SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The win streak faced serious jeopardy late in the afternoon on Sunday (April 6) as the 17th-ranked Concordia University, Nebraska Baseball team sat one strike away from defeat. Sophomore Matt Rhoades emerged as the hero with a two-run double that lifted the Bulldogs to a 6-5 victory on the heels of a 4-2 game one win in the matchup with Morningside in Sioux City, Iowa. The clash carried significant GPAC championship implications with the two sides hovering at the top of the league standings.
Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad has won nine-straight games within conference play while running the GPAC record to 12-2 (24-8 overall).
“It means a lot. It’s two good wins,” Dupic said. “They have a good club, national tournament type of team. We may not have always been at our best today, but I thought our guys were really gritty with the way they stayed the course and battled to get some runs and battled to get outs. We came up big in some big situations. It was sort of a team culture win today, which is really encouraging.”
Concordia’s first lead of game two did not come until the ninth inning. The Mustangs held onto a 5-4 advantage at the end of eight innings and then turned to relieve Sam Hanson. The outcome appeared bleak for the Bulldogs after Hanson retired Ty Nekoliczak and Jaidan Quinn to open the ninth. Jaeden Jordahl then singled and Brad Hallock walked to set the stage for Rhoades. With two strikes, Rhoades poked the ball down the left field line for a double that brought home the tying and go-ahead runs.
Daiten Schmidt then sealed the win in the bottom half by nailing down the final three outs (two via strikeouts). Schmidt earned credit for saves in both ends of the twin bill (fifth and sixth saves of the season). He was put in that position in game two thanks to teammates that kept chipping away after digging a 4-0 hole through five innings. Rhoades and Tanner Tompkins produced an RBI single apiece in the sixth and Brad Hallock launched his 14th homer of the season (two-run blast) in the seventh.
In a matchup between the GPAC’s two highest scoring offenses, the pitching on both sides proved solid. There were only a combined four hits (one for Morningside) in Sunday’s first game. Concordia ace Alex Johnson worked the first five innings while fighting with his control (five walks). He gave up just one hit and one earned run while fanning six hitters. Johnson (5-2) then gave way to Sam Rambajan and Schmidt.
As part of his memorable day, Rhoades belted a two-run homer (10th of the season) in the fourth inning of game two (2-1 Bulldog lead at the time). Concordia pushed two runs across in the sixth inning to break a 2-2 tie. Mustang game one pitcher Cade Nolan worked around seven walks to contain the Bulldogs to four runs (three earned). Nolan and company kept GPAC home run leader Jaidan Quinn (2-for-6 with three walks on the day) in the ballpark on Sunday.
Said Dupic, “Both offenses are really good, but both teams pitched it well today. Braxton (Greenburg) gave up a few more runs today, but I thought he pitched really well. We had to find a way to get the job done and our guys did that, fortunately … I’m so proud of Matt. His approach at the plate is something we’ve been working on. I was so proud of him for the quality of his at-bat – getting to two strikes and staying with things.”
Greenburg showed good stuff in racking up 13 strikeouts in 6.2 innings. His stat line included five runs allowed on seven hits and two walks. Out of the bullpen came Jake Nelms, Alex Griess and Schmidt. Griess worked 1.1 scoreless innings and picked up the win.
Morningside (22-8-1, 9-5 GPAC) falls three games behind the Bulldogs atop the GPAC standings after Sunday’s results. The Mustangs built a 4-0 lead in game two with the help of Michael Delzell’s two-run homer. Morningside took three of four from Concordia in 2024.
Another home Monday makeup doubleheader is coming up for the Bulldogs. Concordia will host Hastings (7-21, 4-10 GPAC) at 2 p.m. CT on Monday in a matchup originally scheduled to unfold this past Friday. Each of the past 11 series contests have ended in Bulldog wins. The Broncos split a Saturday doubleheader with Dordt.