SEWARD, Neb. – The slugging prowess of the Concordia University Baseball team knows no bounds. Jesse Garcia and Joey Grabanski continued their rise to the top of program record books on Good Friday (April 7) in two thorough routs of visiting Dordt, 19-5 and 19-2. The Bulldog lineup combined for 38 runs on 35 hits and 15 walks while slugging seven more home runs. Jaidan Quinn led the way in that department with three long balls on the day.
After a bit of a disappointing four-game split at Northwestern, Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad has its sights set on remaining perfect at Plum Creek Park. Concordia is 6-0 at home this season and has moved to 9-3 in GPAC play (23-11 overall).
“Offense was great – really good approaches,” Dupic said. “We executed our swings really well and didn’t expand the strike zone. It was just a lot of really good things, and it was fun to see. It put us in a really good situation where we had a lot of breathing room and we could be aggressive. I kind of start to run out of things to say about those guys, but they did a really good job today.”
By day’s end, Garcia became the new program record holder for hits (237), RBIs (191) and doubles (54) while pulling even in walks (108). In addition, Grabanski pulverized two no-doubt home runs and pushed his season tally to 20, representing a school record for a single season. Grabanski drove in seven runs on the day. Quinn hammered a grand slam in game one and Grabanski did the same in game two. Significant offensive achievements from the day are listed below.
Game 1 offensive highlights
· Ty Nekoliczak: 4-for-4, three runs, double, two RBIs
· Ben Berg: 3-for-3, run, walk, two doubles, homer, three RBIs
· Jesse Garcia: 3-for-4, two runs, double, RBI
· Jay Adams: 2-for-2, two runs, walk, triple, RBI
· Jaidan Quinn: 1-for-4, run, homer, four RBIs
Game 2 offensive highlights
· Joey Grabanski: 3-for-3, three runs, two homers, six RBIs
· Tanner Tompkins: 2-for-3, two runs, double, three RBIs
· Jay Adams: 2-for-4, two runs, walk, three RBIs
· Jaidan Quinn: 2-for-5, three runs, two homers, two RBIs
· Ben Berg: 2-for-3
· Teyt Johnson: 1-for-1, two runs, four walks
· Jesse Garcia: 1-for-2, two runs, homer, two RBIs
The relentless attack got to Dordt early and often. The Bulldogs posted four runs in the first inning of game one and then 11 in the opening frame of game two. Concordia managed to chase star Defender pitcher Gyeongju Kim with one out in the bottom of the third in game one. The red-hot Ben Berg joined Quinn with a homer in the opener. It was a five-hit day for Berg. Five Bulldogs collected at least four hits on Friday. Also notable, Zackery Day stole five bases and pushed his season steal count to 22 (two shy of the school record). Day was caught stealing for the first time in 2023 when he attempted a straight steal of home on Friday.
That group included the El Cajon, Calif., native Garcia, who has set a high standard in five seasons wearing Concordia colors. Garcia clobbered one of the team’s five homers in game two. Said Garcia afterwards, “It’s truly an awesome experience for sure to be able to break some school records. That’s not what I had in mind. I just wanted to hit the ball hard. That’s all I ever want to do. It’s pretty awesome to enjoy that with your team behind you and supporting you.”
There was plenty of margin for error for Bulldog pitchers on Friday. In game two, Caden Bugarske was lights out in firing six shutout innings with just four hits and one walk allowed. The Boerne, Texas, native amassed eight strikeouts. In game one, Frankie Cresta allowed five runs (four earned) on eight hits and a walk in five innings. Ernie Snyder pitched two scoreless frames to close it out. On the other side of things, the Defenders got just three combined innings from their starting pitchers.
The Bulldogs will be back at Plum Creek Park on Saturday to complete the four-game series with Dordt (14-16, 2-10 GPAC). The action is slated to get underway at 1 p.m. CT. Concordia has had the Defenders’ number in winning each of the past 12 series meetings.