CWU’s club baseball team has only been around for a few years, being re-established in 2018. Though the chances of the team competing this year are low, the players’ optimism is very high.

The team started their practices in the fall, but since returning from break the team has not been allowed to step on their home and practice field at Rotary Park in Ellensburg.

Hayden Mangan is the president, coach and a player on the club team. Hayden has experience coaching at the middle school level so he is comfortable stepping up in that position but said he is on the search for an actual coach once COVID-19 is over. 

So far the waiting game is the only thing the team can do. Mangan said they hope to be able to start practices here soon in the near future. 

Since they are a club team, they have to follow guidelines through CWU and have everything from the COVID-19 checklist marked off. Once that is complete, they will be able to start practices if Rotary Park is in good enough shape.

Mangan said he was “honestly not that hopeful” about the Baseball Club having a season. They don’t have a very big push for them to play since they are not a league team at CWU. They fall more under the student body where they just want to keep everyone isolated and safe. 

“The way things have been going the last couple months, I personally don’t see us being able to play,” Mangan said.

According to Mangan, the team consists of 14 players who are now close friends, that want to do what they have always loved, and that’s to play baseball. 

Unfortunately, the team has only been able to play about six to seven games in the past two seasons. 

To travel to games the players carpool. When they get their games they usually have to stay at friend’s houses because the funding for the club is low. This year the team got additional funding from the school that would allow them to rent out vans for travel, according to Mangan.  

Even though they are a club team, Mangan views the team to be very competitive. 

“Based off of how we did last year, I’d say we would be pretty competitive,” Mangan said. 

Last year the team only lost once playing the University Of Washington’s club baseball team in their series match up.