POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. – Sophomore Wade Council followed up a two-homer performance on Saturday with a pitching gem on Sunday. His efforts helped carry the Concordia University baseball team to a 10-0 win at College of the Ozarks in a contest that completed a three-game series in Point Lookout, Mo. The Bulldogs took two of three.
Fourth-year head coach Ryan Dupic’s squad is now 12-7 overall. The latest victory marked the 100th in Dupic’s tenure with the Bulldogs. Three winningest seasons in program history have all come under Dupic’s direction.
“It’s a nice accomplishment because it’s a group accomplishment,” Dupic said of the milestone. “I just think about it as a family with administration, assistant coaches and the players. It starts with the players and what they’ve done to accomplish that but it runs all the way up and down the chain. I’m just thankful to have the support that we have to be able to get our program to the point where we’re competing on a consistent basis.”
Council has been hot with the bat. He also has plenty of potential as a pitcher. After failing to go deeper than four innings in his first three starts this season, Council dominated on Sunday. He recorded the fifth shutout of his career in a seven-inning complete game. He allowed only three hits and did not issue a free pass. Ten of his 21 outs came via groundouts.
Dupic always believed that Council would find a groove again. He posted a 3.83 ERA over 10 appearances as a freshman last season.
“Obviously you go and score 10 runs, that’s pretty nice to see,” Dupic said. “But for me, the highlight was Wade. It was really just a matter of time for him. He pitched really well in the preseason leading up to the season. He had a couple outings where he wasn’t as good as he would have liked to be. We’ve been working him pretty hard as a two-way guy.”
More than enough run support came during the third inning alone. The Bulldogs put up seven runs while parading around the bases with five hits, three walks and two hit batters. The merry-go-round kept spinning thanks in part to a two-run single each from Christian Meza, Brandon Cue and Johnny May. An inning later, Thomas Sautel continued the team’s weekend power surge with a solo homer.
Council also went 1-for-3 with a single and two walks at the top of the lineup. Cue, Meza and Sautel collected two hits apiece and Keaton Candor also reached base three times and drove in two runs. Seven Bulldogs notched at least one hit as part of another impressive offensive outburst. Concordia tallied 10 hits and five walks and was hit by four pitches.
The Bulldogs passed a weekend test while up against a College of the Ozarks team that is now 17-11 overall this season after a 30-21 campaign in 2017. Concordia slugged five home runs in Saturday’s doubleheader split and got another strong outing from right-handed pitcher Nick Little.
Said Dupic, “I have a lot of respect for Ozarks. They have a nice team and a nice program. Coming into this weekend I knew we were playing a very quality team. I’m very pleased with the way we played. I thought from the outset today we were very prepared and the guys were focused. It’s a nice springboard as we get closer to the conference season.”
The Bulldogs are scheduled to finally make their first home appearance on Tuesday (March 20) versus Kansas Wesleyan University (17-14). The single nine-inning game is slated for a 6 p.m. CT first pitch from Plum Creek Park. Varsity home games will be streamed live this season via the Concordia Sports Network.