Baseball sweeps Jimmies in Monday double-header, 4-1 and 6-3

Freshman infielder Matthew Rhoades swings the bat. 

Photo credit: Josiah Seabaugh (photo from previous game)

By Isaac Dawson

The Concordia Baseball team swept their double header against the University of Jamestown Jimmies this Monday with final scores of 4-1 and 6-3.

The first game went well for Concordia right off the bat, pulling ahead of Jamestown with a homer from junior Jaidan Quinn. The Bulldogs made slow but steady progress against the Jimmies throughout the game, taking two more home runs in the fourth and sixth innings by freshman Alex Draper and freshman Matthew Rhoades, bringing the score to 3-0 with little time left for a comeback for Jamestown.

Senior Alec Blakestad pulled off a sacrifice groundout RBI to let senior Jayden Adams make it home in the seventh inning. The Jimmies finally pulled off a homer of their own immediately following Concordia’s fourth point, rounding off the game at 4-1. Senior Caden Johnson pitched all seven innings for the Bulldogs, getting 5 strikeouts and allowing for only three hits, one error, and one run at the very end of the game.

The second game began in a much better showing by the Jimmies, taking the lead in the third inning with two points in a series of good hits that Concordia couldn’t quite reach. The Bulldogs refused to take that sitting down and Rhoades slammed one more ball out of the park. Draper and sophomore Zack Day ran across the plate for two more runs to sprint into a Concordia lead at 3-2 off of a hit by Adams.

Jamestown managed to bring it back in the fifth off of a Concordia error at third base, allowing the Jimmies’ Riki Okamoto to make it home and tie the game at three-all. For the next two innings no one could get a handle on the ball, letting through a series of strikeouts and walks until the ninth inning pulled a tiebreaker out of the Bulldogs. Junior Jimmy Blumberg earned a point off of a nice single from junior Ty Nekoliczak. Senior Bradley Hallock wasn’t far behind, singling to left field to push two guys across the plate for two RBIs from Nekoliczak and Day to finish off the double header at 6-3 when Jamestown had no reply.

Rhoades started the second game for the Bulldogs (1.1 innings, one strikeout, three hits, no errors or runs), and sophomore Cameron Pickens (1.1 innings, no strikeouts, two hits, two errors, and two runs), senior Kellen Ingram (0.1 innings, one strikeout, one hit, no errors, no runs), junior Logan Fragomeni (1.0 innings, one strikeout, one hit, no errors, no runs), and senior Jacob Lycan (3.1 innings, five strikeouts, no hits, no errors, no runs) subbed in as relieving pitchers throughout the game. Senior Maverick Wylder was the winning pitcher for the final inning, throwing the last key strikes against the Jimmies (1.2 innings, two strikeouts, no hits, errors, or runs).

The Bulldogs now have a season record of 33-12, with 17-7 in the GPAC. Concordia’s next series is next Friday the 26th against the Mount Marty University Lancers with first pitch at 12 p.m. in Seward at the Plum Creek Ballpark.