by Kyle Paul
Despite the University of Idaho’s lack of a NCAA baseball team, Vandal students and baseball fans have the opportunity to support and participate in America’s pastime through the UI Baseball Club.
Anthony Strunk, president of the club, was inspired to reestablish the club last spring by a man he called “Blue,” who revitalized baseball on campus after a three-year hiatus, and Strunk said he wants people to know the club is “legit.”
“I just want people to know that it’s an organized sport right now. We’re in a conference and we’re just looking to pick up new guys so that we can be competitive,” Strunk said.
The club meets Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays at Guy Wicks Field for practice and competes in the Northern Pacific Conference against club teams from Eastern Washington to the University of Montana.
Many students have expressed interest in Idaho’s baseball club as a way to compete and have fun at the college level. The fact that it is a club and not a varsity sport means that any student is able to join and actively participate.
“One advantage of having a club over a varsity sport is everybody gets the opportunity to come out and play,” Strunk said. “If someone’s not up to par with playing a varsity sport, they can come out and play the club and still have fun and still do what they love to do.”
While the club may not be a NCAA sanctioned varsity sport, it functions on nearly the same level – travelling to different universities to compete, holding practices and weekly scrimmages. Strunk said the only difference is that the program is more student-driven.
In the short time the program has been offered, Strunk and team captain Skylar Neugebauer have made great strides toward getting a team organized and ready to play.
He seems optimistic about the future of baseball at the UI and hopes the club can kickstart something at UI.
“If we show a lot of interest, we show that we’re here to stay, hopefully in the future we can get it to be a varsity sport here at the university,” Strunk said.
Those students interested are encouraged to stop by a practice.
The baseball club can be seen in action at 3 p.m. Saturday, and at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Sunday at the Moscow Junior High baseball field.