SEWARD, Neb. – The GPAC champion Concordia University Baseball team will not have to leave the state for the NAIA National Championship Opening Round. On Thursday (May 13), the Bulldogs learned that they had been assigned to the Bellevue Bracket for the opening round. Bellevue University will host a pod of five teams at Don Roddy Field in Bellevue, Neb., May 17-20. Concordia has been tagged with the No. 3 seed in the Bellevue Bracket and will play second-seeded MidAmerica Nazarene University (Kan.) on day one.
Opening round play at the national tournament follows a double-elimination format. The Bellevue Bracket schedule can be viewed HERE. First pitch of the Bulldogs and Pioneers matchup on Monday is slated for 2:30 p.m. CT. The remaining teams in the bracket are top-seeded University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma, fourth-seeded Bellevue and fifth-seeded Saint Xavier University (Ill.).
Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad will enter the opening round with an overall record of 38-9 after winning GPAC regular season and postseason championships. The 38 victories represent a program single-season record. The No. 19 NAIA national ranking marks the highest rating in program history. Perfect Game USA also has Concordia ranked at 19th in the NAIA. Other squads in the Bellevue Bracket with national rankings are Science & Arts at No. 9 and MidAmerica Nazarene at No. 21. Bellevue is listed among teams that are receiving votes.
The nine opening round champions will join Lewis-Clark State College (Idaho) at the 64th annual Avista NAIA Baseball World Series in Lewiston, Idaho, May 28 – June 4.
Facts about Concordia at the national tournament
· Concordia has qualified for the opening round of the national tournament for the third time in program history. Each of those appearances have come during the tenure of Ryan Dupic, who first took the Bulldogs to the opening round in 2017. In previous appearances, the Bulldogs made their way to Hutchinson, Kan., in 2017 and to Henderson, Tenn., in 2019. In both instances, Concordia went 1-2 in the opening round. In national tournament action, the Bulldogs defeated Jamestown, 8-7, in 2017 and earned a 3-1 victory over Clarke University (Iowa) in 2019.
· In the win over Clarke, Jason Munsch fired eight innings and allowed just one run on two hits and three walks while recording 12 strikeouts. At the plate, Evan Bohman went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI. The triumph over Jamestown occurred just prior to the Jimmies becoming a member of the GPAC. In that instance, Jake Adams delivered a clutch three-run homer in the eighth inning put the Bulldogs up, 8-4, at the time. Casey Berg and Christian Meza collected two hits apiece in the win.
· Dupic has brought about what is certainly the golden age of Concordia Baseball. Prior to Dupic’s arrival in 2015, the Bulldogs had never been to a national tournament. The program had also not experienced a winning season since 1979 and had not won a conference championship since 1986 (8-4 in NIAC play) when Athletic Trainer Randy Baack pitched and played first base. In addition to leading Concordia to three national tournaments, Dupic (198-125) is closing in on 200 career wins. Only one coach in program history (Jeremy Geidel) has reached the 200-win mark.
· In order, the Bulldog pitchers who have started the program’s first six national tournament games have been Jason Munsch, Wade Council, Nick Little, Munsch, Sasha Jabusch and Tanner Wauhob. Desmond Pineda earned credit as the winning pitcher in the program’s very first national tournament victory. Meanwhile, Casey Berg recorded the program’s first-ever hit at the national tournament with a single in the bottom of the first versus Jamestown on May 15, 2017. In the most recent national tournament outing (May 14, 2019 vs. Texas Wesleyan University), five current Bulldogs were part of the starting lineup: Bohman, Keaton Candor, Beau Dorman, Jesse Garcia and Teyt Johnson.