Madeline Leavitt
Sports Editor
Club sanctioned sports are a common occurrence at universities. Some aren’t taken as seriously, but Sean Persky and Bengal Baseball flips that viewpoint around.
Bengal Baseball is a club sport at ISU. This year, they have 16 players on their roster and an all new coaching staff.
Persky is the head coach. When he is not coaching the team during the school year, he plays on a professional team during the summers.
But this season started off different. Normally, Bengal Baseball is funded by player fees, but they want players to not have to pay out of pocket, so they decided to fund their program other ways.
Club teams are allowed a certain amount of money from the university every year. This year, Bengal Baseball raised $25,000 through its fundraising efforts, which included a gun raffle, selling t-shirts, Jamba Juice cards, and other merchandise. Persky said it is the most money raised by a club at ISU.
Raising that money will help keep the team afloat and will help afford hotel rooms on roadtrips.
Bengal Baseball had its first weekend of games March 8-10 in Mesquite, Nevada. The team went 2-2, falling to Northern Arizona and Oregon, but defeated Wyoming, and Boise State.
“It was nice to get outside and transition from practicing everyday inside,” said Ethan Rovig, a catcher and pitcher. “We saw live pitching for the first time this year, we started off struggling but came back in the end.”
Since Bengal Baseball is club sanctioned, its considered part of the National Club Baseball Association (NCBA), which is the club baseball equivalent to the NCAA.
The NCBA has rules that are strict and every year there are more added. Persky says with 193 teams in the league, it’s larger than people think and many teams get put on probation for not following rules.
“We have a good group of guys,” said Josiah Hoskins, a utility player. “Our coaches hold us to extremely high standards, if I didn’t know better I would think this sport would be sanctioned.”
This season, the team has 33 games to play, nine of which are home games. They play their home games at Halliwell Park in Pocatello, where the Gate City Grays, and local high schools play.
Their home games are April 14-15, 21-22, and May 4-5. For the game against Montana State, the ISU Alumni Association will host a big promotion for the team. They will have their large tent set up with a barbecue. The team sponsors will also come to support the team at home games. Admission to all of their home games are free.
Looking further into the season, Rovig and Hoskins are confident with their team. They felt their pitching staff played well at the games in Mesquite and that the team is ready for more games.
“I think defensively we are sound,” Rovig said. “Our bats are starting to come around and everyone’s swing looks good. Everyone is fighting or a position.”
Hoskins said that in previous seasons it would seem like a couple of teams would run the conference, but this year it seems more open and Bengal Baseball is looking competitive.
“They control their future,” Persky said. “There is only so much as a coach I can do, but I feel we have given them the tools they need to succeed. It comes down to the big games and if they are going to step up which I think they will.”
