WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – What Jaidan Quinn is doing right now isn’t normal. The slugging left-handed hitting third baseman from Bonner Springs, Kan., homered three more times on Saturday (March 2) as the Concordia University Baseball team swept the doubleheader from Keiser University (Fla.), winning by scores of 10-9 and 10-8. In both games, the Bulldogs jumped out to big leads early and then held off Seahawk rallies in the latter innings.
Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad has taken two of the first three in a four-game series at Keiser, which calls West Palm Beach, Fla., its home. Concordia improved to 10-4 overall.
“I’m proud of what our guys accomplished today,” Dupic said. “I wish we could have finished the games a little cleaner but at the same time, there have been moments in the past when we haven’t finished against this type of competition. I was really pleased with our starting pitchers. We got two really good starts out of (Blake) Benson and (Christian) Gutierrez and Maverick Wylder closed both games. And our offense was great – up and down the lineup. They were really, really good.”
The reigning NAIA National Player of the Week Quinn may be up for some more recognition thanks to the weekend he’s putting together. Quinn has now homered in six-straight games and in eight of the past nine outings. In Saturday’s first game, Quinn connected for a two-run blast in the third and then for a solo shot in the sixth. The freshman sensation Matt Rhoades also belted a three-run bomb in the fifth. In addition, Ty Nekoliczak went 3-for-5 with two RBIs out of the leadoff spot.
Behind starter Blake Benson, the Bulldogs built a 10-2 lead in Saturday’s first contest. Keiser (14-4) made it tense by putting up six runs in the seventh and final frame. A grand slam from Simon Grinberg made it a one-run ballgame. Dupic turned to Wylder with two outs and he ended the threat with a strikeout. Benson worked 5.1 innings and allowed three runs on six hits and a walk to go with five strikeouts.
In game three of the series, Concordia again ambushed Keiser’s starting pitching by notching three runs in the first and four in the second. Quinn and Jay Adams both crushed two-run homers as part of the second inning. In addition, Rhoades homered (ninth of the season) in the sixth and Adams added his second blast as part of that same inning. There were five Bulldogs with two hits in the day’s second game: Adams (2-for-3), Hallock (2-for-3), Joey Grabanski (2-for-5), Nekoliczak (2-for-5) and Quinn (2-for-5). Adams drove in four runs.
Gutierrez went 6.2 innings and limited Keiser to four earned runs on seven hits. He fanned five hitters. Grinberg mashed two more homers as part of a three-homer day for himself. Out of the Concordia bullpen came Kellen Ingram, Jacob Lycan and Wylder. In finishing the game, Wylder recorded the final four outs without surrendering a baserunner.
The molten lava hot Quinn has taken over the national lead with 12 homers. He’s now hit 58 home runs over 130 games as a Bulldog. Said Dupic, “He’s kind of put us in awe a little bit. It’s so fun to watch him play. It’s really special. It’s hard to put into words. He’s just a really good hitter and a really good player.”
Concordia and Keiser will complete their four-game series on Sunday with a single game beginning at 10 a.m. CT / 11 a.m. ET. A live webcast of the contest can be found HERE. For a complete rundown of the spring break schedule for the Bulldogs, check out our spring break preview release HERE.