SALINA, Kan. – The Concordia University, Nebraska Baseball team has extended its season for at least one more day. In an elimination game in the Salina Bracket of the NAIA National Championship Opening Round, the Bulldogs homered three times in support of star pitcher Alex Johnson and earned a suspenseful 9-8 victory over Our Lady of the Lake University (Texas). Both sides dropped Opening Round games on Monday before returning to Dean Evans Stadium in Salina, Kan., on Tuesday (May 12).
Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad (38-17) knows it needs to play cleaner if it is to win again on Wednesday. Up against the Saints from San Antonio, Concordia did enough to hang on after building a 9-1 lead. The result means Dupic’s program has won at least once in all eight national tournament appearances.
“I thought the game sped up for us on a few different pitches and defensive plays,” Dupic said. “But I was pleased with the response. Runner on second, nobody out, 9-8 – Trent Schlim as a freshman stepped up and made some big pitches, and we had some nice defensive plays there, especially JT (Jake Tyler) keeping his composure. And then Warren (Rose) came in ready to make a pitch. It wasn’t our cleanest game at the end of the game, but we found a way to get it done. We won’t give any back this time of year.”
In other words, the Bulldogs will breathe a sigh of relief and move on. The 9-1 advantage shrunk to 9-5 when the Saints put up four runs in the bottom of the sixth. The four-run spread carried into the bottom of the ninth. A walk, a hit batter and an error gave OLLU life. A two-run double on a liner to center then put the tying run at second with no one out. Schlim proceeded to induce a flyout to right and then a groundout to short with the infield drawn in. For the final out, Dupic turned to the lefty Rose, who got Aiden Gonzalez to pop out to left to put the game on ice.
Such tension wasn’t expected on the Bulldogs’ part after they led 9-1 in the middle of the sixth. Seven of Concordia’s runs came via the long ball. Bronx Lewis opened the scoring with a line shot of a three-run blast to center field in the second (24th HR of 2026). An inning later, Jaeden Jordahl sent a rocket over the left field wall for a two-run homer. Then in the sixth, Luke Wilson slugged a two-run bomb to center, capping the Bulldogs’ run scoring. As part of a two-run fourth, Layton Rivas and Wilson delivered an RBI double apiece.
In making his 51st career start (and first since leaving his GPAC tournament start early), Johnson navigated through seven innings with 103 pitches. The Olathe, Kan., native surrendered five runs (three earned) on seven hits and three walks. Already the program’s all-time career strikeout leader, Johnson (26 career wins) tied the program standard for a single season on Tuesday with his 11-strikeout performance. Johnson’s tally for 2026 has moved to 109 (the same total posted by Cade Moring in 2018).
Said Dupic of Johnson, “We feel pretty good with him and Micah (Sweeton) on the bump – we feel good with a lot of our guys on the bump. He really settled in. He got a little tired at the end. It’s been a while since we’ve stretched him. It’s been a couple weeks, but he battled really well.” Added Dupic of the offensive attack, “I thought Jordahl and Wilson were really good in the middle. They kind of carried us offensively. They were on everything – really good at bats. We got some help from the bottom to spin it back to the top too.”
Jordahl, Rivas and Wilson collected three hits apiece for an offense that pounded out 14 knocks. Tyler added two hits and a run out of the No. 8 spot in the lineup. Concordia scored three runs in the second, two in the third and two in the fourth in providing an early cushion.
Said Jordahl, “We just wanted to get our bats going. We knew we were going to get a good start out of AJ like always. We got ahead there early and let it slip a little bit, but good job by Schlim in the late innings to stay composed, stay within himself and get crucial outs … We’re really close, and we’re playing to try to keep playing as a team. We don’t want the season to be over yet.”
On the other hand, OLLU (34-20) ended its season after going 0-2 in the Salina Bracket. For the second day in a row, Saints catcher Diego Zuniga blasted a home run. OLLU earned an at-large bid to the national tournament.
Concordia (15 all-time national tournament wins) will face elimination again on Wednesday when first pitch is thrown at 11 a.m. CT. The Bulldogs will play the loser between top seed Johnson University (Tenn.) and No. 2 seed Kansas Wesleyan University.
Salina Bracket
Site: Dean Evans Stadium | Salina, Kan.
Live Webcasts: Urban Edge Network
Live Stats: Presto Stats
Monday, May 11
Game 1 – (2) Kansas Wesleyan def. (3) Concordia, 5-4 | Box Score
Game 2 – (1) Johnson (Tenn.) def. No. 4 Our Lady of the Lake (Texas), 20-10 (8 inn.) | Box Score
Tuesday, May 12
Game 3 – (3) Concordia def. (4) Our Lady of the Lake, 9-8 | Box Score
Game 4 – (1) Johnson def. (2) Kansas Wesleyan, 10-3 | Box Score
Wednesday, May 13
Game 5 – (2) Kansas Wesleyan vs. (3) Concordia, 11 a.m.
Game 6 – (1) Johnson vs. Game 5 Winner, 2:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 14
Game 7 – Game 6 Winner/Loser (if necessary), 11 a.m.