The Ohio State varsity baseball team isn’t the only baseball team on campus that will soon be vying for a championship – the club team is having quite a season as well.

The OSU club baseball team will head to Pueblo, Colo., to compete in the club baseball World Series next week. Clemson will be the opening round opponent.

OSU has a record of 17-1, and is undefeated on the road. The team clinched its spot in the series by winning the Great Lakes Conference championship – a league that is a member of the National Club Baseball Association.

Other members of the Great Lakes Conference include Bowling Green, Dayton, Ohio, Kent State, Ferris State, Miami of Ohio and Central Michigan.

The team promotes itself by providing a “chance for students who want to continue their baseball careers but do not have the skill to play for the varsity team.”

The team is organized through the recreational sports department. Skill level for players on the team range from good high school players to all-state high school players. The team is self-supported from yearly fund-raisers and dues paid for by the players and are also sponsored by many local businesses.

Ryan Noward, a junior from Maumee, Ohio, is not only the club president, but also a coach and catcher for the team. He spoke about the team and its upcoming trip to Colorado.

“We have two all-American pitchers, so our strength is definitely in our pitching,” Noward said.

Those two all-American (club level) pitchers are junior Dan Dietrich, from Euclid, Ohio, and senior Paul Kollman, from Baltimore, Md.

Offensively, the team is led by Mark Lounden-Brown, a junior from Ottawa, Ill. He leads the team with 23 hits.

The team’s trip to Colorado is going to be an expensive one, considering the number of plane tickets that will ne needed.

The trip to the quarterfinals will put the team “in the hole,” Noward said.

Noward believes the highlight of the season was the team’s series with Miami of Ohio, in which both teams came into the doubleheader undefeated.

OSU was down in the first game but came back to win 5-4, and then went on to win the second game 7-1.

“Miami’s club team is basically a junior varsity team, so to beat them twice was pretty awesome,” Noward said.

He credits the success to good camraderie among teammates.

“We have real good team chemistry, so we are always there in support of each other,” Noward said.

That chemistry will be tested next weekend, but if nothing else, getting to this portion of the season is an accomplishment in itself.