FREMONT, Neb. – Jaidan Quinn accomplished a feat never before achieved in the history of the Concordia University Baseball program while leading another awe-inspiring power display. Quinn homered in four straight at bats to begin a day filled with fireworks. The 24th-ranked Bulldogs throttled Midland, 17-8 and 17-0, in Fremont, Neb., on Saturday (April 22). The temperatures were on the chilly side, but that did little to deter an offensive attack that left the yard at Moller Field 12 times.
Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad effectively bounced back from the pair of defeats at Doane while remaining in the thick of the GPAC championship race. Halfway through the four-game series with the Warriors, Concordia stands at 31-13 overall (17-5 GPAC).
“Our guys did a really good job offensively,” Dupic said. “We got off to a great start in both ballgames and had terrific at bats up and down the order. Jaidan Quinn had an incredible day, hitting four home runs. There were so many, I kind of forget. I certainly don’t recall it (being involved in a game when someone hit four home runs). It was pretty incredible.”
A native of Bonner Springs, Kan., Quinn has been a phenomenal addition since he transferred from Wabash Valley College. Impressively, Quinn slugged a home run apiece in the first, second, third and fourth innings of game one at Midland. Quinn collected six RBIs on those long balls as he became the first player in program history to launch four homers in a single game. Joey Grabanski (solo bast in the first) and Jose Cevallos (two-run shot in the third) also left the yard in game one, which saw the Bulldogs record 16 hits and four walks.
Midland hung in there for a while in game one while getting to Concordia starter Caden Bugarske, but game two was a complete wipe out. The Bulldogs tallied three runs in the first, five in the second, one in the third and four in the fourth before eventually enacting the 10-run rule. Home runs in game two came off the bats of Jay Adams (two), Ben Berg, Alec Blakestad, Grabanski and Ty Nekoliczak. Berg and Quinn produced five hits apiece on the day. Berg drove in five runs in game two.
As usual, the pitching performances were overshadowed, but Ernie Snyder and Christian Gutierrez got terrific results. The Warriors did not score a single run the rest of the day after their one run in the third inning of game one. Snyder came out of the bullpen to fire five shutout innings with three hits and two walks allowed (four strikeouts). The crafty Gutierrez then scattered six hits in a seven-inning shutout (six strikeouts). He threw only 74 pitches (54 for strikes) in an economical outing. The effort marked the team’s fourth shutout of the season. Concordia played error-free ball behind Gutierrez.
Said Dupic, “Ernie did an incredible job. He’s really gotten better as the season has gone on. He was getting his feet wet early in the season. He’s been pitching well in conference play. Christian had all his pitches working today, and I was really pleased with us defensively in the second game. We played clean and much better there. It’s good to see us pitching well.”
Below is a summary of the top hitting performances by Bulldogs in both of Saturday’s games:
Game 1
· Jaidan Quinn: 4-for-5, four runs, four homers, six RBIs
· Ben Berg: 3-for-5, double, two RBIs
· Jesse Garcia: 2-for-3, two runs
· Joey Grabanski: 2-for-5, run, homer, one RBI
· Jose Cevallos: 2-for-5, two runs, double, homer, two RBIs
Game 2
· Jay Adams: 3-for-4, two runs, two homers, three RBIs
· Alec Blakestad: 2-for-2, three runs, walk, homer, two RBIs
· Ben Berg: 2-for-3, run, double, homer, five RBIs
· Jesse Garcia: 2-for-5, two runs, double, two RBIs
· Teyt Johnson: 2-for-5, run
Prior to Quinn hitting four home runs on Saturday, there had been 10 instances in program history in which an individual belted exactly three home runs in a single game. Among current Bulldogs, Grabanski (three), Adams (two) and Garcia (two) have each enjoyed multiple three-homer games in their careers.
The Bulldogs will be back at home on Sunday to celebrate senior day. The series with Midland (19-22, 10-12 GPAC) will resume at 2 p.m. CT from Plum Creek Park. In between games of the doubleheader, Concordia will recognize five seniors: Ben Berg, Ben Coldiron, Jesse Garcia, Teyt Johnson and Dan Rivera.