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The Illinois Club Baseball team is a student run organization on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus that competes against other club baseball teams at other schools around the country. The Illinois Club Baseball team has established itself as a talented and respected team in its very short history. With the immediate success of the team, the club has grown in popularity and attention on the University of Illinois campus. As part of the Great Lakes Region of the National Club Baseball Association and among some of the best competition in the country, the Illinois Club Baseball team continues to prove itself to any doubters and supporters with every game played. Student/players run the team with members of the team acting as the coach, president, vice president, and any other title within the organization.
History
editCary Bolnick and Jay Goldberg created the Illinois Club Baseball team in 2004 for students that love to play baseball but weren't able to play varsity baseball at a big ten university. The Illinois Club Baseball team was known in its infancy as POP FLY The Baseball Club (An acronym for Preserving Our Pastime For Later Years). In the spring of 2004, nearly 30 students met weekly to take batting practice, infield/outfield, and participate in scrimmages. Over that summer Sandy Sanderson, the president of the National Club Baseball Association (NCBA), contacted the team and invited them to join their league. The club team quickly joined the league, giving its players a chance to play baseball competetively again.
2004-2005 Season
The spring conference schedule kicked off as soon as the team returned from spring break. In preparation, they began practicing 3-4 times a week at a little league field in Urbana. The same weekend that the Illinois Fighting Illini basketball team beat Louisville to make it to the final four the club baseball team came out and swept Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (4-3, 7-4, 10-1). The next weekend they went to Southern Illinois University Carbondale and took care of business, sweeping the Salukis (10-4, 12-1, 19-0). Over mom’s weekend on campus they hosted [Northwestern University]]. With charcoal grills in the distance and the biggest fan turnout of the year, they stayed focused and swept Northwestern (13-8, 12-2). The club team rode high on an eight game winning streak until Ball State University came in and proved to be a worthy opponent. On a chilling Friday night they lost (4-9) to pitcher Sammie Maletta, the Great Lakes Conference pitcher of the year. With the conference championship on the line they came out the next day and swept the doubleheader (11-5, 20-10). The next weekend the team traveled to Loyola University Chicago needing only one game to clinch the conference championship. The team did that and more by winning the series (8-9, 12-2, 13-0) and securing the #1 seed in the Great Lakes Regional in Toledo.
They made it to Toledo not knowing what to expect from the other teams. In their first game of the double elimination tournament, Andy Groves lost a pitchers' duel (2-3), which meant they needed to win four games in a row to advance to the World Series. The next day Scott Whitcomb threw a gem, sending last year’s conference champions Central Michigan University home with a (5-1) victory. Their next game against Ohio State University was pushed back due to weather, leaving a daunting triple-header the next day.
In their first game of the triple-header, Chris Drish pitched a complete game to send perennial powerhouse Ohio State packing (5-3). Drish then started the next game but had to be relieved by Matt Gorney and Andy Groves as they quieted the powerful bats of Michigan State University in a victory (9-4). With the Great Lakes Championship and a birth to the World Series on the line, Paul Zalduendo threw a complete game shutout giving up two hits to combine with their bats finally exploding. In convincing fashion they slaughtered (10 run lead after five innings) Michigan State (13-0) to advance to the World Series in Bradenton Florida.
The World Series games were held at McKechnie Field, home to the Pittsburgh Pirates spring training team. In the important opening round game they snapped Sam Houston State University’s 15 game winning streak behind Scott Whitcomb and won 6-4. Two days later they proved to 30 game winner, University of Maryland, College Park, that they were a legitimate first-year club team winning 7-2 behind Andy Groves' pitching. Playing two days later for a birth in the championship game, they came out focused behind Chris Drish who kept Maryland’s bats quiet again allowing only 2 hits. After stranding runners all day against All-American Andrew Williamson, they pulled ahead in dramatic fashion as Sam Costanzo hit a walk-off single to lead them to the title game.
In the championship game they faced the defending champions from Colorado State University. After digging themselves into an early deficit, they continued to battle back throughout the game but didn’t have enough against CSU’s ace Thomas Ahrens who had allowed only 9 runs in 48 innings on the year. They lost in the championship game 5-9.
2005-2006 Season
The 2006 spring season did not result in a trip to the National Championship Tournament, but the team had grown in many ways. The roster grew as more students heard about the team's success. Now strong through 30 players, the team's confidence soared. After a dominating performance through spring, the team coasted into the regional tournament after a conference clinching victory against Northwestern in the immense rain. After posting an undefeated record at home, losing only one game in the regular season, they felt indestructable in the postseason. After losin their first game on Friday night in Huntingburg, Indiana, the team left the field feeling similar to the year before. They now knew they would have to win a possible four games in a row at the field where A League of Their Own was filmed in order to have another chance at a national championship.
But the 2005-2006 season could not replicate what had been accomplished the previous year. The club squad from Illinois eliminated the University of Michigan early Saturday morning behind a dominating performance by Scott Whitcomb allowing zero runs over all 7 innings. Illinois' strength in pitching faultered in game two on Saturday, falling behind early to the University of Dayton and never recovering. A dissapointing 9-2 loss capped a season full of success and failure.
Current and Future Situation
editThe team currently is in the off-season of their third season. With new additions to their roster this fall, the Illinois Club Baseball team is taking to several indoor facilities on the University of Illinois campus in order to prepare for the upcoming spring season. With the roster set at 32 players and 3 coaches, The competition for a starting role will inspire a fierce work ethic throughout the long winter. The team is also thirsting for another trip back to the national tournment fresh off a dissapointing departure in the second round of the regionals in 2006.
The old mixed with the new will add a dynamic to the degree of the team's success, but with all 35 teammates keeping the same goal in mind, the outlook for the spring is nothing but optimistic among the members.
Along with the competetive baseball aspect of the program, the Illinois Club Baseball teams also enjoys a strong social bond. The team collaborates with other clubs on the University of Illinois campus for social events during the lengthy off-season. After long hours spent putting in strong efforts on the field, this club team thrives in a social setting. Various social events and fundraisers are put into action each year and continue to build the bonds of each member. From hitting the bars in Tampa, FL to sitting on the quad selling doughnuts, each event brings the team closer together.
National Club Baseball Association
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The National Club Baseball Association is the first ever, national governing body for club baseball. The National Club Baseball Association was formed in July of 2000 to serve club baseball that has existed in excess of 20 years. The main goal of the NCBA is to provide a nation wide “even playing field” by which teams are organized into structured conferences with conference winners competing for a national title. Another goal of the NCBA is to facilitate the year-to-year operations of each participating team. Through assistance in fundraising, tabulating statistics, and providing exceptional equipment purchasing opportunities, the NCBA assists each team in not only generating revenue for their team but helping them to save money.
There are two main types of institutions that carry Club Baseball Programs. The first being schools that do not have varsity baseball as a recognized sport in their athletic department. Title IX, which states each university must have an equal number of men's and women's varsity athletics, causes this most often. The second types of schools that have club baseball programs are usually the larger institutions, which carry an NCAA, affiliated team as well. In these instances, there is enough talent and initiative to begin a second program, not usually a part of the varisty NCAA team, though communication among the two teams can maximize their success. The NCBA currently contains 152 colleges and universities divided into 25 different conferences from coast to coast.