SEWARD, Neb. – The season to date has included appearances in Oklahoma, Lincoln, Neb., Missouri and Kansas. The next stop on the journey will be The Sunshine State for Concordia University, Nebraska Baseball. As part of their stay in Florida, the Bulldogs will play four times (March 5-7) on the homefield of St. Thomas University before heading to Winter Haven for a Monday (March 9) doubleheader with Mayville State University (N.D.). Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad will take an 11-3 record with it into spring break.
Florida Trip
Four-game series at St. Thomas University (March 5-7)
Location: Paul Demie Mainieri Field (Miami Gardens, Fla.)
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Thursday, March 5 at St. Thomas, 5:30 p.m. CT / 6:30 p.m. ET (1 game)
Friday, March 6 at St. Thomas, 2 p.m. CT / 3 p.m. ET (DH)
Saturday, March 7 at St. Thomas, 12 p.m. CT / 1 p.m. ET (1 game)
RussMatt Invitational (March 9)
Location: Chain of Lakes Field 3 (Winter Haven, Fla.)
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Monday, March 9 vs. Mayville State, 12:30 p.m. CT / 1:30 p.m. ET (DH)
By the numbers
• No. 16 Concordia dominated Graceland University (Iowa) in this past weekend’s four-game series played at LaRoche Baseball Complex in Fort Scott, Kan. The Bulldogs outscored the Yellowjackets by a combined total of 54-15 while winning by scores of 15-5, 15-1, 13-8 and 11-1. Concordia hitters slashed .388/.484/.705 and homered nine times in the series. Meanwhile, Graceland hitters were limited to a slash line of .245/.355/.368. Home runs for the Bulldogs were produced by Bronx Lewis (two) and by Jimmy Blumberg, Carson Burnett, Andrew Fetty, Jack Hirchert, Jaeden Jordahl, Jake Watson and Luke Wilson. Five Concordia regulars hit at least .400 for the series: Watson (8-for-14; .571), Burnett (7-for-14; .500), Jordahl (7-for-14; .500), Wilson (6-for-14; .429) and Fetty (6-for-15; .400).
• A sophomore out of Lincoln Christian High School, Watson has starred as a breakout performer over the season’s first month. In the series with Graceland, Watson went 8-for-14 (.571) with two doubles, a home run and eight RBIs. He also nailed two runners attempting to steal. In nine games played at catcher this season, Watson is hitting .444 (12-for-27) with three doubles, two home runs and 13 RBIs. He’s already recorded five multi-hit games.
• The pitching staff performed solidly in the series with Graceland, allowing 14 earned runs over 28 innings. The top outings in the series were turned in by Caden Bugarske (5.2 IP, H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K), Devin Gonor (5 IP, 3 H, ER, 2 BB, 3 K) and Sam Bespoyasny (5 IP, 4 H, ER, 2 BB, 6 K). The performance for Bugarske was his best so far this season. The graduate student from Boerne, Texas, has made 40 career collegiate appearances and owns a 4.22 ERA with 161 strikeouts in 153.2 innings. Worth noting, Alex Johnson pushed his career strikeout total to 230, a figure that now ranks No.5 in program history. In school history, Johnson trails only Jason Munsch (281), Caden Johnson (248), Jake Fosgett (247) and Christian Gutierrez (244).
• Through 14 games, the Concordia offense is slashing .279/.409/.524. Watson is not the only Bulldog has been excelling at the plate. Some of the team’s top performers to this point have included Carson Burnett (.407/.585/.889, 4 HR, 14 RBIs), Andrew Fetty (.341/.500/.561, 2 HR, 7 RBIs), Jaeden Jordahl (.333/.475/.556, 3 HR, 14 RBIs), Jack Hirchert (.300/.462/.600, 3 HR, 13 RBIs) and Bronx Lewis (.250/.390/.667, 6 HR, 17 RBIs). Among GPAC players, Lewis ranks first in home runs and third in RBIs.
• Over the first 14 games, Sam Bespoyasny has logged the most innings of all pitchers with 21. Bespoyasny is 3-0 with a 2.57 ERA in four appearances. Another new addition to the 2026 team, freshman Devin Gonor has been stellar with just three runs allowed over three starts (14.2 innings). Out of the bullpen, DJ Andersen has been nearly unhittable with just one hit allowed and nine strikeouts in four innings (three appearances).
• Ryan Dupic is in his 12th season as Head Coach of the Bulldogs. His career record stands at 376-194-1. 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
St. Thomas competes as a member of The Sun Conference, a loaded baseball league within the NAIA. The Bobcats finished last season at 27-25 overall (13-15 Sun). From 2010 through 2022, St. Thomas qualified for the national tournament 10 times. Now in his 18th season, Head Coach Jorge Perez needs one more win to reach 600 for his career. Perez led the program to NAIA World Series appearances in 2015, 2018 and 2019 (with national runner-up finishes in 2015 and 2019). The Bobcats received votes in the NAIA preseason coaches’ poll. Through 18 games (11-7 record) this season, St. Thomas is hitting .311 (.401 on-base percentage) as a team. Daytan Biegel has starred while hitting .414 with four home runs and a .493 on-base percentage and .655 slugging percentage. The pitching staff (4.86 team ERA) has been led by Ismael Cordoba, who sports a 1.26 ERA in 25.1 innings (five starts). Concordia and St. Thomas met as recently as 2023. The Bulldogs managed to win all three meetings during that season’s spring break trip.
Mayville State is scheduled to play 10 games in Winter Haven from March 6-13. The Comets earned a four-game sweep of Missouri Valley College his past weekend while pushing their season record to 7-4. Despite its location in North Dakota, Mayville State has made several recent trips to the NAIA Opening Round (2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2021). Head Coach Billy Tomblin is in his third season leading the program (following nine years as an assistant). Offensively, Jalen Denton is off to a hot start having gone 13-for-33 (.394) with five home runs and 15 RBIs. The Comets are hitting .288 as a team (.378 on-base percentage) while the pitching staff carries a 6.78 ERA. Aleks Koppel (5.14 ERA, 24 K, 14 IP) has started four of the team’s first 11 games. Mayville State is a member of the Frontier Conference.
Next week
Upon their return to Nebraska, the Bulldogs will dive into GPAC league play. Concordia is scheduled to host Mount Marty the weekend of March 14-15 for doubleheaders both days at Plum Creek Park.