SEWARD, Neb. – The pressure and attention that came with chasing the NAIA national home run record never got to Joey Grabanski. His continued power production led to him being named the GPAC/Hauff Mid-America Sports Player of the Week for the second-straight week, as announced by the league office on Tuesday (April 23). As a team, Concordia Baseball has been rewarded with five GPAC Player of the Week awards in 2024. Three have been earned by third baseman Jaidan Quinn.
Grabanski earned his latest accolade based on a single doubleheader. In Sunday’s trouncing of Hastings (combined score of 32-5), Grabanski batted .875 (7-for-8) with five runs scored, two doubles, three home runs, 12 RBIs and 18 total bases. The Grand Forks, N.D., native belted a grand slam and a three-run homer in game one and then added another three-run shot in game two versus the Broncos. The red-hot Grabanski has homered eight times over the past eight games.
On the season, Grabanski is hitting .389 with 20 home runs and 69 RBIs to go along with a .492 on-base percentage and .859 slugging percentage. He has pushed his all-time NAIA home run record to 82. In 213 career games as a Bulldog, Grabanski has also totaled 212 runs, 288 hits, 50 doubles and 281 RBIs while hitting .380.
Grabanski and the 15th-ranked Bulldogs (33-12, 17-7 GPAC) will close the regular season this weekend by hosting Mount Marty on Friday and Dakota Wesleyan on Saturday.