SEWARD, Neb. – A schedule break of eight days came to an end on Sunday (April 25) as the 22nd-ranked Concordia University Baseball team split a home doubleheader with Jamestown. Behind another dominant outing from Jake Fosgett, the Bulldogs took the first game, 5-2, before having their rally come up short in an 11-9 game 2 defeat. Freshman Joey Grabanski belted a school record breaking homer in the capper.
For the third time in school history, Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s program has reached the 30-win mark (all occurrences since 2017). With six games remaining in the regular season, Concordia has moved to 30-7 overall (17-5 GPAC).
“I’m not disappointed in our team,” said Dupic in reacting to the second game. “They got some things going and sometimes that happens in baseball. They hit some balls hard, had a couple balls fall in, we lost a ball in the sun and hit a guy. We were down 10-4 after two-and-a-half and had a chance to win the ballgame late. I’m really pleased with the way we came back. I thought we did a good job defensively. If we can stay the course and play as well as we can, I think we’ll be in okay shape.”
Fosgett has had the baseball on a string this season. He mesmerized the Jimmies with his fastball-breaking ball combo in five shutout innings that included 12 strikeouts. The righty from Carlsbad, Calif., allowed three hits and two walks. Fosgett (7-0) has racked up 80 strikeouts in 42 innings (10 games) this spring and entered the game ranked second in the NAIA in K’s per nine innings.
The Bulldog ace just needed a little bit of offensive support and got most of it in the third inning. That’s when Teyt Johnson produced an RBI single, Noah Janssen emerged with a pinch-hit two-run double and Jayden Adams doubled home another run. Adams and Ben Berg contributed two hits apiece in the first contest.
It just wasn’t Nick Little’s day in game 2. He wound up surrendering eight runs in two innings before being lifted. The reliable Little had his string of nine-straight starts with a win snapped. Eventually, Caden Johnson (3 IP) and AJ Cotton (3.1 IP) settled things down and gave the offense a chance to come back from a deficit as large as 11-4.
The long ball brought Concordia back. Grabanski and Berg homered once apiece and Jakob Faulk left the yard twice. The Bulldogs chipped away and even put the potential tying run into scoring position in the bottom of the ninth. After a Berg single drove in a run with two outs, Jamestown could finally exhale when Johnson’s sharply hit fly ball was caught in center field.
Grabanksi’s home run has put him atop the program’s single-season home run list with 12. He previously shared the school record with teammate Jesse Garcia and alums Jarrod Pimentel (2000) and Tony Sanchez (1983).
In terms of career strikeouts, the only Bulldog in front of Fosgett is Milwaukee Brewers signee Jason Munsch. Dupic may run out of superlatives for Fosgett. Said Dupic, “He’s very consistent on his in-between days and certainly has built a lot of skill over time. When you put yourself in position where you have a pretty good skillset and stay consistent in your habits – he’s ready to go week-to-week. He’s really been great this year.”
Five different Bulldogs collected two hits each in game 2: Berg, Jose Cevallos, Beau Dorman, Faulk and Grabanski. The powerful Faulk has pushed his own season home run total to nine. Concordia has went deep 66 times as a team this season.
The Bulldogs will be right back at it on Monday for a doubleheader (both seven innings) with Morningside (21-26, 12-10 GPAC). First pitch from Plum Creek Park is set for 4 p.m. CT.