Cancer Can’t Stop Coach Dupic
by Chris Johnstone
Concordia baseball coach Ryan Dupic has been an inspiration to both Concordia baseball and the Concordia community by leading his team to success while battling cancer.
Dupic, a native of Emmetsburg, Iowa, is currently in his fourth season at the helm of Bulldog baseball. He led the Bulldogs to the longest winning stretch in program history during the past three seasons, going 88-67. He also coached the team to win the 2017 Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) regular season title. Continuing to build on its success, Dupic’s squad also advanced to the national tournament and won the program’s first national tournament game.
Sophomore infielder Jesse Pugh has high praise for his head coach.
“He teaches us not only about baseball, but about life also. So much of baseball can relate to life, and he is an expert in both,” Pugh said.
The squad is already halfway through the 2018 season and is currently standing at 16-13 overall and 4-6 in conference play, putting them at eighth in the GPAC. Coming off a big 4-1 win over Northwestern College (Iowa), the Bulldogs remain optimistic about repeating their 2017 title as GPAC champions.
“We believe we can go it again. Of course, there are other teams that think they can win the title this year too, but I believe we can do it again,” Pugh said.
The men’s baseball team will travel to Crete for their next matchup against Doane University. Start time is set for Saturday, April 21 at 5 p.m.
