Photo by: Megan Westervelt
In only their third year as a club organization, the club baseball team soared to new peaks and had the best season so far.
With an 8-13 record, the Pioneers appear to have struggled this season, however the record doesn’t speak about the team’s talented roster, the opponents they played and the progress of the organization.
The team was able to earn a 6-2 conference record, which allowed them to play in a conference championship series against rival Wyoming last Sunday.
Going into the match-up, the Pioneers were one game behind Wyoming in the conference standings and needed to win both games of the two-game series to advance to the district championship, which they failed to do.
In the first game of the series, DU crushed their conference opponent 10-0 thanks in large part to Evan Walters’ scoreless complete game performance.
Walters, a senior and the team’s co-captain, once again supported his team in game two when he smacked a grand slam over the fences, which propelled his team to rally.
Unfortunately, the rally came up short and the Pioneers lost 12-10, signaling the end of their season.
But the end is merely the beginning for the club baseball team. The team made significant strides this season under head coach Jared Floyd, who works in the Division of Athletics and Recreation, and Kent McKendry, the team president and captain, who helped in the clubs creation three years ago.
Along with his teammate and vice president Ryan Woods, McKendry started the club from scratch, through a variety of fundraisers.
McKendry also recognizes Marissa Yandall, a doctoral student at DU, as instrumental to the club’s foundation as well as its maturation.
With her help, the team has been able to set up a pretty extensive schedule, which included a spring break trip to Arizona March.
“We take this very seriously and we’re playing some significant competition,” said McKendry. “The trip to Arizona is where we played some of the best teams in the nation.”
In addition to facing the No. 1 and No. 2 nationally-ranked club baseball teams—Colorado State and Arizona, the team also played against several junior college squads, where some players compete on scholarship at a varsity level.
The talent level among the Pioneers competition is blatant and understood from the players, which makes commitment an important issue.
“We pride ourselves in everybody showing up to everything,” McKendry said of the team’s attendance and consistency. “We have a couple of practices a week that always have great attendance. Also our players workout and train in the offseason.”
With the commitment aspect of the club cemented, the only other concern is talent, which the team has plenty of.
Next season it loses McKendry, a second basemen with a .470 batting average and .690 slugging percentage, and Walters, who is one of the club’s three dominating starting pitchers.
The other pitchers include, Woods and sophomore Joe Lubar. Both have had exceptional seasons and are cornerstones to the team’s success.
Against Arizona, Lubar pitched a three hit game through six innings of work, while Woods had the most remarkable performance of the year when he pitched a perfect game against conference opponent, Johnson and Wales University.
Woods will return next season as the club’s president and captain, filling the gap that McKendry will leave when he graduates at the end of the year. The senior may return as a graduate student next season, however either way he will relinquish his position to Woods.
“We like our development process, because it tutors the guys so they can be the future of the team,” said McKendry. “Ryan Woods is the vice president this year and like many others he will be moving up the ranks within the team. It is about progress from one position to another.”
In addition to the superior pitching, the Pioneers host several hitters and fielders that will return next season.
Freshman catcher Zack Straus had a solid season for Denver, catching a majority of the team’s games and providing the club with a capable bat.
“Zack is one of the most talented players I’ve played with,” said McKendry. “He has been great behind the plate.”
Sophomore Wes Masi, who plays shortstop, is arguably the team’s best bat. Masi has a .370 batting average, a .590 on-base percentage, and a .780 slugging percentage.
McKendry also points to his brother, Kyle, when discussing the future of the team. The sophomore played outfield and was the team’s leadoff hitter this past year, a spot where he shined.
“We had a lot of success at the plate,” said McKendry. “It was our best year as a club.”
Heading in the right direction and built to be successful, the team appears to be poised and dedicated for further success.
They have played against great competition and they have great talent, but most importantly the organization has made great progress in only three years.
