Couldn’t be more proud of this team. Lost #1 before season. Lost #2 after two outings. Started conference 2-3. Lost another SP 1/2way through conference. Traveled 8hrs overnight to play w/out best hitter. Played home games at neutral site. Won last 8 to win the ‘ship. #winners https://t.co/a7AKU1O8L1
— Ryan Dupic (@RyanDupic) April 29, 2024
SALINA, Kan. – It came down to the final day of the regular season. In 12-passenger vans headed north from Salina, Kan., groups of Bulldogs celebrated a GPAC championship that wasn’t secured until Morningside edged Doane late on Sunday (April 28) night. In upholding its end of the bargain, the 19th-ranked Concordia University Baseball team put on a show while taking advantage of the wind that blew out at Dean Evans Stadium in Salina. Jaidan Quinn homered three times and Joey Grabanski and Alec Blakestad slugged two bombs apiece in a twin killing of Mount Marty. The Bulldogs won by scores of 12-3 and 14-4 (eight innings) while closing out the regular season in emphatic fashion.
Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad entered the day needing to win twice and for Doane to lose twice in order to pull even with Doane atop the GPAC standings. Concordia (37-12, 21-7 GPAC) owns the tiebreaker for the No. 1 seed and has earned an automatic bid to the NAIA national tournament.
The program has claimed its fourth GPAC regular season title under Dupic’s leadership. Said Dupic of Sunday’s action, “The way that the weather plays is always a big deal. “It’s not a complaint – today the wind blew out and yesterday it blew in. Our offensive guys did a great job. It also points out that our pitchers did a great job. It’s hard to hold teams down on days like this.”
“You’re really processing it now when you see Joey on senior day and you see all those guys on senior day, you realize how special it is and how special their careers have been. Those two guys (Joey and Jaidan) have more home runs than some teams.”
The two contests on Sunday contrasted considerably from the Saturday doubleheader with Dakota Wesleyan. Catcher Michael Welch sparked the fireworks with a solo homer to center field in the second inning of game one. The NAIA all-time home run king Grabanski (84 career homers) then scorched the Lancers for a three-run homer apiece in the fourth and fifth innings in making game one a runaway. The Bulldogs built a 12-0 lead before Mount Marty finally dented the scoreboard.
Grabanski then passed the baton to the likes of Quinn and Blakestad in game two. Quinn stayed a step ahead of Grabanski for the season home run lead (24-22 by day’s end). The Bonner Springs, Kan., native drilled a homer a two-run homer in the first before a solo shot in the second and a three-run no-doubter to center in the sixth. Blakestad got going late in the day with a two-run shot apiece in the sixth and eighth frames (11th and 12th homers of the season). In addition, Ty Nekoliczak lined a two-run homer to right center in the second.
The relentless Concordia lineup wound up with a combined 28 hits on the day. Quinn went 6-for-8 with seven runs scored and eight RBIs in another monster effort. Meanwhile, Grabanski went 5-for-7, Blakestad collected four hits and Nekoliczak and Tanner Tompkins recorded three hits apiece. All three came in game two for Tompkins, who drove in two runs, including the one that enacted the 10-run rule in the eighth inning.
The Bulldogs used six pitchers on Sunday while getting solid starts from Caden Johnson (6-2) and Matt Rhoades (3-0). Johnson covered six innings and allowed two runs on seven hits and two walks while fanning four hitters. Rhoades then went 5.2 innings frames and surrendered three runs (one earned) on six hits and a walk to go with three strikeouts. The relievers throughout the day, in order, included Nate Weaver, Cameron Pickens, Kellen Ingram and Logan Fragomeni.
Mount Marty (28-21, 14-14 GPAC) slides back into the No. 8 spot in the final GPAC standings. The Lancers homered three times on Sunday with one each hit by Ethan Wishon, Bodi Wallar and Ryan Bachman. Mount Marty’s two starting pitchers combined for only 4.1 innings of work.
It all added up to Concordia pushing its win streak to eight entering the postseason. That streak began after a disappointing finish to a four-game series at Morningside back on April 13-14. Since then, the Bulldogs have played like champions. The championship Sunday began with Dupic’s son Cody singing a stirring rendition of the National Anthem.
Said Dupic of his team’s perseverance, “I’m so proud. That’s exactly what we talked about after the games. That was a tough weekend (at Morningside) and a very humbling weekend. We had to reflect and get back to our base. I think our guys have done an outstanding job since then. I’m just so proud of their response and the way they’ve played the last two weeks.”
The GPAC tournament will be up next for the Bulldogs. As the league’s top seed, Concordia will host a four-team pod at Plum Creek Park May 2-4. Pairings will be announced by the conference on Monday, once the final doubleheader (Dordt-Midland) of the GPAC season has been completed.