Bulldog baseball splits double-header against Midland, losing 8-2 and winning 13-2
Junior catcher Tanner Tompkins (12) prepares to take a successful hit against the Warriors.
Photo credit: Courtney Wright
By Cohen Carpenter
The Bulldogs split a doubleheader versus Midland Saturday afternoon in a pair of contests that featured both the best and the worst CUNE baseball has to offer. In Fremont, Nebraska, Concordia dropped the first game 8-2 yet came back to beat the Warriors in game two, redeeming themselves by winning 13-2.
The forecast for Fremont Saturday reflected much of Nebraska’s weather as the winds were relentless throughout the afternoon. The Midwestern plains saw gusts of winds as high as 45 miles per hour for much of the afternoon, all of which was blowing in from the outfield which posed a problem for Concordia’s literal high-flying offense. Not only is the fourth most potent home run hitter playing third base for the Bulldogs (Jaiden Quinn with 18 in 33 games), but Concordia also boasts the nation’s eighth best homer-hitting offense with 67 on the young season.
Midland’s pitching staff took full advantage of the strong breeze in game one, only needing one arm for an entire seven innings’ worth of work. Zachery Vincent, a junior righty who came into the game with an 11.93 ERA having never pitched past three innings in nine games played in the 2023-2024 season, went seven innings, allowing only two runs on two hits against the Great Plains Athletic Conference’s best offense.
Concordia, on the other hand, saw three different pitchers take the mound, who combined for seven earned runs, 10 hits and eight walked batters. The starter senior Blake Benson was credited with the loss, his first of the season tarnishing his previously perfect 5-0 record, giving up two earned runs on five hits through the first four innings.
The Concordia arms were not assisted by the defense behind them, as the Bulldogs committed four errors in the first game with two coming in the sixth inning, all but extinguishing the Bulldogs’ hopes for a late inning rally.
The Bulldogs’ first and last runs of the first game came in the fifth inning, with a Jimmy Blumberg triple and a Ty Nekoliczak fielder’s choice. The pair of junior middle infielders batted in the only two runs of the game for the Bulldogs, which proved to be too little as the Warriors iced the game, scoring five total runs in the fifth and sixth innings.
In the second game, a whole new Bulldogs team took the field, or at least that’s what the box score indicated. On the bump for game two was Christian Gutierrez. The junior righty boasts the best ERA out of any Concordia starter this season at 3.00 flat coming into Saturday’s matchup. Gutierrez, who was coming off of six innings of one run baseball against a No. 9 Doane squad, continued his brilliance against Midland pitching a complete game through nine innings on 116 pitches, only allowing three runs in the process.
Gutierrez wasn’t the only Bulldog who was adamant about ruining the Warriors chances of a clean sweep, as Concordia more than showed up at the dish. On the whole, the Bulldogs boasted 12 hits, coming around to score 13 times.
Of the nine batters to start the game for the Bulldogs, eight left Fremont with a hit, with four of those eight having two. Concordia also saw the ball well throughout the second contest, drawing seven walks as an offense.
Leading the way in the scoring column for the Bulldogs was Alec Blakestad. The senior batted in three runs by virtue of a fourth inning double. Concordia’s center fielder also began the scoring for the Bulldogs when he laced a double down the left field line in the first inning. However, the two runs that came across the plate in that first frame were the product of a Midland throwing error, so Blakestad was not credited for those RBIs.
The onslaught really came in the fourth inning when the Bulldogs batted around and put seven runs on the board. This came against the Warrior starter, who seemed to fall apart in his fourth inning of work. With 50 pitches on his ledger, Lucas Hamzeh tossed four wild pitches in the fourth, only managing to muster two outs. The Bulldogs didn’t look back from this point onward.
The high score gave the Bulldogs a chance to get the bench involved, with Concordia putting five pinch hitters in the game in the later innings.
Concordia will be back in action Sunday to finish off the weekend series against the Warriors, this time hosting a doubleheader back in Seward. First pitch for Sunday’s contest is scheduled at 1 p.m. at Plum Creek Ballpark.
