Although snow still covers baseball diamonds, club baseball season is less than a month away.
After finishing 8-13 in the fall season, DU hopes to start the spring season on a good note with a double header against No. 1-ranked Colorado State University at City Park Field in Fort Collins, Colo., on March 5.
CSU has won four of the last five club baseball championships, a good showing by DU would raise hopes for a better season in the National Club Baseball Association, which consists of 70 teams. Metropolitan State College of Denver, will be joining the District VIII Conference and will face the Pioneers on March 12. “Because they have a 40 man roster, they are always prepared.” said captain and team president Ryan Woods. “One through nine they can all hit the ball a long way.”
The DU club baseball will also compete against their main rival Wyoming multiple times this season. “We will play our rival Wyoming five times this year,” said Kent McKendry, former team captain. He is succeeded by his younger brother Kyle, who will be starting in left field, while Kent will man the middle infield at shortstop.
“We always comes close to beating Wyoming and making it to the playoffs. They have had the same ace for the last four seasons and we have definitely figured him out. We are going to go out there and prove to ourselves as well as the league that Wyoming is not the best team in our conference,” said Woods.
Unlike varsity sports that are recognized by the NCAA, club sports allow graduate students to compete. The DU club baseball team was started by Kent McKendry, a graduate student now, during his sophomore year, as well as Ryan Woods who is currently a senior.
The team plans to travel to Arizona during spring break to face the University of Arizona and Willistan State University. Arizona is a top-five ranked team in club baseball and should test the Pioneers.
“By the time we get down there to play Arizona, they have already played 35 games,” said McKendry. “We use our trip to Arizona to prepare us for NCBA league games. Arizona is the place to be for huge competition.”
