By Mikael DeSanto
Sports Assignment Editor
St. Bonaventure University will begin fielding a club baseball team in the spring, according to Rob DeFazio, the director for the Center for Activities, Recreation and Leadership, found in the Richter Center on campus.
DeFazio said the idea for the team is not one that originated this year, but there were issues holding them back in the past.
“We have had students over the last few years ask about club baseball,” DeFazio said. “We were always concerned about weather–related games and finally we said, ‘you know what, there [are] some leagues, other colleges that are two hours, or so, away [and] they are pulling it off, so let’s give it a try.’”
But the process was not as simple as it may seem, as finding a league to enter became the first step.
“Steve Piotrowicz, our club sport coordinator, connected the league or association that runs it (National Club Baseball Association) asking what it would take to become a member,” DeFazio said. “They sent us the information, we reached out to some students that we knew were interested in baseball here at the club level, did an email out to students letting them know that we were going to be offering it.”
DeFazio said that the most important part of the process was getting a roster together, but that was not difficult at all.
“Students registered and we have over 40 that have registered for the team,” DeFazio said. “So from there you just build.”
Piotrowicz said though there are Division I club baseball programs around the country, Bonaventure will not be going to their level yet.
“We are starting off at the Division II level,” Piotrowicz said. “Your Division I level right now is like Clemson, Georgia, North Carolina and anyone who comes into the league has to start at DIII or DII. We will still be playing Western New York teams such as Buffalo, Canisius, Brockport [and] teams like that. But the actual schedule has not been decided yet.”
The team will be managed by a combination of two student captains and two faculty advisors to make sure everything goes smoothly. The captains will be senior history major Jesson Wolfe and senior philosophy major Anthony Minchella, while the faculty advisors will be Joel Rosencrance, the academic coordinator for men’s and women’s basketball, and Dr. David Matz, a professor in the classical languages department.
Senior journalism and mass communication major Daniel Cowan said he feels that the team is a benefit for players who had to stop playing the game they loved.
“I think it is great for us guys that had to leave our teams behind and basically stop playing baseball,” Cowan said. “Just being able to play this sport a little longer is always something that a baseball player appreciates.”
Cowan said that the point of the team, in his eyes, is not to be good, but to enjoy the game, no matter how long it has been since they played.
“I think this whole initiative is about going out there and having fun, honestly,” Cowan said. “I know we have a few good players, I heard the freshman class is really interested and I assume those guys that are playing just got out of high school from playing, they have been out for too long and they’re probably going to be fairly decent compared to what they probably were a few months ago. The rest of us, we are probably going to be [very] rusty.”
Though the team may play games during the fall and spring going forward, games this season will not begin until the spring semester.
desantmj13@bonaventure.edu
