The Colorado School of Mines Club Baseball will be entering its third year as an officially sanctioned club this Fall. In this short time, the team has managed to achieve a rank of 5th among 125 Division II Club Baseball teams. After setting a foundation of success, the team is still hungry to achieve more.
In the spring of 2014, Mines Club Baseball went undefeated in conference to achieve a District Playoff berth. “Mesa was the new team in the conference and started ranked ahead of us in the beginning of Spring,” said Vice President Logan Schuster. “As an established team, we had to prove ourselves and our ability to play.” The Mines Club team ended up sweeping the Mavericks in the regular season at the Jim Darden Varsity field. “We greatly appreciated the opportunity to use a great field to play some big games last year,” said Risk Manager Wyatt Lang. “We made the most of that special opportunity.”
Despite a perfect conference season, Mines Club Baseball was not done dealing with Mesa. Mesa was selected as the wild card selection for the District VIII playoffs in Cedar City, UT. “Getting all of the players out of the state right before finals was certainly a challenge,” said President Evan Ford. The team ended up winning that game against University of San Diego, but the team faced elimination after losing to, who else but Mesa, the next day. “That was a testing time for the team for sure. We could have buckled and lost the next game to end our season, but we all came together and got the job done,” said Ford. Mines won the next three games: one against UCCS and two more against Mesa that Sunday. “We wanted a happy van ride back to Colorado.”
Winning the District VIII tournament in Utah gave the Club Baseball team the opportunity to play in the District II Club Baseball World Series in Paducah, KY. The team entered the tournament as the No. 2 of 8 teams. After a strong start to the tournament in winning the first game against Central Missouri, the team lost 2-1 to Akron. Eventually, the team was eliminated by Texas A&M, the winners of the Division II World Series. “We had a great season, and there is some comfort being eliminated by the best team in the league, but we definitely weren’t completely satisfied,” said Ford. “Finishing 5th out of 125 teams isn’t bad, but we are looking to improve that ranking this Spring.”
All of this success seems difficult with the rigorous Mines curriculum, however the beauty of baseball as a Club Sport is the flexibility the team has with players’ schedules. “I was a bit hesitant to join the team at first because I didn’t think I would have the time,” said Adam Penner, a freshman last year. “But the coaches are understanding if there are test or class conflicts, so there was less pressure to miss. It’s the perfect balance for competition and fun.” Even so, the team practices about twice a week and is able get the necessary work and reps to prepare themselves to win in their competitive division.
The Club Baseball Team held tryouts this past Sunday. They encourage anyone who missed this date to contact the officers at club-baseball@mymail.mines.edu for more information.
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