Baseball Drops GPAC Tournament Opener

CRETE, Neb. – Doane baseball opened play at the 2026 GPAC Tournament on Wednesday, falling to Hastings 7-5 at the Doane Ballfield Complex. With the loss, the Tigers move into an elimination game where they will face Northwestern (Iowa) on Thursday, April 30 at 12 p.m. in Crete.

Doane came out strong in its postseason opener, building a 4-0 lead through the first three innings. The Tigers plated two runs in the first, added another in the second, and pushed the margin to four in the third behind timely hitting and productive outs.

Hastings answered in the fourth before delivering the decisive blow in the sixth inning. The Broncos erupted for six runs on eight hits in the frame, highlighted by a pair of home runs and multiple run-scoring singles, to take a 7-4 advantage they would not relinquish .

The Tigers continued to battle, cutting the deficit to 7-5 in the eighth inning. Doane threatened again in the ninth, loading the bases with two outs, but were unable to push across the tying run.

Offensively, Doane totaled 10 hits and drew nine walks but left 15 runners on base in the contest. Grant Sommers led the way with three hits and two RBIs, while Jett Grossart added a triple and an RBI. Brayden Jones also drove in a run for the Tigers.

Carter Roth had a record breaking moment for the Tigers. He posted two hits in the game, including a sixth inning single that moved his season total to 86 and breaking the single season hit record. The previous mark of 85 was set by Lukas White in 2021.

On the mound, Riley Plummer took the loss after allowing five runs over 5.2 innings, while Cade Bridges provided relief over the final 3.1 innings.

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