VIEW a photo gallery of the baseball tryouts.

It was a beautiful day for baseball Saturday as the Kent State club baseball team held tryouts at Al Lease Park in Kent.

About 35 men showed up to be a part of the club team, with only 23 spots available. Only 10 previous team members showed up to try out again. The tryouts consisted of sprints, throwing and batting practice.

Ben Nied, senior advertising major, has been on the team for two years. He said he keeps trying out because it’s an absolute blast and a great experience. He enjoys traveling to play different teams and seeing all of the talent his team has to offer.

Joe Sciuva, freshman business management major, played baseball in high school and wants to continue in college.

“I just want to play ball,” Sciuva said.

Some of the players who were trying out have loftier goals beyond the club team.

Mike Jones, freshman business management major, was trying out to become a pitcher. He said he wants to eventually make the varsity team and knew club baseball would be a good start.

Sam Schilling, freshman exploratory major, was also trying out to improve his pitching before hopefully making the varsity team.

Pitching coach Ross Clytes said he was excited with all the new and improved pitching he saw.

“There’s lots of arms that throw hard,” he said. “That’s what you need in a tough conference like ours.”

Jeff Sloan, senior communication studies major, said he thought tryouts were a little tougher than three years ago when he was on the team. He said his feet were hurting halfway through tryouts, but he was still having fun.

“It’s a really relaxed atmosphere,” he said. “Everybody is having fun and trying hard.”

Coach Luke Ellebruch said he thought tryouts were a great success. He hopes the team will be strong enough to win its conference and qualify for the National Club Baseball Association World Series.

“We had lots of talent show up that will definitely contribute this season,” he said.

The club baseball team will start its season Saturday against Ohio University. The game will be played either at Al Lease Park or Schoonover Stadium.

Contact Student Recreation and Wellness Reporter Melissa Sidebotham at [email protected].