WATCH: Joey Grabanski homers twice in Sunday's game one win
SEWARD, Neb. – The 15th-ranked Concordia University baseball team had a week to stew on its three-straight defeats that concluded the recent four-game series at Morningside. It seems Hastings caught the Bulldogs at a bad time. Joey Grabanski homered three times and drove in 12 runs on Sunday (April 21) as Concordia pummeled the visiting Broncos by scores of 16-5 and 16-0 at a sunny and pleasant Plum Creek Park. The offensive support made winners out of pitchers Braxton Greenburg and Christian Gutierrez.
Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s program has hit the 30-win mark for the sixth time in his 10-year tenure (one season cut short due to COVID-19). The wins on Sunday for the Bulldogs (31-12, 15-7 GPAC) were critical to their chances of finishing in the top two of the GPAC standings.
“Our guys did a good job. It’s a beautiful day to play,” Dupic said. “There aren’t many days out here where you don’t have the wind blowing really aggressively. Our guys offensively did a really good job both games. I was especially pleased with the way we played the second game. We have to be able to pitch and defend. The second game we did that really well. We’re trying to be more consistent on the pitching mound.”
The reigning GPAC Player of the Year Grabanski continues to pad his NAIA national home run record. He added Nos. 80, 81 and 82 on the career while hitting to the opposite field. In Sunday’s game one, Grabanski belted a grand slam to right center in the third and then smacked a three-run homer to right in the fourth. Then in the fifth inning of game two, the Grand Forks, N.D., native helped put an exclamation mark on the day with a three-run bomb to right center. Grabanski finished the day 7-for-8 with five runs scored, two doubles and 18 total bases, in addition to his three homers and 12 RBIs.
Collectively, the Bulldogs piled up 23 hits and worked 11 walks while punishing Bronco pitchers. A massive inning in both ends of the doubleheader paved the way for the routs. Concordia put up eight runs in the first inning of game three and racked up 10 runs in the fourth inning of game two. Catcher Tanner Tompkins also went deep with a bullet of a two-run homer to left in the third inning of game one. Tompkins went 2-for-3 with a walk and three RBIs.
Three Bulldogs joined Grabanski and Tompkins with multiple hits on the day: Jay Adams (3-for-5), Jaidan Quinn (3-for-6) and Jimmy Blumberg (2-for-5). Adams, Quinn and Blumberg each notched a double while Adams and Quinn drove in three runs apiece for the day. Two RBIs apiece were recorded by Brad Hallock, Matt Rhoades and Michael Welch. Meanwhile, center fielder Alec Blakestad tripled in game one and made an impressive throw to gun down a runner at third that had tried to tag up in game two.
In the pitching rotation, Gutierrez continues to be a workhorse. He threw a seven-inning complete game in game two with only 76 pitches thrown (50 strikes). Gutierrez limited Hastings to four hits (no walks) while punching out seven batters. In the day’s first game, Greenburg covered 4.2 innings and allowed three runs on two hits and five walks to go along with six strikeouts. Ernie Snyder recorded the final seven outs and posted five strikeouts. Concordia did not commit an error defensively and turned four double plays in the doubleheader.
Said Dupic, “We have to go figure it out. Our guys did a really nice job and took care of business well. We got humbled last week, so we’re trying to reset a little bit. I don’t think there’s any excuse for us not to be a little bit humbled and come out ready to play. We did that today.”
Hastings (14-32, 5-19 GPAC) had been coming off a doubleheader sweep over Dordt. A highlight for the Broncos on Sunday was catcher Tyler Kissler’s 2-for-3, three-RBI performance in game one. Neither Hastings starting pitcher lasted more than three innings.
Following the conclusion of Sunday’s doubleheader, the Bulldogs hurried through their postgame routine and got on the road in preparation for Monday’s twin bill at Jamestown (25-15, 11-11 GPAC). First pitch in North Dakota is slated for 2 p.m. CT. The matchup was moved to Monday due to chilly weather in Jamestown this past Friday. The Jimmies have dropped four in a row, including two at home to Morningside on Sunday.