Club Baseball Team Places Nationally
MSUM Dragon Baseball Club attends Division II World Series
By Danielle Rebel
It was a year of firsts for the MSUM Dragon Baseball Club.
The Dragons made it to the National Club Baseball Association (NCBA) Division II World Series after placing first in the District V Tournament. According to the Week 24 Division II National Poll, the Dragons were ranked No. 6, the highest in MSUM Dragon Baseball Club history.
MSUM made it to the third round in the World Series Tournament, which took place May 16-20 in Paducah, Ky.
Over the past few years, Dragon baseball has transformed into something much greater than originally anticipated.
“Two years ago we were combined with NDSU as a joint club,” said senior Eric Hulterstrum, president of the MSUM Dragon Baseball Club team. “We would just play some of the other teams around the area to get them some practices and some games for us to play.”
Now the team is sanctioned through the NCBA and has traveled far.
This year’s team had 24 men on the roster, but is allowed up to 33 players. Hulterstrum says the team is always looking to recruit.
“This is a way that anybody who wants to continue to play baseball, or play any other club sport that we have at MSUM, gets the opportunity and can still get all of their schooling done as well,” he said.
The MSUM Dragon Baseball Club team, self-dubbed the MSUM Charz, went 2-1 in the 2014 World Series.
The University of Akron, ranked No. 3, was the first opponent for the Dragons. The game was tied until the last inning, when MSUM lost after a walk-off homerun by Akron.
The Dragons’ were next pitted against the University of Central Missouri. Luck was on MSUM’s side as the tie-game ended with a run in by senior Tyler Schmidt.
Finally, the Dragons faced Penn State University. MSUM plated three runs in the top of the first inning, but fell by a score of 9-4. The loss eliminated the Dragons from the tournament.
MSUM’s Dragon Baseball Club finished the season with an NCBA record of 19-8.
“People are definitely starting to notice,” Hulterstrum said. “It feels nice to be recognized for our hard work.”
