SEWARD, Neb. – Confidence is growing for a Concordia University, Nebraska Baseball team that owns a seven-game winning streak and sits atop the GPAC standings nearly halfway through the league slate. The Bulldogs got their week started on Monday by taking two from Briar Cliff (1-0 and 9-1) while getting sparkling pitching performances from veteran righthanders Alex Johnson and Braxton Greenburg. Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad has pushed its league record to 10-2 (22-8 overall). Concordia is currently ranked 22nd in the NAIA with the potential to move up in the poll that will be released on Wednesday.
This Weekend
Friday, April 4 vs. Hastings (6-20, 3-9 GPAC), 3 p.m. DH
--Live Webcast | Live Stats: Game 1 – Game 2 | Location: Plum Creek Park (Seward, Neb.)
Sunday, April 6 at Morningside (22-5-1, 9-3 GPAC), 12 p.m. DH
--Live Webcast | Live Stats: Game 1 – Game 2 | Location: Bishop Mueller Field (Sioux City, Iowa)
By the numbers
· As of Tuesday (April 1) morning, every GPAC program has played 12 conference games. The Bulldogs reside in first place with a 10-2 mark, one game in front of both Morningside (9-3) and Dakota Wesleyan (9-3). In the latest Bo Chip ratings (NAIA RPI), Concordia landed at No. 11 nationally. Based on the Bo Chip ratings, the Bulldogs own seven wins over NAIA top 50 squads: No. 6 Southeastern (Fla.) (one), No. 36 Jamestown (two), No. 49 Bellevue (one) and No. 49 Doane (three). In another ranking, @NAIABall listed Concordia at No. 21 in its media poll.
· After playing their first 26 games of the season on the road, the Bulldogs finally appeared at Plum Creek Park on March 28. With the wind blowing out, Concordia homered nine times while pummeling Waldorf by scores of 15-9 and 21-5. Three days later, the Bulldogs returned to their home park and swept a doubleheader from Briar Cliff, winning 1-0 and 9-1. Over the current homestand, six different Concordia players have homered: Brad Hallock (four), Jaidan Quinn (three), Matt Rhoades (two), Bronx Lewis (one), Tanner Tompkins (one) and Michael Welch (one). The Bulldogs outscored the Warriors/Chargers by a combined total of 46-15 and outhit them, .389 to .239. All four Concordia starters earned wins (in order): Christian Gutierrez, Micah Sweeton, Alex Johnson and Braxton Greenburg. The starters covered 24 of 28 innings.
· A fifth-year Bulldog from Olathe, Kan., Alex Johnson has emerged as a major storyline in 2025. Johnson made a combined three starts over the 2023 and 2024 seasons while battling injuries. In Monday’s outing versus Briar Cliff, Johnson accumulated a career-high 13 strikeouts in a seven-inning complete game shutout. The Chargers were limited to two hits and three walks by the Concordia ace. On the season, Johnson is 4-2 with a 1.57 ERA and 57 strikeouts in 34.1 innings (six starts). Opposing hitters are batting just .188 off Johnson. In his career at Concordia, Johnson sports a 3.00 ERA and 168 strikeouts in 135 innings (32 starts). As for Greenburg, he has lowered his season ERA to 3.47 while allowing no earned runs over his past two starts (14 innings).
· Returning NAIA First Team All-American Jaidan Quinn slugged three home runs in game two of the doubleheader with Waldorf and pulled even with former teammate Joey Grabanski for the program’s all-time home run record (88). Quinn has enjoyed a career that ranks him among the very best players in program history. Not only does he rank No. 1 for home runs in the school record books, he also ranks second in runs scored (247), second in RBIs (248) and sixth in hits (230). For his career, Quinn has slashed .355 / .519 / .833 (BA / OBP / SLG). This 2025 season, Quinn leads all GPAC players in home runs (15), RBIs (43) and slugging percentage (.880).
· Brad Hallock enjoyed a fine 2024 season (his first as a Bulldog) when he batted .309 with 10 home runs and 45 RBIs. He’s taken his game to a new level in 2025. He’s homered at least once in six of the past eight games and ranks second in the GPAC (to Quinn) in home runs with 13. Hallock is currently batting .345 with a .426 on-base percentage and .755 slugging percentage. Quinn, Hallock and Matt Rhoades hold down the GPAC’s top three spots in the categories of home runs and RBIs.
· Despite the departures of Joey Grabanski and fellow First Team All-GPAC outfielders Jay Adams and Alec Blakestad, the Bulldogs continue to leave the ballpark at a dizzying rate. The 2024 squad averaged 1.98 home runs per game (113 total home runs) while the ’25 team is right on that same pace (1.97 home runs per game; 59 total home runs) thanks to the likes of Quinn, Hallock and Rhoades. Among GPAC teams, Concordia ranks first in home runs (59), first in slugging percentage (.576), second in runs scored per game (8.8), second in on-base percentage (.440), second in stolen bases (50) and fifth in batting average (.310). It should be noted that Zackery Day (67 career stolen bases) needs three more stolen bases to break the program all-time record of 69 held by Jerry Dittenber.
· The performances of Johnson and Greenburg on Monday helped lower the team’s season ERA to 5.04 (second best in the GPAC). The Bulldog staff paces the league in strikeouts per nine innings with an average of 10.37. The starting rotation is anchored by Johnson and Greenburg and includes reliable innings eater Christian Gutierrez and Micah Sweeton, a freshman with exciting potential. The bullpen hasn’t gotten much work during the homestand with the starters working deep into games. In tight late-game situations, Dupic can turn to Daiten Schmidt, who has allowed only one run in eight appearances and has collected four saves. DJ Andersen has also been effective and has two saves on the season.
The opponents
Hastings went through a period of transition as it announced Steve Maddock as its head baseball coach this past August. He’s tasked with attempting to rebuild a program that has struggled in recent seasons. The Broncos finished 2024 at 14-35 overall (5-22 GPAC) and are off to a 6-20 start (3-9 GPAC) in 2025. Maddock can lean upon returning First Team All-GPAC pitcher James Velasquez, who has fanned 34 hitters in 28 innings this season. Velasquez and Markus Miller have headed up the Hastings rotation. Offensively, Jaden Stone is batting a team best .348 with three home runs and 15 RBIs. Dating back to the 2019 season, Concordia has defeated the Broncos in each of the past 11 meetings.
Morningside reached the national tournament as recently as 2023 under the direction of Head Coach Adam Boeve. The Mustangs will trot out an offensive lineup that ranks right up there with the Bulldogs in virtually every major statistical category. Morningside leads the GPAC in batting average (.342), on-base percentage (.466) and runs scored per game (9.5). Two Mustangs are batting better than .400: Conner Maston (.444) and Ryan Kiolbassa (.414). The starting rotation is led by the likes of Cade Nolan (5-0, 3.09 ERA) and Tiago Sanchez (3-1, 3.33 ERA). In the latest GPAC ratings (released by the NAIA), Morningside jumped to No. 2. The Mustangs landed at No. 67 in the Bo Chip ratings unveiled on Monday. Morningside took three out of four from the Bulldogs in Sioux City last season.
Next week
The Bulldogs will be back on the road for the weekend of April 12-13 with a four-game series at Mount Marty in Yankton, S.D. Doubleheaders are slated to get underway at 1 p.m. CT on both days.