SEWARD, Neb. – Upon its return from Jamestown, N.D., the 15th-ranked Concordia University Baseball team will take a breather before refocusing for the final four games of the 2024 regular season. The Bulldogs hope to continue to string wins together after a 4-0 stretch that included doubleheader sweeps of Hastings (home) and Jamestown (away) in back-to-back days. The opposition that will visit Plum Creek Park will be Mount Marty on Friday and Dakota Wesleyan on Saturday. Between games of Saturday’s twin bill, Concordia will recognize a star-studded group of 12 seniors. Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad stands at 33-12 overall (17-7 GPAC) while sitting in a tie for second place in the GPAC.
This week
Friday, April 26 vs. Mount Marty (26-19, 12-12 GPAC), 12 p.m. DH
--Live Webcast | Live Stats: Game 1 – Game 2 | Location: Plum Creek Park (Seward, Neb.)
Saturday, April 27 vs. Dakota Wesleyan (15-30, 7-17 GPAC), 1 p.m. DH – Senior Day
--Live Webcast | Live Stats: Game 1 – Game 2 | Location: Plum Creek Park (Seward, Neb.)
By the numbers
· Due to the postponement of the Jamestown doubleheader, Concordia was challenged with a two-day stretch unlike any its ever had before. The Bulldogs passed the first test this past Sunday by throttling Hastings at home, 16-5 and 16-0. Those games ended at roughly 5 p.m. CT. Concordia then scurried to get on the road and spent Sunday night in Mitchell, S.D. It then played two games beginning at 2 p.m. in Jamestown, N.D., on Monday. The Bulldogs won those contests, 4-1 and 6-3, behind superior pitching and defense. Over that four-game run, Concordia outscored its opponents by a combined total of 42-9. Red hot Joey Grabanski went 7-for-8 (.875) with three home runs and 12 RBIs in the doubleheader with Hastings and was named the GPAC Player of the Week. Other home runs over the past two days were delivered by Matt Rhoades (two), Alex Draper (first career), Jaidan Quinn (67th career) and Tanner Tompkins. From a pitching perspective, Christian Gutierrez (four-hit shutout vs. Hastings) and Caden Johnson (one run allowed in seven innings at Jamestown) shined the brightest. Concordia pitchers posted a 2.40 ERA over the past four games.
· Grabanski is red hot and has been tabbed the GPAC Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks. The Grand Forks, N.D., native has homered eight times over the past eight games while continuing to pad his NAIA national home run record. Grabanski has pushed his career home run count to 82. On the season, he’s hitting .389 with 20 home runs and 69 RBIs. In 213 career games as a Bulldog, Grabanski has totaled 212 runs, 288 hits, 50 doubles, 281 RBIs and 123 walks while batting .380. There are only three players in the history of collegiate baseball (across all divisions) with more career homers with Grabanski: Oklahoma State’s Pete Incaviglia (100), Florida State’s Jeff Ledbetter (97) and Georgia Southern’s Todd Greene (88). Grabanski missed the doubleheader at Jamestown due to a significant life event. He will be back in the lineup this weekend.
· Heading into the weekend, Doane sits atop the GPAC standings with a 19-5 league record. Meanwhile, Concordia and Morningside are tied for second place at 17-7 and Briar Cliff looms closely behind at 16-8. The Bulldogs will need help from the Mustangs in order to reach first place. Morningside will play a four-game series at Doane beginning on Friday. Because those two teams play each other, Concordia can guarantee a top-two placement with a 4-0 weekend. The top two teams in the final standings earn the right to host separate four-team pods at next week’s GPAC tournament. Under Dupic, the Bulldogs have been a conference tournament host in 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
· The victory over Hastings in game one of the doubleheader put Concordia at the 30-win mark for the sixth time in Dupic’s tenure. In order, the other Bulldog teams to accomplish that feat were the 2017 (34-22), 2019 (33-20), 2021 (42-14), 2022 (40-17-1) and 2023 (40-18) squads. Concordia is one of seven NAIA programs nationally to have won 40-plus games each season from 2021 through 2023. In 10 seasons as head coach, Dupic owns an overall record of 315-175-1 and is the winningest coach in program history. His teams have won a combined five GPAC championships and have advanced to five national tournaments, including the 2021 NAIA World Series.
