21-7 league mark. News had spread that Doane dropped game one of the day’s doubleheader with Morningside. The Tigers slipped to 21-6 with one game still in progress. None of the nine home runs hit by Concordia that day were more significant than the one pummeled by Giacomo Crosetti, whose three-run shot in the ninth gave the Mustangs a 7-6 lead that held up. The final standings showed Concordia and Doane both at 21-7. The Bulldogs got the nod for the No. 1 seed thanks to their home sweep of the Tigers back on April 2.
Concordia won GPAC regular season titles in 2017, 2019 and 2021, but none of them were quite like this one. As Adams says, “This run really showed our team that we are capable of something really special. We are ready to build on what we have done and see how far we can take this thing.”
It wasn’t just the crazy closing stretch that the Bulldogs overcame, it was also injuries to the pitching staff. Concordia has been without ace Alex Johnson this entire season and lost Caden Bugarske for the season back in February. More recently, Blake Benson joined them on the injury list. In their absences, Concordia has leaned upon Gutierrez, Greenburg and Caden Johnson in the rotation. Out of the bullpen, Lycan and Maverick Wylder have been constants.
Then there’s the offense. For the third-straight season, the Bulldogs have flown past 100 home runs. Dupic has only a simple explanation for how Concordia has managed to repeatedly roll out an elite offense.
Says Dupic, “Good players. Good recruiting. Our coaches have done a terrific job working with our hitters. At the same time, none of us coaches are under the illusion that we’re taking bad players and turning them into a team that hits 100 home runs. We have some really special kids. All these guys are special. We’re well aware of that and we’re glad to have them.”
Beyond the talent, the Bulldogs are a group firmly bought into what Concordia Baseball is all about. They have an approach that works, and they’re sticking to it. Even after becoming the NAIA’s all-time home run leader, Grabanski made sure to credit the environment that includes his coaches and teammates. It’s the type of environment that lends to persevering in difficult circumstances and to eight-game win streaks and conference championships.
Said Grabanski, “It’s a great feat to accomplish. I couldn’t have done it without my teammates and coaches believing and pushing me to become better every day. Honestly, in the moment I wasn’t thinking about anything. I was just sticking to my approach and doing whatever I could to help the team in whatever way possible.”