LAKE WALES, Fla. – Following a couple of much-needed off days spent in The Sunshine State, the Concordia University Baseball team opened its three-day stay at the Warner University Invitational on Thursday (March 7). The Bulldogs took care of business thanks to solid starts from hurlers Caden Johnson and Blaken Benson and a lineup that continues to grind away one through nine. The latest victories for Concordia came by scores of 6-2 over Calumet College of St. Joseph (Ind.) and 13-4 over Lawrence Technological University (Mich.) in Lake Wales, Fla.
Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad has moved to 14-4 overall and stands at 6-1 on the spring break tour of Florida. The Bulldogs did not commit a single error on Thursday while putting forth solid performances in all facets.
“The guy we faced (from Lawrence Tech) was really good,” Dupic said. “Our guys had tremendous strike zone discipline and did a really good job making him come into the zone. We were able to do some other things on the bases and be a little more versatile. Guys off the bench were really good today – Jose Cevallos, Alex Draper and Jack Nelson all did good things. We had some guys come in and run like Zack Day and Kyle Berg. It’s nice to have that depth and that many options.”
Among the highlights of the day, right fielder Jay Adams became the program’s new career doubles leader as his two-bagger in the second inning of game two pushed him past Jesse Garcia on the all-time list. Over the two game’s on Friday, center fielder Alec Blakestad emerged as the team’s brightest star as he reached base in seven of eight plate appearances and homered twice in the rout of Lawrence Tech (7-5). Many others got in on the fun as 11 different Bulldogs collected at least one hit on the day.
Johnson and Benson got all the offensive support they needed. In making his fourth start of the season, Johnson worked six innings and limited Calumet to two runs on five hits and a walk to go along with seven strikeouts. Johnson earned the 20th win of his collegiate career. In the second game, Benson went five strong frames, surrendering one run on six hits and a walk while striking out three. Dupic called upon relievers Kellen Ingram for one inning and DJ Andersen for two innings to close out the victories.
Said Dupic, “When we get good starts, we’re pretty good. When we are able to set up our bullpen, we can use the depth that we have back there. We like our offense. When we get good starts and defend, we have a pretty good team. Those two guys did a nice job today.”
The Concordia offense left the yard six times on Friday. In addition to Blakestad’s two bombs, one home run apiece was belted by Cevallos, Joey Grabanski (66th career homer), Nelson and Jaidan Quinn. The Bonner Springs, Kan., native Quinn pushed his NAIA leading season home run count to 13. In the drubbing of Lawrence Tech, Cevallos, Quinn and Nelson each homered in the fifth inning or later while piling it on. The Bulldogs had gotten on the board first with Matt Rhoades’ two-run single in the first.
Calumet (5-9) pushed across its two runs in the fifth inning and trailed just 4-2 after five innings. Concordia added some insurance in the sixth when Brad Hallock’s double scored Blakestad and Grabanski. In supplementing their power bats, the Bulldogs also stole five bases on the day. Two of the thefts were credited to Zack Day while Blakestad, Kyle Berg and Nekoliczak swiped one bag apiece.
Adams returned to Concordia for 2023-24 while using his ‘COVID year’ of eligibility. The Waverly, Neb., native now owns program all-time career records for doubles (60), hits (290) and runs scored (238). Grabanski remains the school’s career standard bearer for home runs (66) and RBIs (236).
The action from Lake Wales will continue on Friday with two more games. The Bulldogs are scheduled to take on Siena Heights University (Mich.) at 8:30 a.m. CT / 9:30 a.m. ET and then invite host Warner University at 3:30 p.m. CT / 4:30 p.m. ET.