Pitt club baseball continues its uphill climb in 2013

Pitt’s club baseball team, a student-run organization formed eight years ago, has garnered more student interest this fall than any previous year. In fact, seven years ago, just 50 names were listed on the club’s sign-up sheet. The club has been on an uphill climb ever since, as 124 students etched their names onto the 2013 list.

“That’s a good sign. [It means] we didn’t turn people away or we didn’t disgust people with the way we ran tryouts [in the past],” player-president Mark Cunliffe said. “It tells us we did good structure-wise, and basically it says we’re selling ourselves correctly.”

For the record, Pitt Club Baseball is a club that gained recognition by the University in 2007. The team practices and plays its games in both the fall and spring on Trees Field on upper campus.  

The team has a president, a vice president and a business manager, and it relies on the Student Government Board for a hefty portion of its funding for road games and equipment to complement its own fundraising efforts.

In order for the club to remain competitive, the team must reel in a cycling flow of cash. For example, player-vice president Evan Fitzpatrick said the team will host a fundraiser at Five Guys Burgers and Fries in the near future.

On Tuesday night, more than 60 signees swarmed the intramural fields for day one of tryouts, which was deemed a “showcase” by Cunliffe.

“It’s like an NFL combine workout,” Cunliffe said of the conditioning-only practice. “Tonight is strictly baseball athleticism. We’ll have three tryouts and then a cut.”

Thursday’s tryout will consist of bullpen sessions engineered for pitchers and catchers only. Each student will have the opportunity on Friday to take 20 hacks during batting practice. The first round of cuts will follow directly afterwards. Once the roster is narrowed down, Cunliffe, alongside Fitzpatrick, will conduct a second round of cuts to form the final team.

“It’s going to be a step-by-step process, but we’re really looking forward to it and it all starts tonight,” said Fitzpatrick.

The team will face a handful of new opponents this year, as the National Club Baseball Association’s North Atlantic Region faced serious realignment in the offseason. A member of the western division, Pittsburgh will have to travel further distances than last year, due to the additions of Cornell, Syracuse and SUNY-Cortland.

“It is a little further to travel, but is new competition, so that’s exciting and we’re ready,” said Fitzpatrick.

Perennial power Penn State will remain in the way of Pitt and a Club Baseball World Series. Pitt is the only team from the North Atlantic Region’s western division to ever beat Penn State.  

Speaking of realignment, Pitt’s all-sport move into the ACC has not seemed to discourage students from trying out for Pitt Club Baseball, rather than attempting to walk-on the University’s Division I team.

Sophomore Adam Romanowski, an infielder and pitcher from Wyoming, Pa., plans to try out after having played American Legion Ball over the summer. Romanowski said his decision came down to academics.

“Between school and club baseball, it’s a lot more relaxed. D-I, you’re there for a reason. You’re playing baseball to win and to make a name,” said Romanowski.  

For chemical engineering major Michael Dugan, the club side of athletics allows him to partake in the competitive and recreational aspects of baseball while still affording him and others the chance to stay focused on academics.

“Academics are still a priority on top of baseball,” said Dugan, who played four years during high school in Ohio. “Club baseball is really nice because it’s more of a laid-back version yet it’s still competitive.”