SEWARD, Neb. – A first-inning, three-run homer from Jesse Garcia gave the 20th-ranked Concordia University Baseball team a lead it never relinquished on Friday (May 7) morning. Another 13 hits and a masterful relief performance from Caden Bugarske paved the way for a 9-1 Bulldog victory over Briar Cliff on day two of the GPAC tournament. Concordia (36-9) has advanced to the final of its own bracket.
Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad also defeated Hastings, 13-6, on Thursday and has taken control of a pod that has been unfolding at Plum Creek Park in Seward.
“To be honest, the Jesse Garcia swing in the first inning was huge,” Dupic said. “They had a one-pitch out and then they strike out our next guy on four pitches. We know their starting pitcher has been really good. They had a chance to have a really quick first inning … Jesse gets to two strikes and hits a three-run homer. That really swung things a lot. We got some really good at bats and the guys kept chipping away. I was really pleased offensively.”
As Dupic outlined, Charger starting pitcher Dalen Blair retired the first two hitters of the game before running into trouble. After back-to-back singles from Joey Grabanski and Keaton Candor, Garcia unloaded on a Blair offering that cleared the wall in left center. Blair managed to navigate seven innings, but there were battle scars. The Bulldogs took command of the game in the fourth when Jose Cevallos doubled in a run and Beau Dorman sent a two-run homer to right. For added breathing room, Jakob Faulk delivered a two-run single in the top of the ninth.
Garcia also added a sac fly as part of a four-RBI day. Five Concordia players collected exactly two hits: Candor (2-for-5), Cevallos (2-for-4), Dorman (2-for-4), Grabanski (2-for-3) and Teyt Johnson (2-for-4). It’s been an impressive couple of days for Johnson, who homered twice and drove in eight runs in the victory over Hastings.
Three Bulldog pitchers combined to limit Briar Cliff (33-19) to one run on eight hits. Alex Johnson got the start and covered three innings. Bugarske then recorded the next 15 outs in a fine effort out of the bullpen. The native of Boerne, Texas, did not surrender a run and scattered four hits while notching three strikeouts. AJ Cotton fired a 1-2-3 ninth to wrap up the victory.
“I’m really proud of both guys (Alex Johnson and Bugarske),” Dupic said. Those are both freshmen. To get eight innings of only one run out of them was excellent. Caden started the season on the JV and just threw the baseball really well. When he came in he was like most freshmen, a bit wide-eyed in the fall and getting used to things. He’s done a great job and has really competed for us.”
The result was a stark contrast from Thursday when the Chargers blew out Morningside, 12-1. Briar Cliff plated its only run on Friday morning via Darnell Prince’s solo homer in the second. All other Briar Cliff hits were singles.
Concordia, 2-0 in the bracket, will get Briar Cliff again on Saturday with a spot in the GPAC postseason championship game on the line. First pitch has been moved up to 10 a.m. CT on Saturday. The Chargers eliminated Morningside in the final game of the day on Friday. Should Briar Cliff defeat the Bulldogs, a second game to decide the bracket winner would take place immediately following the conclusion of the first game.