Shelbie Harris
Staff Writer
The season for Idaho State University’s club baseball team is officially underway with the conclusion of the annual Mesquite Tournament in which the Bengals split their games finishing with two wins and two losses.
Due to both Head Coach Bob Hunt and Assistant Coach Treavor Williams resigning in January 2015, the team’s effort was spearheaded by acting Head Coach and Club President, Michael Lane.
“The school and the coaches were having disagreements and basically made a mutual decision to part ways,” Lane said, “so now the team is being player-ran.”
They defeated the University of Denver with a major contribution coming from pitcher Jake Muns allowing only two hits in five innings, as well as outlasting the University of California, Santa Barbara while falling to the University of Oregon and Western Washington University.
Lane who is also a senior business student said that running the team and being behind the financial decisions is similar to running a business and he is thankful for the learning experience.
Although, the involvement of Lane and other officials such as Vice President Dylan Kowitz, Treasurer John Kenison, and Secretary Preston Wells is a beneficial experience for themselves as well as the team, the extra duties are difficult to work into their already loaded schedules.
“Before when we had the coaching staff we weren’t required to do as much as we have to now,” Lane said. “We had a little bit more leeway with the coaches taking care of stuff for us, but now it’s up to us to make sure everything is getting done on our own time.”
Lane said building relationships with the city has been the toughest hurdle to overcome trying to make it possible to play their home games at Halliwell Park, along with establishing a partnership with the Sandlot indoor hitting range located in the Westwood Mall Plaza.
“We’ve been helping [the Sandlot] out by providing baseball lessons, and in return we get to use the facility,” Lane said. “It’s been good, definitely been a learning experience getting to know everyone. We see it as giving back to the people who can help us be successful.”
After being elected president during last year’s season, Lane has carried over his hard work ethic as a player into his coaching duties ensuring the team is still practicing five days a week.
Before leaving to the Mesquite Tournament the team landed themselves into a bit of a pickle, losing five players based on academic ineligibility.
Nonetheless the team was able to remain competitive based on the number of new and returning players this season.
“We’ve got a good mix of players,” Lane said. “I’ve played with about half the guys before and we have quite a few new kids this year as well.”
Many of the players on this year’s team will also be returning next year.
Lane said taking control of coaching duties was awkward at first being a player as well, but the added assistance from the other officials has made lineup and position decisions much easier.
Braeden Leiby who finished the Mesquite Tournament five-for-thirteen with a .385 batting average said he is extremely pleased with the leadership offered by Lane.
“I thought we did really well, especially for the first tournament,” said Leiby. “Some mistakes are expected when you’re shaking the rust off of things but overall I think we did really good playing as a team.”
The next home game for the Bengals is April 3 at Halliwell Park against regional opponent Boise State University.
