Over 60 Fans Join Baseball Team for Spring Break Tournament
by Savanah Baker
30 Concordia baseball players and four coaches travelled to Tucson, Arizona, for family, food, memories and athletics as part of the Tucson Invitational Games tournament. The Concordia baseball team played 10 games and went 7-3 during spring break; however, baseball was not sole focus of the trip.
Families from across the United States traveled to Arizona to support the Bulldogs, which created an atmosphere of encouragement and love for the players and coaches.
“It’s always a highlight to see all of (the parents),” said coach Ryan Dupic. “Most of the families really value the opportunity to go on the spring trip, and it’s great to have so many people show up in support of the guys.”
Parents, siblings, aunts, uncles and grandparents could be seen among the crowd cheering on Concordia at the tournament, and Dupic worked to ensure they were not ignored.
“There are a lot of kids from so far away that I really want to try and provide them with opportunities to spend time with their families,” Dupic said. “We also try to have a couple of meals that are team only…. It is a little bit of a delicate balance but I think it works itself out pretty well.”
Senior pitcher Mark Harris is from Tucson and was one of many players whose family came out to the games.
“It means a lot to us that our fan base travels with us,” Harris said. “I was pretty surprised by the turnout, but it’s really good for team morale to have fans and friends and family come out to cheer us on. It means a lot.”
More than 60 friends and family members traveled to Arizona to watch the games and see the team play. Among them were Dupic’s parents who traveled from Iowa to watch their son coach.
“They come to everything, and I’m spoiled,” Dupic said. “They’ve supported me forever and it was helpful because they had an extra car so I was able to see them, but also do some recruiting while I was down there. They love me, and I am so blessed.”
The Bulldogs’ fan base got to be part of the winning week the team experienced. Concordia finished 7-3 on the week and 12-10 on the season after completing the tournament games. This marked the first time the Bulldogs were above 500 on the 2016 season.
“We’re starting to finally find what our potential starting lineup is looking like,” Dupic said. “We’ve got a set group of guys which is beneficial for us but also the guys because it allows them to see what role they are going to play.”.
The team has almost doubled the amount of games they have played this year in comparison to this time their previous season. Dupic believes this experience will help the Bulldogs before they enter conference play on April 2.
“For us to know we have a full two weeks after coming back before we start conference games is so beneficial,” Dupic said. “We’ve been able to get a lot of guys more at-bats, more pitching opportunities, multiple times out there. It has been so beneficial, and I feel like we know a lot more about our team now than we did at this time last season.”
The increased at-bats and pitches aren’t just beneficial from a coaching side but also to the players.
“I think it’s good that we have a lot more innings under our belts,” Harris said. “We’ve seen a lot better teams this year too, which definitely helps out with conference games. It lets us see what we’re up against and feel each other out. We’re still getting used to each other and seeing what roles people are going to play… so, it’s good to get these extra games in this early in the season.”
The Bulldogs look to build off of their trip to Arizona.
“It was such beautiful weather and a good time to get away with everyone that we have a lot of confidence coming back and we’re ready for the next phase of this season,” Dupic said.
