SEWARD, Neb. – Sunny skies and temperatures in the 50s meant it was time to play ball at home for the first time this 2023 season. After a layoff of more than a week, the Concordia University Baseball team took a pair of games from visiting Jamestown on Monday (March 20) while going deep three times and getting a sterling pitching performance from righty Frankie Cresta. In addition, Joey Grabanski became the program's new all-time home run king. The Bulldogs rallied to win the first contest, 7-6, with the help of Alec Blakestad’s walk-off RBI single. They then took the capper, 7-0.
Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad has won five in a row to move to 16-8 overall (2-0 GPAC). Concordia had been idle since finishing its spring break trip in Florida on March 11.
“I thought the offensive guys were fantastic,” Dupic said. “Particularly when you look at that first game, we fell behind and they did an incredible job off the ace of the other team’s staff. We really battled and got a big swing from Joey and got us back into the ballgame. I was really proud because there was a chance for that game to roll away form us a little bit … We kept making the next pitch and the next play. That was a really tough hard-fought win.”
Eventually, the first game was left to the bullpens after Blake Benson covered 5.2 innings for the Bulldogs and Luke Zimmer went five frames for the Jimmies. Jamestown was unable to hold onto leads of 3-0 and 5-3 in the middle innings. The game see-sawed back and forth late in the contest as the Jimmies answered a Tanner Tompkins sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth with a fielder’s choice to score a run. Then in the bottom of the seventh with the game tied, 6-6, Blakestad blooped a base hit to center, chasing home Ty Nekoliczak for the walk-off tally.
Those late heroics were made possible by a three-run blast from Grabanski in the third. The fly ball that left the yard to right center marked Grabanski’s 13th homer of the season and 48th for his career, making him the program’s new all-time record holder (Keaton Candor was the previous record holder with 47). Blakestad wound up with three hits while Nekoliczak added two hits and two runs in game one.
Another strong offensive performance and the best outing of Cresta’s Bulldog career made game two easier on the ticker. Cresta racked up 13 strikeouts to go against just three hits and two walks in his seven-inning complete game masterpiece. Cresta set the tone by striking out the first batter in six separate innings. He also benefited from a 5-4-3 double play in the first and then a strike-him-out-throw-him-out double play to end the game.
The native of Johnston, Iowa, was dealing on Monday afternoon. As Dupic joked, “It feels like I’ve recruited him about five times. I recruited him out of high school and out of junior college. Frankie is a kid that loves to get better and really wants to be good. I was really excited when we had a chance to add him. Today he had his secondary stuff going really well. When he has that, he’s tough.”
Said Cresta, “My fastball and slider felt good – changeup felt good. If I didn’t throw a good one, I was on to the next pitch. My mindset is one pitch at a time and just trying to execute every pitch.”
Cresta had things on cruise control after Concordia put up one run in the first, three in the second and two in the third. Jaidan Quinn led off the bottom of the first with a solo blast (eighth homer this season). In the second, Nekoliczak grounded out to score a run, Grabanski singled in another and Jesse Garcia’s ringing double plated Grabanski. An inning later, Jay Adams hit a no-doubter of homer to left center (sixth of the season) to open a two-run bottom of the third.
Blakestad enjoyed a 4-for-8 day out of the cleanup spot in the order. Meanwhile, Grabanski and Teyt Johnson both went 3-for-6. For the day, the offense generated 19 hits, including seven for extra bases (four doubles and three homers). While Cresta got the game two win, reliever Kellen Ingram got the victory in game one after he recorded two outs to close the top of the seventh.
Jamestown slipped to 11-9 overall (0-2 GPAC) in its first action since March 10. The two Jimmie starting pitchers surrendered a combined 11 earned runs on Monday. In game one, catcher Triston Madison delivered a two-run homer and posted two hits. Jamestown finished with 12 hits on the day.
Currently, the Bulldogs are scheduled to play in South Dakota for doubleheaders on both Saturday and Sunday. Those games could be altered (location and/or date) due to unfavorable conditions that have persisted farther north. Stay tuned to @cunebulldogs on Twitter for the latest updates and be sure to check the website for possible changes to the upcoming schedule.
Number 48, a no-doubt backside jack.
— Caleb Lang (@CalebLang22) March 21, 2023
The new Concordia HR king, Joey G.
*He is a JR pic.twitter.com/1cwdNGlSA4