Bulldog baseball splits day one of Doane series with a win and a loss
Alec Blakstad swings at a ball, hitting it straight on (photo from previous game).
Photo credit: Josiah Seabaugh
By Maddy Peters
Sports Editor
The No. 22 Concordia baseball team started day one of their four-game series against the Doane University Tigers in Crete Saturday afternoon with a split 2-1 loss and 9-4 win.
This series marks the meeting between two of the best teams in the Great Plains Athletic Conference, with the Bulldogs being the only nationally ranked team and the Tigers coming in at that 26th spot in the most recent National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics coaches’ poll.
The first game between the longtime rivals came down to a walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh from Doane’s Sam Kwapnioski. Concordia’s lone run was a homer from senior Brad Hallock in the top of the second. The Tigers tied it up in the bottom with an RBI single from Aaron Vulcano.
Tough pitching on both sides caused the offensive drought. Each team only needed one pitcher: Concordia had senior Alex Johnson and Doane had Kaden Crawford. Johnson threw for 6.2 innings with six hits for two runs and 10 strikeouts. Crawford had a similar amount of hits with five, but half the strikeouts at five.
Game two saw a similar start with a home run, this time from senior Tanner Tompkins, to put the Bulldogs on the board in the top of the second inning and an RBI single from Doane to tie it all up. This time, however, the Tigers expanded on their first run with two more home runs: one in the third and another in the sixth.
Hallock started off top of the seventh with his second home run of the day to signal a Bulldog comeback. Doane walked four batters just in time for the sweet swinging senior Jaiden Quinn to nail a grand slam for his 10th home run of the season and 83rd career. Quinn was able to take the lead and put the Bulldogs up 7-4 with just a couple innings left to play.
Hallock once again came through with the nail in the coffin for the Tigers with a third home run on the day in the top of the ninth to send himself and sophomore Alex Draper in to set the final score at 9-4.
Senior Christian Gutierrez started on the pitching mound for the Bulldogs. He went for eight whole innings for a stat line of nine hits for four runs and five strikeouts. Senior Seth Claybourne closed out the final inning with two hits, no runs and one strikeout.
Hallock and Quinn each finished with four RBIs apiece to lead the team. Hallock also led the team in hits with four. Junior Zackery Day added to his career stolen base tally with one on the day. He now has 64 and is five away from tying the school record at 69 set by Jerry Dittenber (2002-05).
The team is now 16-8 overall and 4-2 in the GPAC. They next face Doane for day two of the series with two games on March 23 in Crete at 12 and 3 p.m.
