SEWARD, Neb. – All parties involved knew it would be a race to beat incoming storms on senior day Saturday (April 27) at Plum Creek Park. Starting pitchers Braxton Greenburg and Christian Gutierrez worked quickly while carrying the 19th-ranked Concordia University Baseball team to wins by scores of 3-1 and 2-1 over Dakota Wesleyan. The finale was halted by lightning and then called in the eighth inning, making it an official game. Gutierrez was masterful once again and the freshman Matt Rhoades supplied the day’s lone home run.
Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad will carry a 35-14 overall mark (19-7 GPAC) into the final doubleheader of the regular season. One more win would lock up a top-two conference seed and a chance to host a four-team pod in next week’s GPAC tournament.
“It can be a challenge when you’re fighting with weather, the infield situation and all that stuff, but we do the best we can with where we’re at,” Dupic said. “We found a way today, which is certainly a really positive thing. I’m proud of the senior group. It’s a great group. When you read off the accolades they’ve accomplished, it’s a pretty special class. It’s nice for them to be able to win both on senior day. I’m just proud of them.”
The senior class runs 12 student-athletes deep. Each of them were honored between games of the doubleheader. Winning is mostly all they’ve known as a group that immediately helped the program reach the NAIA World Series in 2021. Special recognition was given to record-breaking Bulldogs Jay Adams (300-plus career hits) and Joey Grabanski, the NAIA’s all-time home run king. Adams notched three hits on the day.
However, the story on Saturday was the work of Concordia’s pitchers. Greenburg took the ball in game one and went 4.1 innings with one run allowed on six hits and one walk (four strikeouts). One of the impactful seniors, Jacob Lycan then worked the final 2.2 innings in dominant fashion. He surrendered two hits and a walk and fanned five Tiger hitters. Lycan earned credit for the win. Then in game two, the workhorse Gutierrez covered all 7.2 innings before lightning entered the area. The junior from La Mirada, Calif., scattered eight hits and one walk while giving up a single run. He recorded six strikeouts in logging at least six innings for his sixth-straight start.
Said Dupic, “They threw strikes. We knew the rain was coming, and the wind was blowing in today. It wasn’t a great offensive day, so you need to fill the zone up. Our guys did a nice job of that. Braxton did a nice job and Jacob Lycan was awesome. Christian Gutierrez was great too, and we did a really nice job defensively.”
Normally, the ball flies out of Plum Creek Park for the Bulldogs as calendar moves deeper into the spring. On Saturday, Concordia managed a combined eight hits. The only one that left the yard came in the bottom of the seventh in game two when Rhoades sent a 1-1 pitch over the right field wall. The run proved critical considering The Tigers got on the board in the eighth. The only other Bulldog run of game two came in the first when Alec Blakestad’s single scored Grabanski.
In game one, Concordia scored via a balk in the third (following a Grabanski double), a Brad Hallock double in the sixth and from a wild pitch in the sixth. With offense at a premium, the Bulldogs put down two sacrifice bunts in game one (with one apiece from Alex Draper and Ty Nekoliczak).
Dakota Wesleyan ends its season at 15-35 overall (7-21 GPAC). The Tigers competed closely on Saturday with strong pitching of their own. Alexander Mizsak threw 5.2 innings with three runs allowed in game one. Dexter Payne then covered all seven innings of game two with just two runs surrendered.
The distinguished 2024 Bulldog senior class includes:
· Jay Adams (Waverly, Neb.)
· Carlos Benavides (Aurora, Colo.)
· Blake Benson (Springdale, Ark.)
· Kyle Berg (Carroll, Iowa)
· Alec Blakestad (Omaha, Neb.)
· Jose Cevallos (Upland, Calif.)
· Joey Grabanski (Grand Forks, N.D.)
· Caden Johnson (Papillion, Neb.)
· Jacob Lycan (Omaha, Neb.)
· Ben Martin (Parker, Colo.)
· Brendan Pike (Elkhorn, Neb.)
· Carlos Serna (Riverside, Calif.)
Rainy conditions that began immediately following Saturday’s doubleheader have resulted in a change of venue for Sunday’s twin bill with Mount Marty (28-19, 14-12 GPAC). The matchup will take place at Dean Evans Stadium in Salina, Kan., with first pitch at 1 p.m. CT.