FREMONT, Neb. – The opening round of the GPAC tournament broke new ground for the Concordia baseball team. Concordia defeated Northwestern College 12-0 in its first GPAC tournament appearance since 2012. It marked the most wins in a single season and gave the Bulldogs their first post-season victory in over 10 years.
The Bulldogs, now 27-26 overall, have won their third game in GPAC post-season history. Northwestern drops to 22-26 on the year.
Head coach Ryan Dupic said, “It was one of those days, our guys played very well. We got a few balls to fall in, they hit a couple balls hard at us. I’m just very proud of the guys, they came out ready to play and they did a great job executing the plan. It was a good win for us to start off.”
Starting pitcher Josh Prater extended his streak of scoreless innings to 20.2 frames. Prater let up just three hits through eight full innings while striking out three Red Raiders. Ben Kruse pitched the final inning by facing just three batters, striking out one.
“He (Prater) was fantastic,” Dupic said of Prater. “We just let him roll out there for a while, he was going so good. He’s gotten into a groove here lately…I’m just really happy for him, he’s a great kid and works really hard and did a really good job for us today.”
The offensive run began early in the game after the ‘Dogs scored three runs to lead off the tilt. Casey Berg and Kaleb Geiger singled to get aboard. Christian Montero then drew a walk. Taylor Dudley ripped a two-run single for the first runs of the game.
In the sixth frame, Concordia also scored three runs. The Bulldogs were one batter shy of batting through the order. Alex Alstott led off with a double and later scored off another double from Montero. Alex Cargin recorded a two-RBI single in the inning to score Dudley and Montero. After a four run ninth inning, Concordia sealed the 12-0 victory.
As a team, Concordia recorded two doubles and one home run off 14 hits and drew nine walks. Casey Berg had one of the leading marks in hits and runs at three apiece. Berg also drove in one run.
Berg said, “I was just trying to have good at bats for the team. I just saw the ball well today. It’s a great accomplishment for the program (getting 27 wins), it’s a step in the right direction. I hope it keeps going every year, I think we can continue to break the record every year.”
Concordia will face the winner of the game between first seeded Midland and eighth seeded Dakota Wesleyan on Friday at Noon. The game will be played at Moller Field in Fremont. Below is a full schedule of the GPAC tournament.
Midland Bracket
Thursday, May 5, 2016
Game #1 – (5) Concordia 12, (4) Northwestern 0
Game #2 – (1) Midland (37-16-1, 15-5) vs. (8) Dakota Wesleyan (25-25, 9-11) – 6 pm
Friday, May 6, 2016
Game #3 – Winner Game #1 vs. Winner Game #2 – Noon
Game #4 – Loser Game #1 vs. Loser Game #2 – 3pm
Game #5 – Winner Game #4 vs. Loser Game #3 – 6pm
Saturday, May 7, 2016
Game #6 – Winner Game #3 vs. Winner Game #5 – Noon
Game #7 – If necessary (Game #6 winner/loser) – 3pm
Briar Cliff Bracket
Thursday, May 5, 2016
Game #1 – (3) Morningside 17, (6) Mount Marty 10
Game #2 – (7) Hastings 10, (2) Briar Cliff 9
Friday, May 6, 2016
Game #3 – Winner Game #1 vs. Winner Game #2 – 9am
Game #4 – Loser Game #1 vs. Loser Game #2 – Noon
Game #5 – Winner Game #4 vs. Loser Game #3 – 3pm
Saturday, May 7, 2016
Game #6 – Winner Game #3 vs. Winner Game #5 – Noon
Game #7 – If necessary (Game #6 winner/loser) – 3pm
GPAC Baseball Championship Game – Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Game #8 – Midland Bracket Winner vs. Briar Cliff Bracket Winner (at highest seed)
3pm (no lights) or 6pm (lights)