SALINA, Kan. – The Concordia University baseball team broke open Tuesday’s (March 13) nine-inning affair at Kansas Wesleyan University with six runs apiece in the fifth and ninth innings as part of another offensive outburst. The Bulldogs collected 13 hits and coaxed eight walks while running away with a 16-3 victory at Dean Evans Stadium in Salina, Kan.
Fourth-year head coach Ryan Dupic’s squad has won four of its last five to move to 10-6 overall. Tuesday marked Concordia’s first action since returning from the Tucson Invitational.
“We played well in two of the three phases,” Dupic said. “I was happy with how we pitched. Jason Munsch was very good and we got solid performances out of the bullpen. We had good at bats up and down the order and ran the bases better. We need to improve defensively or it will cost us games soon. We will go back to work on that.”
Thomas Sautel (3-for-5, run, two RBIs), Johnny May (2-for-3, four runs, RBI), Wade Council (2-for-4, double, two runs, three RBIs, two stolen bases) and Keaton Candor (2-for-4, two runs, RBI, two stolen bases) provided a great deal of the thunder against Coyote pitching. Sautel delivered a two-run single as part of the sixth-inning explosion that also included run-scoring hits from Council, Candor, Kaleb Geiger and Dylan Jacob.
Geiger also drove in a run in the sixth with a sacrifice fly. It marked the 141st RBI of Geiger’s career, pushing him past Jarrod Pimentel (1999-02) for a school record. Geiger also tops the school record book for career doubles.
Said Dupic, “It’s a terrific accomplishment because it highlights the way Kaleb has continued to work year after year and the way he has produced each year. I’ve been thankful to see Kaleb all the way through, and there are few, if any, student-athletes that have had the impact on the program’s turnaround as Kaleb has. It includes his on-field accomplishments but also extends to his leadership and the impact he has had on our culture.”
Munsch continues to punch out opposing hitters at a high rate. He struck out 11 Coyotes over his six innings of work. He allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits and three walks. Dylan DuRee (0.1), Wyatt Weller (1.0), Jake Fosgett (0.2) and Nathan Buckallew (1.0) all came out of the bullpen to record at least one out.
As mentioned by Dupic, the only real negative was a leaky defense that committed five errors and let in two unearned runs. Some fine work by the pitching staff with runners on base limited the damage despite the miscues in addition to seven hits and five walks for Kansas Wesleyan hitters.
Geiger continues to ascend many of the school’s all-time lists. He also ranks No. 1 in putouts (827), fourth in home runs (16), fourth in runs scored (120), sixth in hits (164), eighth in walks (63) and 10th in games played (161) in addition to top figures for RBIs and doubles (43).
Concordia will be back on the road this weekend (March 17-18) for a three-game series at College of the Ozarks (Mo.) (16-9). The two nonconference foes will play a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. CT on Saturday before engaging in one nine-inning conflict at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Dupic needs two more victories to reach 100 as head coach of the Bulldogs.