BOSSIER CITY, La. – In attempting to fend off elimination, the 18th-ranked Concordia University Baseball team met up with fourth-ranked LSU Shreveport on Wednesday (May 15). A home run apiece from Joey Grabanski and Jay Adams helped the Bulldogs play even with the Shreveport Bracket’s top seed through six innings (3-3) before the host Pilots jetted away with five runs over the final three frames. Concordia saw its season end by an 8-3 final score as the program made its fifth-straight appearance in the NAIA National Championship Opening Round.
Head Coach Ryan Dupic has been the architect behind an unprecedented run for the program. The accomplishments in 2024 included GPAC regular season and tournament championships, a school record-tying 42 wins (42-15 overall) and another trip to the national tournament. Dreams of an NAIA World Series berth were dashed, but Dupic will forever look back fondly on the ’24 campaign.
First, Dupic discussed Wednesday’s game. “They played hard,” Dupic said. “(Christian) Gutierrez got us out of the gates pretty good and (Jacob) Lycan did a nice job in relief like he has all year. We got a couple big swings there. Their pitcher was 92-93 (mph) with a really good slider. We knew it was going to be tough. I thought we competed really well against a special team. They’re very difficult to score on. I thought we played well, frankly. They put some pressure on us and got going late. It was a good ballgame.”
The loss to 20th-ranked Kansas Wesleyan in Tuesday’s first game made it a daunting task for a potential NAIA World Series run. The Bulldogs turned around quickly on Wednesday after recording the final out past midnight in the 14-5 Tuesday elimination game victory over Blue Mountain Christian University (Miss.). The big blow in the matchup with LSU Shreveport came in the seventh inning when Austin Gomm broke a 3-3 tie with a two-run homer to center field. The Pilots (43-10) tacked onto the lead with two runs in the eighth and another in the ninth.
Under the hot spring sun in Bossier City, La., the Concordia legends Adams and Grabanski played out the final game of their remarkable careers. There was one final Grabanski bomb as he annihilated a solo shot (88th career homer; 300th career RBI) to left in the fifth inning. That flick of the wrists came two batters after Adams drilled a two-run bomb (45th career) to left. The fireworks pulled the Bulldogs even with LSUS, 3-3, at the time. Grabanski went 2-for-5 in his final collegiate game while Adams pushed his program record career hit total to 352.
Said Dupic, “Tournament Jay is special. He was on his game. He just hits, and Joey’s really special. We know that. Those guys are great players – some of the best this program has ever seen and everybody knows that by now. There’s not a lot else you can say about it. They’re great kids.”
Over its three-game stay in Louisiana, Concordia struggled to prevent runs, surrendering 28 combined tallies to Kansas Wesleyan, Blue Mountain Christian and LSU Shreveport. Workhorse Christian Gutierrez got the nod on the bump vs. LSUS and went four solid innings (one earned run on seven hits) before Dupic turned to bullpen stalwarts Jacob Lycan (3.1 IP, 2 ER) and Maverick Wylder (1.2 IP, 2 ER). The potent Pilots collected 17 hits while keeping their season alive.
LSUS was upset by Talladega College (Ala.), 6-5, in 10 innings on Tuesday. The Pilots were slated to take on Talladega again on Wednesday in another elimination game. LSUS threw Draven Zeigler at Concordia and the hard-firing righty responded with 12 strikeouts in 4.2 innings. He was pulled after the home runs by Adams and Grabanski. The leading hitter for the Pilots was Vantrel Reed, who went 3-for-4 with two RBIs.
It wasn’t always smooth sailing in 2024, but the Bulldogs typically found a way to win. Despite key injuries to the pitching staff and challenging road trips brought on by adverse weather conditions, Concordia won its final eight games of the regular season and proceeded to win the GPAC Championship Game over Doane. The hallmark of these Bulldogs was again their ability to drive the ball. Concordia slugged 113 home runs as a team with 27 coming from Jaidan Quinn (tying school record) and 26 from Grabanski.
For 12 seniors, this was the end of a significant chapter of their lives. The fourth/fifth-year Concordia players helped the program to five-straight national tournaments and to GPAC Championship Game appearances each season. The senior class included Adams, Carlos Benavides, Blake Benson, Kyle Berg, Alec Blakestad, Jose Cevallos, Grabanski, Caden Johnson, Lycan, Ben Martin, Brendan Pike and Carlos Serna.
In reflection, Dupic offered, “It’s obvious when we got to this stage that we missed some of those top pitchers (who were out with injuries). It really shows when you start playing elite teams. I felt like we were right there with them. It highlights just how special our group is to have overcome that and to have done such a great job on such a grand stage. I’m very proud of them and grateful for them.
“Of course we’re disappointed we didn’t get farther, but this is really hard. These teams are really good. It’s really special what our guys have done.”
2024 Shreveport Bracket
Site: BPCC Baseball Field | Bossier City, La.
Live Webcasts: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/lsus/
Live Stats: PrestoStats
All times CDT
Monday, May 13
Game 1 – (4) Talladega def. (5) Blue Mountain Christian, 20-7
Tuesday, May 14
Game 2 – (3) Kansas Wesleyan def. (2) Concordia, 15-8
Game 3 – (4) Talladega def. (1) LSU Shreveport, 6-5 (10 innings)
Game 4 – (2) Concordia def. (5) Blue Mountain Christian, 14-5
Wednesday, May 15
Game 5 – (3) Kansas Wesleyan def. (4) Talladega, 9-2
Game 6 – (1) LSU Shreveport def. (2) Concordia, 8-3
Game 7 – (1) LSU Shreveport vs. (4) Talladega, 5 p.m.
Thursday, May 16
Game 8 – (3) Kansas Wesleyan vs. Game 7 Winner, 10 a.m.
Game 9 – Game 8 Winner vs. Game 8 Loser (if necessary), 1 p.m.