You may not have heard about them because they are rarely on an actual baseball diamond, but the club baseball team truly exemplifies what it means to play for the love of the game.

“A lot of kids want to play baseball while still being a full-time student,” said Dan Rogan ’08. “I think club sports are great because they gives some of the students time to enjoy the sport and still not feel consumed with the sport.”

The club baseball team has been an association for the past four years and officially became a club sport last season. It participates in the New England Club Baseball Association (NECBA).

With only one baseball field on Fairfield’s campus, it is difficult for the club team to get much use of it. They are third in the pecking order for field time. The varsity team gets priority, followed by the Fairfield Prep team.

“We rarely get on an actual baseball field. We get to play on the beach softball field, but we sometimes get kicked off and it is not an actual baseball field. This limits our ability to [hold] batting practice. Instead we try and get to the batting cages to get some swings in,” said player-coach Mike Ambrosio ’08.

In a sport where managing a game is so important, the club baseball team has no coaches. Ambrosio, who plays second base, and Matt Lepley ’08, a pitcher, are the team’s player-coaches. Both Ambrosio and Lepley make in-game coaching decisions by talking among themselves and a few other teammates to make sure that the best decision for the team is the one that is made every time.

“Lepley and Ambrosio have done a great job over the last two years,” said Ryan Corcoran ’09, who will be a captain next year. “They have different styles, which compliment each other, and they get things done.”

“From starting teams and getting fields, money and practice places, the coaches deserve a lot of credit,” said Rogan.

Last year, the NECBA committee voted Rogan to its All-Star game.

“Rogan is an all-around player. He pitches, plays a great first base and has a good bat,” said Lepley. “He contributed a lot to us winning games, but there were other all-star caliber players that didn’t get chosen as a league all-star.”

Those players will get to show the NECBA what they can do when the season kicks off this Sunday at home against UConn. They will be at home again the following Sunday against Sacred Heart.

It is fairly easy to get involved with the club baseball team.

“We only practice a few times a week, and we take the winter and summer off,” said Corcoran. “We also get to play intramural softball, a true showcase of talent, where groups of friends from all grades come to together, all playing for pride.”

Whether it’s baseball or softball it’s still for love of the game.

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