LINCOLN, Neb. – The young arms of Micah Sweeton and Devin Gonor mesmerized the opposition, and Bulldog hitters lifted seven balls out of the yard in a Sunday (Feb. 15) sweep of Clarke University (Iowa). On a day when the temperature flirted with 70 degrees at Den Hartog Field in Lincoln, Neb., the 16th-ranked Concordia University, Nebraska Baseball team treated its fans to wins by scores of 7-0 and 13-1. Concordia’s pitching staff surrendered a grand total of five hits (only one for extra bases) in 14 innings of work.
Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad took three of four in the weekend series with the Pride. The Bulldogs (6-2) won the final three contests by a combined score of 31-1 while following the lead of a blossoming pitching staff.
“We’d like to think we have some good pitching depth,” Dupic said. “We have many relievers who didn’t throw who can get guys out and do a really good job. When we get really good starts and play well defensively, I think we’re a pretty good ballclub. Offense is going to be there some days, but we’re not going to be perfect every day. We really want to hang our hat on pitching and defense. Micah and Devin were great today.”
Statistically, the sophomore Sweeton enjoyed the best outing of his young collegiate career. He equaled a career high with 11 punchouts in six nearly spotless innings. The lone Clarke hit off Sweeton came on a bunt with two outs in the third inning. Sweeton worked his way out of trouble in the fourth inning when an error and a wild pitch on a strikeout put two on for the Pride. A fielder’s choice ended the threat. In the seventh, reliever Daiten Schmidt got the final three outs, leaving runners at second and third.
It was a similar story in game two as Gonor made his second career start. The freshman lefty from West Hills, Calif., dazzled with nine strikeouts and just two hits and a walk over six frames. Clarke got its only run of the day when Darin Eales homered to left with two outs in the fourth. Dupic turned to Warren Rose in the seventh, and he responded with a shutout inning that included two K’s. Bulldog pitchers combined to rack up 24 strikeouts on Sunday.
On the flip side, Concordia’s offensive attack put forth its finest work of the season to date. Jaeden Jordahl sparked the Dawgs with a solo homer in the first inning of Sunday’s game one. The ball kept flying out of the yard as Jordahl, Bronx Lewis and Carson Burnett slugged two home runs apiece on the day. In the sixth inning of the day’s opener, catcher Jake Watson unloaded on a no-doubter of a three-run smash that gave Concordia a 7-0 cushion.
The sixth inning of the series finale saw the Bulldogs parade around the bases for 10 runs. Lewis initiated the scoring with his fourth homer of the season. Major blows followed in the form of Jimmy Blumberg’s three-run double, Jake Tyler’s two-run double and Jordahl’s three-run blast. The outburst allowed Concordia to close a second straight day with a run-rule shortened win.
The Bulldogs are a vastly different team than they were in 2025, but there are strengths already showing up in obvious fashion. Offensively, Concordia remains a patient outfit with strides yet to be made. Its efforts on Sunday were a positive step in the right direction. A transfer from Ohlone Community College, Burnett led the Bulldogs with three hits on Sunday.
Said Dupic, “We have to get more barrels. We’ve done a really nice job of understanding the strike zone and swinging at pretty good pitches. Early in the season, we just haven’t been getting enough good, solid barrel contact. Today we got more. We just have to increase that percentage as much as possible, particularly when we face good arms. That’ll be the challenge for us – we’ll see how good of a team we can be.”
The Bulldogs will see Clarke (3-5) again as part of next weekend’s Show Me Showdown (Feb. 21-22) hosted by Central Methodist University in Fayette, Mo. Concordia will play Clarke twice on Feb. 21 before taking on No. 25 Central Methodist twice on Feb. 22.