SEWARD, Neb. – A monster weekend in a four-game series sweep of Dordt has resulted in Concordia University Baseball standout Keaton Candor being recognized as the GPAC/Hauff Mid-America Sports Player of the Week, as announced by the league on Tuesday (April 26). As a another show of the Bulldogs’ impressive offensive firepower, the announcement marks the fifth GPAC Player of the Week award this season for a Concordia position player. Candor joins Joey Grabanski (March 15 and 22), Alec Blakestad (March 29) and Jaidan Quinn (April 5) as Bulldogs to garner the weekly honor in 2022.
A native of Merrill, Iowa, Candor burned Defender pitching last week while going 7-for-16 (.438) with five runs, a double, four home runs and nine RBIs. The Concordia right fielder slugged 1.250 over the course of the series. On April 23, Candor became the program’s all-time runs leader when he surpassed previous standard bearer Zak Goodrich. On the season, Candor is hitting .333 with nine doubles, 12 home runs, 45 RBIs, a .438 on-base percentage and a .639 slugging percentage.
Candor also owns program career records for games played (207), runs scored (155), home runs (41), RBIs (173) and walks (102). He is the first player in the history of Concordia Baseball to reach 40 home runs for a career. His 214 hits rank behind only Goodrich (234) and Christian Meza (216) in school history.
The Bulldogs (29-12-1, 18-6 GPAC) will conclude the GPAC regular season this weekend with a four-game set at Briar Cliff. First pitches for the doubleheaders in Sioux City, Iowa, are slated for 1 p.m. CT on Friday and for 12 p.m. on Saturday.