DAVENPORT, Fla. – Once the Concordia University Baseball team finally cracked the opposition’s bullpen, the game turned in a hurry. Outbursts of six runs in the eighth and three runs in the ninth brought the Bulldogs all the way back from an 8-1 deficit in what concluded as a wild 10-9 win over Judson University (Ill.) on Tuesday (March 8). Joey Grabanski collected three hits, including two home runs as Concordia continued its spring break tour of Florida.
Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad is 3-2 on the road trip and stands at 8-4-1 overall. Each of the past three games have been decided by margins of a single run.
“Two days ago we weren’t as present as we needed to be at times, and that was a discussion point for us to try to learn from,” Dupic said. “There was a lot of excitement heading into the game and then we kind of got hit with an ambush early in the game. That really challenged us. I’m very grateful to see we responded well. Sometimes down here it’s just about learning more about yourself and making progress. I’m pleased with how we were able to come back and have big at-bats late.”
It looked bleak in Davenport, Fla., when the Bulldogs trailed 8-1 after seven innings. In the eighth, Grabanski provided hope with a two-run blast (second homer of the game) to get Concordia within five. Three batters later, Jaidan Quinn lifted a three-run homer to right field. The Bulldogs got one more in the eighth on Ty Nekoliczak’s RBI ground out. Suddenly, the Eagles held a precarious 8-7 lead.
Judson responded with an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth before the Concordia bats went back to work. The Bulldogs loaded the bases in the ninth thanks to a single by Keaton Candor, a walk by Jesse Garcia and a single by Alec Blakestad. Quinn then forced home a run when he was hit by the pitch and Tanner Tompkins followed with a grounder up the middle that eluded the shortstop and drove in two more runs.
Working with a one-run lead, Concordia reliever Shane Whittaker then shut the door with a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth featuring three strikeouts. Whittaker was credited with his first win of the season. Among the six Bulldogs who appeared on the mound on Tuesday, Whittaker and Jacob Lycan (scoreless seventh) enjoyed the best results. Ben Coldiron and Andrew Bohrer worked 2.1 solid innings apiece. Starter Jake Davey exited after allowing five runs on three hits and two walks in 1.1 innings.
“Ben and Andrew deserve a lot of credit,” Dupic said. “Those guys helped bridged the gap and keep us in the ballgame. You get behind 5-1 right away, that could have been 11-1 or 12-1. They kept us in the game and gave our offense a chance to swing us back into it.”
Judson slipped to 1-9 this season. For most of the day, Eagle starting pitcher Michael Betancourt had his way. He was finally chased from the game with nobody out in the eighth after Grabanski took him deep. In the leadoff spot, Judson got a 4-for-4, three-run performance from Benjamin Nelson.
Grabanski finished 3-for-5 with two homers and three RBIs. Blakestad and Tompkins notched two hits apiece and Quinn recorded four RBIs. As a team, the Bulldogs produced 11 hits and four walks.
The Bulldogs will have Wednesday off before beginning the Warner University Invitational on Thursday. On day one of the invited held in Lake Wales, Fla., Concordia will play Lawrence Tech University (Mich.) at 8 a.m. CT / 9 a.m. ET and then Calumet College of St. Joseph (Ind.) at 10:45 a.m. CT / 11:45 a.m. ET. There will be live stats for Thursday’s game via Presto Stats.