PIEDMONT, Okla. – An escape to the warm and sunny Oklahoma City area provided two northerners an opportunity to play ball on Sunday (Feb. 23). The 20th-ranked Concordia University, Nebraska Baseball team met up with former GPAC rival Jamestown at Piedmont High School and split a doubleheader on the first of two days of action. The Jimmies rallied to win game one, 11-9, before the Bulldogs rebounded to win game two, 10-4, with the help of a grand slam from Jaeden Jordahl and an eight-inning pitching performance by Christian Gutierrez. Additionally, Ty Nekoliczak reached a major milestone in the first contest.
Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad had been idle since playing at Oklahoma City University the weekend of Feb. 7-8. Concordia stands at 4-1 overall halfway through the series with Jamestown.
“You don’t want to lose ballgames, but we just need to play and learn about our team,” Dupic said. “I feel like I’m learning a lot about our team. We’re getting guys out there and they’re getting more at bats. We’re getting pitchers out of the bullpen and seeing who can be consistent. I’m seeing a lot of good things. I think Jamestown has a good club too. They fought back and did a great job in game one. We walked a few too many guys for sure. I was still pretty pleased with how things went today.”
In Sunday’s game one, Concordia appeared on its way to cruising to victory when it went up 7-0 at the conclusion of two innings. Returning First Team All-American Jaidan Quinn punctuated the early fireworks with a grand slam in the second. However, the Bulldogs weren’t sharp enough from a pitching perspective and surrendered three runs apiece to the Jimmies in the third, fourth and fifth frames. Concordia attempted to rally late when Matt Rhoades doubled in a run in the sixth and singled home another in the seventh. Two Jamestown insurance runs in the top half of the seventh made the difference.
In the capper, the Jimmies struck for two runs in the top of the first before the relentless Bulldog offense went to work with one run in the first, one in the second, three in the third and four in the fourth. Rhoades led off the bottom of the third with his 17th career homer (first this season) and Jordahl cleaned up the bases in the fourth with a grand slam for his first long ball in a Concordia uniform. Three Concordia players posted two hits in the win: Rhoades (2-for-3), Jordahl (2-for-4) and Bronx Lewis (2-for-5).
The NAIA’s reigning second base gold glover, Nekoliczak wreaked havoc at the top of the order. He went 3-for-3 with two walks and three runs scored in game one before going 1-for-3 with two walks, two runs and an RBI in game two. His second hit of the day marked the 200th of his career, a feat accomplished by eight players in program history. As for Quinn, his ringing blast to dead center represented the 74th homer of his career. Also noteworthy offensively, Lewis and Brad Hallock contributed two hits apiece in the first game and Zackery Day stole four bases on the day.
Said Dupic, “Ty played really well. (Catcher) Mike Welch played well. I thought we ran the bases well and the guys did a good job.”
The ever-reliable Gutierrez settled in after Jamestown’s two-run first in game two. The senior right-hander from La Mirada, Calif., worked eight innings and allowed four runs on six hits. He navigated three-straight 1-2-3 innings in fourth, fifth and sixth in the process of picking up his 23rd career win. Seth Claybourne then fired a scoreless ninth inning with two strikeouts. Said Dupic of Gutierrez, “He’s just really steady. To get eight innings out of him in your second weekend of the year is special. We feel good when he’s out there.”
Jamestown (7-3) played for the first time this spring after having been in action for eight games during the fall. The Jimmies rapped out 14 hits in Sunday’s opening clash. Cleanup hitter Jordan Singleton reached base four times (two singles and two walks) in the win. Jamestown saw three Concordia pitchers in game one: Braxton Greenburg, Aaron Petty and DJ Andersen.
The Bulldogs and Jimmies will get right back to action on Monday with a doubleheader slated for a 10 a.m. CT first pitch. The location will again be Piedmont High School. A live stream will be available via Jamestown’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@JimmieAthletics.