UPDATE: The doubleheader with Doane scheduled for Wednesday, March 27 has been postponed and rescheduled for Tuesday, April 2 with first pitch at 2 p.m. from Plum Creek Park. The change was made due to cold temperatures in the forecast for March 27.
SEWARD, Neb. – Another six-game week within the conference is on tap as GPAC action heats up for the 13th-ranked Concordia University Baseball team. Despite cold and windy conditions throughout last week, the Bulldogs managed to play three doubleheaders as scheduled. They split a twin bill at Briar Cliff and then split a four-game home series with Northwestern. Those results leave Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad at 19-8 overall (3-3 GPAC). Concordia looks forward to hosting No. 8 Doane for a showdown on Wednesday before heading to Sioux Center, Iowa, for a four-game weekend series with Dordt.
This week
POSTPONED - Wednesday, March 27 vs. No. 8 Doane (20-4, 6-0 GPAC), 2 p.m. DH
*Rescheduled for Tuesday, April 2 at 2 p.m.*
--Live Webcast | Live Stats: Game 1 – Game 2 | Location: Plum Creek Park (Seward, Neb.)
Friday, March 29 at Dordt (6-21, 0-6 GPAC), 1 p.m. DH
--Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Dordt Baseball Complex (Sioux Center, Iowa)
Saturday, March 30 at Dordt (6-21, 0-6 GPAC), 1 p.m. DH
--Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Dordt Baseball Complex (Sioux Center, Iowa)
By the numbers
· After rolling through the schedule in Florida with an impressive 8-2 mark, the Bulldogs experienced ups and downs last week while going 3-3 over the first six games of conference play. Concordia settled for splits in the matchups with Briar Cliff and Northwestern despite outperforming its foes statistically. At the plate, the Bulldogs slashed .293/.429/.419 (BA/OBP/SLG) while their opponents slashed .239/.333/.283. Concordia also outscored last week’s opponents by a combined total of 34-25. The leading hitter last week in terms of batting average was Brad Hallock, who went 8-for-18 (.444) with a pair of RBIs. Despite last week’s uneven results, Dupic and company believe they have a team worthy of its NAIA top 25 ranking.
· The victory in game one of the series with Northwestern (12-0 score) marked the 300th in the tenure of Dupic, whose first season at Concordia came in 2015. Dupic now stands at 301-171-1 in 10 seasons at the helm of the program. He has guided the Bulldogs to five national tournament appearances, five combined GPAC championships and to one NAIA World Series (2021). Entering this season, Concordia was one of seven NAIA programs to win 40-plus games each season from 2021 through 2023. Under Dupic’s leadership, the Bulldogs have broken virtually every major school record with a high of 42 wins coming in ’21.
· Another milestone came last week as right fielder Jay Adams collected five hits on March 22 and became the program’s first player to ever reach 300 hits for a career. The Waverly, Neb., native also owns school career records for runs scored (247) and doubles (62). The rest of the top five on the school’s all-time hits list features Jesse Garcia (270), Joey Grabanski (265), Zak Goodrich (234) and Keaton Candor (233). Adams got his career started in 2020 when the season was limited to 20 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Adams chose to use his “COVID year” of eligibility this season. He is a career .356 hitter with 40 home runs and 193 RBIs in 217 games.
· Grabanski is beginning to receive some national attention as he attempts to chase down the NAIA’s all-time home run record of 77 by Brice Cutspec (2007-10) of Azusa Pacific University (Calif.). Grabanski homered twice last week for his 68th and 69th career home runs. According to the NAIA’s official record book, there are only two players in the history of the NAIA to reach 70 career home runs. By season, Grabanski has recorded 17 homers as a freshman, 18 as a sophomore, 27 as a junior and seven so far as a senior. The left fielder from Grand Forks, N.D., has played in 197 collegiate games. He is the reigning GPAC Player of the Year and was named a 2023 NAIA Second Team All-American.
· The top three pitchers in the Concordia rotation each produced stellar results last week. In the win at Briar Cliff, Blake Benson went six shutout innings and allowed only two hits and a walk while notching five strikeouts. Caden Johnson’s line was remarkably similar against Northwestern as he threw six scoreless innings with two hits and one walk surrendered alongside six strikeouts. Johnson picked up the 21st win of his Bulldog career (third most in program history). In the series finale with the Red Raiders, Christian Gutierrez went all seven innings and gave up just one run on six hits and no walks (six strikeouts). Benson is now 5-0 with a 3.94 ERA in six starts, Gutierrez is 3-2 with a 3.25 ERA in six starts and Johnson is 3-2 with a 6.17 ERA in five starts.
· The conditions last week were not conducive to hitting home runs, but Concordia leads the GPAC with 53 home runs on the season. The top four individual home run hitters in the conference are all Bulldogs: Jaidan Quinn (14), Matt Rhoades (nine), Joey Grabanski (seven) and Alec Blakestad (seven). Quinn is also the conference leader in RBIs (37) while Brad Hallock tops the league in batting average (.440). As a team, Concordia paces the GPAC in runs scored (229), batting average (.331), on-base percentage (.435) and slugging percentage (.591). In other key indicators, the Bulldogs sport conference rankings in fourth in fielding percentage (.964) and fifth in ERA (4.36).
The opponents
Doane vaulted to No. 8 in the NAIA coaches’ poll released on March 13. The Tigers swept GPAC regular season and postseason championships in 2023 and have the makings of another conference title contender capable of advancing deep into the national tournament. Now in his seventh season as head coach, Josh Oltmans has elevated the program to a perennial conference power while intensifying the rivalry with Concordia. Doane has started league play at 6-0 with a doubleheader sweep of Mount Marty and a four-game series sweep of Hastings. The pitching staff is a strength for the Tigers, who are led by reigning GPAC Pitcher of the Year Aaron Forrest (5-0, 3.08 ERA). Offensively, Joe Osborn has produced five home runs in 2024 and was the 2022 GPAC Player of the Year. The hype is growing for Doane, which was also placed in the top 10 of the latest NAIABall power rankings. The Tigers have won each of the past five games against the Bulldogs (spanning the 2022 and 2023 seasons).
Dordt enters this week having scuffled to 13-straight defeats. The Defenders have averaged 4.59 runs per game and sport a team ERA of 7.65. The team’s leading hitter is Logan Harris, who is batting .357 with four home runs and 16 RBIs. Jared Hughes has logged the most innings of any the team’s pitchers (26 IP) and is 1-3 with a 5.88 ERA and 17 strikeouts. Dordt opened GPAC play by dropping four games to Jamestown and two to Briar Cliff. The Defenders allowed seven or more runs in all six of those games. Head Coach Nathan Bacon is in his fifth season at Dordt. His program is coming off a 20-26 record in 2023. Concordia swept a four-game home series from the Defenders in 2023.
Next Week
Another in-state foe is looming as the Bulldogs will take on Midland for four games the weekend of April 6-7. The action will be staged in Fremont on the first day before shifting to Seward for the second day.