· Pitching/run prevention is truly the key to how far Concordia can advance this postseason. The results on Monday for Caden Johnson were encouraging. He’s been a tough-luck pitcher, considering his underlying numbers are superb. Johnson owns a 6.51 ERA, but he has recorded 59 strikeouts in 47 innings and has held opposing hitters to a .208 batting average. In Monday’s game, Johnson picked up his 23rd career win and moved to No. 3 on the program’s all-time strikeouts list with 228. Meanwhile, Gutierrez has consistently gone deep into games. He’s covered at least six innings in five-straight starts and in seven of his past eight outings. Gutierrez is 6-3 with a 3.32 ERA. A couple of bullpen efforts on Monday were also particularly notable. Jacob Lycan threw 3.1 scoreless innings (five strikeouts) and Maverick Wyler retired all five hitters he faced in the nine-inning game two win at Jamestown.
· The senior class that will be honored on Saturday runs 12 deep. The group includes fifth-year Bulldogs in Jay Adams, Caden Johnson and Jacob Lycan, as well as the decorated Joey Grabanski. Below is a listing of those seniors. The Waverly, Neb., native Adams owns program career records for at bats (915), runs scored (271), hits (330) and doubles (68). Grabanski tops the school’s all-time charts for home runs (82), RBIs (281), total bases (584) and walks (123). Grabanski is 14 RBIs off the all-time NAIA record. As a class, the fourth-year seniors (2021-24) have helped the program to a combined record of 155-61-1 and to national tournament appearances each season.
o Jay Adams (Waverly, Neb.)
o Carlos Benavides (Aurora, Colo.)
o Blake Benson (Springdale, Ark.)
o Kyle Berg (Carroll, Iowa)
o Alec Blakestad (Omaha, Neb.)
o Jose Cevallos (Upland, Calif.)
o Joey Grabanski (Grand Forks, N.D.)
o Caden Johnson (Papillion, Neb.)
o Jacob Lycan (Omaha, Neb.)
o Ben Martin (Parker, Colo.)
o Brendan Pike (Elkhorn, Neb.)
o Carlos Serna (Riverside, Calif.)
The opponents
Mount Marty continues to be a perennially strong program while led by Head Coach Josh Teichroew. He took over at the helm in 2023 in following in the footsteps of longtime Head Coach Andy Bernatow, now the school’s Athletic Director. The Lancers stand at 26-19 overall (12-12 GPAC) after finishing the 2023 campaign at 38-15. The current team is hitting .285 while averaging 6.0 runs per game. The pitching staff sports a 4.83 ERA. Mount Marty has the ability to hit for power led by the eight home runs from Kiko Nunez. The team’s leading hitter is Bodi Wallar, who is batting .374 with seven home runs and 34 RBIs. Statistically, the Lancers’ ace pitcher is Slayder Watterson, who is 4-1 with a 3.40 ERA. No matter the results this weekend, Mount Marty will be part of next week’s eight team GPAC tournament.
Dakota Wesleyan has been eliminated from GPAC tournament contention after dropping all four games in this past weekend’s four-game home series with Doane. Though the results didn’t go its way, DWU did play first-place Doane competitively, losing once by a single run and twice by margins of two runs. The Tigers of Mitchell, S.D., are hitting .235 and averaging 4.1 runs per game. Their pitching staff owns a 6.33 ERA. The top hitter has been Caleb Meyers, who is batting .338 with 15 extra-base hits. In the starting rotation, Mitchell Sand (2-3, 4.03 ERA) and Alexander Mizsak (1-6, 5.40 ERA) have both made nine starts. Charlie Dubanoski is in his second season as the program’s head coach.
Next Week
GPAC tournament play will begin May 2 at sites to be determined. The top two teams in the GPAC standings earn the right to host separate four-team pods as part of postseason play. The teams that emerge from the two pods will meet in the GPAC tournament championship game on May 7. Updated GPAC standings can be found HERE.