Baseball completes sterling 8-1 road trip
TUCSON, Ariz. – A new energy and winning vibe took hold of the Concordia University baseball team over a nine-game road trip that spanned seven days spent in the city of Tucson, Ariz. On Friday morning the Bulldogs completed their tremendous spring break roll with a pair of wins over Mayville State University (N.D.), a team receiving votes in the national poll. The Bulldogs defeated the Comets by scores of 6-3 and 9-1.
First-year head coach Ryan Dupic’s squad lost only one time in nine contests in Arizona. Concordia has improved to 10-5 overall.
The recent run of success has come thanks to a variety of contributors.
“It was a nice cap to the week,” Dupic said. “Our guys are really swinging the bats well. Up and down the lineup we’re putting good at bats together. It’s not just one or two guys. That makes it tough on the opponent.”
The latest doubleheader sweep came against a Mayville State program that authored a 41-16 record in 2014 and entered Friday with a mark of 11-5 this season. Comet head coach Scott Berry came into 2015 ranked 11th among active NAIA head baseball coaches with 935 wins.
The confident group of Bulldogs got a quality five-inning game 1 start from freshman lefty Taylor Bickel, who allowed two runs and picked up the victory. In support of Bickel, five different Concordia hitters notched an RBI apiece and outfielder Cole Stuerke raked in three hits, including a double. In addition, Taylor Dudley and Tyler Nelson both chipped in a triple and Daniel Wilkerson cracked a two-bagger.
In game 2, John Jay Silva provided a big lift in relief. He covered 3.2 innings and struck out six while walking none to pick up the win. Five Bulldogs banked two hits each: Zach Cambier, Alex Cargin, Kaleb Geiger, Sean McCartney and Wilkerson. Four Concordia hitters had at least one RBI.
Following the conclusion of game 2, the Bulldogs hopped back on a bus bound for Seward. Concordia is scheduled to open up at home on Saturday, March 21 when Dakota State University visits Plum Creek Park for a 1 p.m. twin bill.
Dupic’s bunch will arrive in town riding a wave of positive momentum.
“When we focus on ourselves and what we need to do, we can be a really good team,” Dupic said. “I’m looking forward to seeing how we keep pushing to try to get even better.”