SEWARD, Neb. – Due to postponements, this week’s schedule became a cluster featuring four GPAC doubleheaders. Concordia University, Nebraska Baseball is halfway through that slate after playing Dordt four times. The Bulldogs took three of four from the Defenders in a series split between Lincoln, Neb., and Sioux Center, Iowa. If all goes as planned, Concordia will remain close to home this weekend while celebrating 12 seniors. Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad (24-13, 12-4 GPAC) will host Midland on Friday afternoon before serving as the home team on Saturday when the Bulldogs and Northwestern will get together.
Senior Day Weekend
Friday, April 10 vs. Midland (12-23, 7-9 GPAC), 3 p.m. DH
--Live Webcast | Live Stats: G1 / G2 | Location: Plum Creek Park (Seward, Neb.)
Senior Day – Saturday, April 11 vs. Northwestern (20-14, 8-8 GPAC), 3 p.m. DH
--Live Stats: G1 / G2 | Location: Sherman Field (Lincoln, Neb.)
By the numbers
• Early in the week, the NAIA released new sets of official RPI and ARC ratings. In the RPI, the Bulldogs landed at No. 36 with a strength of schedule rated 45th toughest in the nation. In Tuesday’s release of the ARC, Concordia appeared at fourth in the Midwest Region behind Missouri Baptist, Doane and Kansas Wesleyan. The Bulldogs have challenged themselves by playing 12 games against NAIA top 25 opponents. In the most recent NAIA coaches’ poll, Concordia wound up sixth in the “receiving votes” category.
• The competitiveness of the series with Dordt was a reflection of the improvement made by the Defenders. In Monday’s doubleheader played in Lincoln, the Bulldogs won by scores of 6-3 and 3-1 behind strong pitching and defense. In Wednesday’s twin bill played in Sioux Center, Dordt rallied to win the first game, 4-3, before Concordia responded with a 15-9 victory in the series finale. In sum, the Bulldogs outscored the Defenders by a tally of 27-17 for the series. Junior Luke Wilson put together a fine series, going 5-for-12 (.417) with three walks, a home run and seven RBIs. As an offense, Concordia slashed .257/.462/.400 for the series. Strong starting pitching outings were turned in by Alex Johnson (4.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K), Caden Bugarske (5.2 IP, 5 H, ER, BB, 9 K) and Sam Bespoyasny (5 IP, 4 H, ER, 3 BB, 5 K). Freshman Trent Schlim saved both ends of the Monday doubleheader.
• The strikeout rate for Alex Johnson this season stands at 14.31 per nine innings. The graduate student from Olathe, Kan., is on the cusp of becoming the program’s all-time strikeout king. His career total has moved to 273, eight shy of the program record held by Jason Munsch (who signed a professional contract with the Milwaukee Brewers organization in 2020). In 46 career starts, Johnson owns a record of 22-7 and 3.58 ERA in 208.2 innings. The totals also continue to mount for Caden Bugarske, who is five strikeouts away from 200 for his career. Bugarske holds a career record of 19-6 with a 4.16 ERA in 179.2 innings.
• Senior center fielder Bronx Lewis homered twice on Wednesday and extended his GPAC leading home run total to 16. That figure places him in a tie for fourth on the NAIA national leaderboard. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native is slashing .319/.467/.782 in a breakout campaign. Lewis was named Honorable Mention All-GPAC last season (his first at Concordia). Statistically, Concordia’s other top hitters have included Jake Watson (.323/.441/.563), Luke Wilson (.303/.402/.525), Carson Burnett (.306/.477/.510), Jaeden Jordahl (.296/.478/.461), Jimmy Blumberg (.286/.349/.541) and Andrew Fetty (.282/.426/.509).
• A freshman out of Norco High School (Calif), Trent Schlim has been a lifesaver out of the bullpen. In 10 appearances, he owns a 2.00 ERA with 24 strikeouts in 18 innings. He has also recorded three wins and three saves. Schlim has added to a deep pitching staff that will be tested this week with eight total games over six days. In a major development, Micah Sweeton returned to the mound at Waldorf on March 28. Sweeton was especially impressive back on Feb. 15 when he threw six shutout innings with 11 strikeouts versus Clarke.
• Twelve seniors will be honored between games on Saturday. Those seniors are Caden Bugarske, Zackery Day, Jaeden Jordahl, Bronx Lewis, Jack Martin, Jake Nelms, Jack Nelson, Cameron Pickens, Layton Rivas, Daiten Schmidt, Ernie Synder and Qwin Zabokrtsky. The four-year seniors have contributed to the golden age of Concordia Baseball and were part of 40-win teams in each of the 2023 through 2025 seasons. The 2024 squad swept GPAC regular season and tournament titles and ran away with the conference regular season championship in 2025 (25-3 league mark). The ’25 team became the first in program history to host an NAIA Opening Round.
• Ryan Dupic is in his 12th season as Head Coach of the Bulldogs. His career record stands at 389-203-1. His resume includes a combined eight GPAC championships and seven national tournament appearances (including a 2021 NAIA World Series berth). Ben Berg is in his third season as Assistant Head Baseball Coach after a successful run as a Bulldog student-athlete. The staff also includes graduate assistants Ty Nekoliczak and Blaine Harpenau.
The opponents
Midland stands at 12-23 overall (7-9 GPAC) after finishing the 2025 season at 20-28 (16-12 GPAC). Based on the latest RPI, the Warriors have played the NAIA’s 13th most challenging schedule so far this spring. Some of the team’s top hitters have included Owen Glover (.274/.350/.509), Jimmy Martinez (.320/.452/.485), Dax Wandler (.292/.398/.509) and Anthony Martinez (.361/.489/.542). Midland’s highest usage pitchers have been Owen Kelley (3-4, 5.68 ERA, 6.09 K/9, 44.1 IP) and Jarron Utterback (2-2, 6.75 ERA, 6.16 K/9, 30.2 IP). Head Coach Shea Bennett is in his third season leading the program.
Northwestern is coming off a 2025 season that saw it go 25-23 overall (14-14 GPAC). The Red Raiders started 8-3 in league play this season before an active five-game conference skid (swept in four games at Doane). The Northwestern lineup has flashed power with Nikolai Wede (9 HR, .654 SLG) and Devin Dirkx (8 HR, .578 SLG) leading the way. Brody Ayers and Grant Rychnovsky are returning Second Team All-GPAC performers. Dirkx has also headed the pitching staff and sports a 5-3 record and 4.37 ERA in 45.1 innings. Head Coach Brian Wede has presided over the program since 2006.
Next week
The Bulldogs are scheduled to go on the road and play at Dakota Wesleyan for a four-game series April 17-18. Once that series is in the books, only four games will remain on the regular season slate.