News Team Boulder

Issue date: 2/12/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Alex Rotman

As temperatures dip into the teens and winds in Boulder gust to hurricane strength, you won't see the Colorado club baseball team running for cover. With the first game of the season on March 1, captains Joey Fulcher and DJ Dilettoso won't allow their players to just take it as just a club sport. Tough mentality and strong dedication has been prevalent throughout winter training. However, architectural design major Dilettoso is grateful he can play the game he loves and still devote time to his studies. "I knew it being a club sport it would be fun and yet still competitive," he said. "It is a little more laid more back, so I wouldn't be giving my life solely to baseball."

CU club baseball is one of only two teams in the Big 12 conference to not be recognized as a varsity sport. The players self-coach and self-run the entire team operation. However, as part of the National Baseball Club Association since 2004, they get the opportunity to play on the national level. Yet being a part of club sport, the players have to deal with issues that don't face varsity sport athletes.

"Mostly we do our own fundraising. Guys pay dues and that kind of thing, so we finance ourselves," team member Joey Fulcher said. "In a money aspect, it's not a division one sport. But in terms of the atmosphere and competition, it's still right there."

In the end, the number one priority of the team is to have fun. They are one unit coming together to enjoy a sport our country has reveled in for generations. Commitment, heart, and dedication are qualities only to be witnessed during these cold wintery days at their practices, leading up to their first game against Colorado State University in Greeley on March 1.

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