Doubly grand: Flowerree’s epic series includes two slams in one game, go-ahead three-run homer

CANTON, Mo. — Dax Flowerree tried to have a singular focus during his at-bat.

“When I got into the box, I wanted to get a pitch to hit hard somewhere,” he said.

But the Culver-Stockton College senior first baseman couldn’t ignore everything transpiring around him.

With the C-SC baseball team leading Graceland 16-2 in the fourth inning of Monday’s Heart of America Athletic Conference game in Lamoni, Iowa, Flowerree strolled to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs. The Quincy High School graduate had hits in his first three at-bats, including a belting a grand slam in the first inning.

Could he do it again?

“It was definitely something that popped into my head walking up to the plate, especially after putting a couple of good swings on balls earlier in the game,” Flowerree said.

Still, he tried to think only of getting a pitch he could handle and drive.

“Thankfully, I got something out over the middle of the plate,” Flowerree said.

He accomplished a rare feat in the process. Floweree blasted his second grand slam of the game, allowing him to go 4 for 5 with three runs scored, a double, two home runs and 11 RBIs in a 27-5 victory in the first of four games in the conference series.

And he wasn’t done. Flowerree went 3 for 5, belting a three-run go-ahead home run in the top of the eighth inning in Tuesday’s 11-8 victory that guaranteed the Wildcats back-to-back series victories. C-SC won the first three games of the series and has won six of its last nine games.

C-SC (14-25, 10-13 Heart) sits in fourth place in the Heart North Division with eight games remaining — four on the road at Grand View and four at home against Central Methodist.

The back-to-back series victories has created confidence and momentum for the Wildcats.

“It means everything for us right now,” Flowerree said. “We started the conference stretch pretty tough and didn’t play our best baseball, So we had some ground to make up. We know where we are at in the standings right now, and that if we want to make the conference tournament, we’ve got to continue to win series. So it definitely means a lot for us right now and continuing to win series is the only priority.”

A hot bat like Flowerree’s certainly helps. He has hits in six of his last seven games with four home runs and 17 RBIs.

“I was seeing it well pretty much the whole weekend,” Flowerree said. “I have been trying to move the ball the last few weeks to get some success going. And this week I was able to come up in some situations where the guys were getting on in front of me, and thankfully I saw it well and was able to put some good swings together.”

They were some mammoth swings.

Hitting two grand slams in one game is a rare feat, having happened only 13 times in major league baseball history. The number of college hitters who have hit two grand slams in one game is larger, but by no means astronomical.

It remains a rare feat no matter when and where it happens.

“Me and a few of the guys were actually talking about it afterwards because we had been joking that I was a triple away from the cycle,” Flowerree said. “Talking with the guys we were laughing about the fact that two grand slams is about the only thing better than a cycle if you had to choose. So it was pretty awesome and I definitely realized that it was something that doesn’t happen often.”