VIDEO: Concordia’s four home runs in Saturday’s win
SEWARD, Neb. – GPAC Championship game appearances have become the norm for the Concordia University Baseball program. With a spot in the 2023 conference tournament title contest on the line, the second-seeded Bulldogs mashed their way to a 16-3 over third-seeded Morningside on Saturday (May 6) afternoon at Plum Creek Park. The surface-of-the-sun hot Jaidan Quinn left the yard twice more as Concordia reset the school single season home run record for a third straight year. On the mound, Christian Gutierrez went all nine innings in an ultra-efficient effort.
Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad went a perfect 3-0 while rolling through the Concordia Bracket of the GPAC tournament. The Bulldogs (38-15) are aiming to defend their 2021 and 2022 GPAC postseason championships. No matter the result next week, Concordia has locked up the conference’s second automatic bid to the national tournament.
“It’s a great experience for our team, players and families,” Dupic said. “We’re really grateful and happy to have an opportunity to do that Tuesday. It’s been a fun run and the guys played really well here. It will be a nice opportunity for us to be part of (the GPAC championship game).
“Morningside did a tremendous job in fighting their way back (after losing to Midland in game one of the bracket). The challenge is you have to use a lot of guys … They were in a position where they had to piece things together, and our guys took advantage of that. Our guys had really good at bats – we didn’t expand the strike zone and stayed with things really well.”
The Mustangs (36-16) won two elimination games on Friday to set up the matchup with Concordia at Plum Creek Park. Gutierrez surrendered one run on three hits in the top of the first, but it was all Bulldogs the rest of the way. In the bottom of the second, Teyt Johnson, Carlos Benavides and Jay Adams went back-to-back-to-back with RBI singles. Then came the back-breaking blow from Quinn, who pulverized a thunderous three-run homer to center. The third baseman from Bonner Springs, Kan., was just getting started on a day that saw him go 4-for-4 with two home runs and five RBIs. He reached base safely in all six plate appearances.
Quinn and company just kept piling up runs, putting up one in the fourth, three in the fifth, one in the sixth, three in the seventh and two in the eighth. All the while, the Concordia lineup produced 18 hits and worked 10 walks. Quinn homered again in the seventh while Alec Blakestad (solo shot in the sixth) and Jesse Garcia (two-run blast in the seventh) also exited the ballpark. The homer by Garcia marked a school record 114th this season as a team (topping the previous standard of 113 in 2022).
Five Bulldog batters collected multiple hits on Saturday: Quinn (4-for-4), Joey Grabanski (4-for-5), Adams (3-for-6), Benavides (2-for-4) and Blakestad (2-for-5). Over the past three days of GPAC tournament action, Quinn has gone 8-for-13 (.615) with a double, five home runs and 10 RBIs. He’s increased his school record single season home run total to 27. Meanwhile, Grabanski has increased his school record RBI number to 72 for the year. No record is safe in this lineup.
Said Grabanski, “It’s so much fun. We push each other hard in practice every day. We bond so well – and the ball just happens to fly out of here … It would mean everything (to win a third GPAC tournament in a row). We get to compete and just go out there and have fun.”
A sophomore righty from La Mirada, Calif., Gutierrez is all about changing speeds and locations while keeping hitters off balance. He threw just over 100 pitches on Saturday while limiting Morningside to five hits (and no walks). Gutierrez notched six strikeouts, 12 flyouts and eight ground outs while working beautifully with catcher Ben Berg. The lone two hits for the Mustangs over the game’s final eight innings were solo homers.
Said Dupic, “He was terrific. He had all his pitches working and changed speeds well, located the baseball well. He was so in control of himself and his execution. I just thought he was really crisp. I can’t say enough good things about him. Being in this position, I thought we had a chance to score today. If we could get good pitching and defense, we were going to be in a good spot.”
In each of the four previous GPAC tournament title game appearances in Dupic’s tenure (2017, 2019, 2021 and 2022), Concordia either played at home or at a neutral site (2019 versus Jamestown). This time around, the Bulldogs will be headed to nearby Doane (41-10) for the championship clash. First pitch of the 2023 GPAC tournament title game is slated for 3 p.m. CT in Crete, Neb., on Tuesday, May 9. Concordia defeated Doane in the ’21 championship game held in Seward, 7-2. Both the Bulldogs and Tigers have qualified for the national tournament.
2023 GPAC Tournament – Concordia Bracket
--Full Bracket
May 4-6 | Plum Creek Park (Seward, Neb.)
Thursday, May 4
Game 1 – (6) Midland def. (3) Morningside, 10-9 (11 innings)
Game 2 – (2) Concordia def. (7) Northwestern, 7-4
Friday, May 5
Game 3 – (2) Concordia def. (6) Midland, 9-4
Game 4 – (3) Morningside def. (7) Northwestern, 5-4
Game 5 – (3) Morningside def. (6) Midland, 9-6
Saturday, May 6
Game 6 – (2) Concordia def. (3) Morningside, 16-3
GPAC Championship Game – Tuesday May, 9
(2) Concordia at (1) Doane, 3 p.m.