The journey fell short of the desired destination of Lewiston, Idaho, but the 2023 season represented a continuation of the greatest stretch of success in the history of Concordia University Baseball. This spring, Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad pulverized baseballs at a record-setting clip and followed the most prolific scoring offense in program history to a fourth-straight appearance at the national tournament. Joey Grabanski and Jaidan Quinn took turns turning heads with their sheer power and fifth-year seniors Ben Berg, Jesse Garcia and Teyt Johnson soaked up their swan songs.
Dupic is proud to be able to say his baseball program is one of seven in the NAIA to have won 40 games in each of the past three seasons, but that’s only a piece of the total picture. The results are a byproduct of the melding of the right people who have come together to make this one of the very best baseball programs nationally.
Said Dupic shortly after the 2023 season’s final game, “Our senior class is the first thing that comes to mind. Anybody who knows them can really attest to the quality of young men they are and what character they have. They have made a profound impact on the people around them. We’re going to miss those kids. They’re fun to be around. They’re really good baseball players, but you really enjoy them as people. I’m really proud of them and the impact they’ve had.”
The seniors have helped orchestrate the continued rewriting of the program’s record books. From a team perspective, the ’23 squad set new program standards for runs scored (581), home runs (117) and stolen bases (98). The awe-inspiring slugging prowess of the Bulldogs has known no bounds. Hitting coach Caleb Lang has overseen a lineup that has raised the bar with 90 home runs in 2021, 113 in 2022 and 117 in 2023. The powerful exploits in 2023 resulted in a 40-18 overall record, GPAC runner-up finishes in the regular season and postseason and a trip to Georgia for the NAIA Opening Round.
The raw numbers were out of this world as the Bulldogs batted .357 as a team, recorded a .443 on-base percentage and slugged .616. Six Concordia players hit double figures in homers: Grabanski (27), Quinn (27), Garcia (17), Alec Blakestad (13), Jay Adams (11) and Berg (10). Grabanski also broke a school record for RBIs in a season (85) and became the second player in program history to be named GPAC Player of the Year. Grabanski and Quinn seemed to take turns going on ridiculous home run binges. Quinn enjoyed a school record four-homer game (at Midland) and Grabanski belted three bombs on the final day of the season at the national tournament.
Said Quinn following his four-homer outburst, “It’s just surreal. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that happen. It was just a surreal moment. I was glad I was able to do it for my team. Everyone stuck behind me and just believed every day. Now it’s coming to light.”
It was easy to get behind this Concordia team, which showed class in victory and graciousness in defeat. Grabanski was joined with First Team All-GPAC honors by fellow position players in Adams, Berg, Blakestad, Garcia, Ty Nekoliczak and Quinn. Meanwhile, pitcher Caden Johnson landed first team accolades for a second year in a row. Together they inflicted significant damage while playing the most challenging nonconference schedule in program history before going 21-7 in an improving GPAC (the conference qualified three teams for nationals). Concordia also took home a trophy while winning the Warner University Invitational championship in Florida.
Ultimately, it was a rough 11-8 loss to Freed-Hardeman University (Tenn.) that eliminated the Bulldogs from the national tournament. Concordia had been one out away from advancing to the finals of the Lawrenceville Bracket. It says something about how far the program has come that there was some disappointment over that finish. Just two years prior, the Bulldogs experienced euphoria when they won the Bellevue Bracket and realized a dream in reaching the NAIA World Series.
However, the ’23 team can stand on its own merit. It was without question one of the most entertaining teams Concordia has ever fielded. “Anytime you have the opportunity to play at the national tournament, it’s always a good thing,” Dupic said. “I was grateful we had the chance to come down to Georgia and compete. We’ve experienced a lot of success at the national tournament the past couple years, and that’s certainly been something we’ve enjoyed. Our goal was to try to get back to the World Series. We fell short of that, but I think looking at the big picture, winning multiple games at the national tournament and winning 40 games for the season isn’t anything to be ashamed of. It’s one of the best seasons in school history. We’re grateful for the season we’ve had and the positive experiences we’ve shared.”
The players were genuinely excited for Dupic when he became the winningest head coach in program history during the team’s trip to Florida over spring break. By season’s end, Dupic’s career record stood at 282-163-1. The team’s unofficial ‘captain,’ Ben Berg had this to say as his college career neared the end, “I love everything that the program stands for. I’ve had a chance to be part of something bigger than myself and be able to lead people and have a positive impact on people around me.”
Behind the plate, Berg handled a pitching staff that wound up with a 4.84 ERA for the year. Caden Johnson finished at 9-3 overall with a 3.39 ERA in 58.1 innings. The team’s other most relied-upon pitchers were Blake Benson (8-2, 4.46 ERA, 72.2 IP), Frankie Cresta (6-7, 5.64 ERA, 68.2 IP) and Christian Gutierrez (6-1, 4.79 ERA, 62 IP). Unfortunately, injuries limited 2022 ace Alex Johnson to just three appearances. In other words, the transfer additions of Benson and Cresta proved critical. Out of the bullpen, Dan Rivera racked up 42 strikeouts in 20.2 innings while Ernie Snyder showed plenty of promise and potential.
Pitching and defense were solid for Concordia, but the offense was certainly the strength that stood out. Impressively, the Bulldogs hit for power while also wreaking havoc with speed on the bases. Zackery Day’s 36 steals are a new school record. While Grabanski and Quinn often stole the show with their prolific home run hitting, Garcia enjoyed the best season of his career. The El Cajon, Calif., departs as the school record holder for career hits (266), doubles (59), RBIs (214), games played (237) and walks (116). Grabanski owns the career home run record with 59 big flies.
While the aforementioned fifth-year players will move on (along with seniors Ben Coldiron and Dan Rivera), Concordia will be set up for success again in 2024. The backbone of the lineup will feature Adams, Blakestad, Grabanski, Quinn, Nekoliczak and Tanner Tompkins (who fought through an elbow injury in ’23). Based on the All-GPAC teams, Concordia will have the conference’s top returning player at second base, shortstop, third base, left field and center field. A return to health for Alex Johnson would be a big boost to a pitching staff that will bring back nearly all of its significant contributors from this spring. This program isn’t going anywhere.
Said Dupic, “We’re trying to finish out our recruiting class as we build into next year, and we want to get a good start on next year’s recruiting class. At the end of every season, we’re trying to determine how we make sure we get guys healthy and have guys back for next year. We lost some guys who were key contributors. I’m proud of the way we worked through that, but it was still very unfortunate. We also want to keep making the players in our program better.”