Editor’s note: The following is the second installment of The Seahawk’s newest sports beat “Cooper’s Club,” which spotlights one UNCW club sports team per week. This week’s featured club is the baseball team.

For some, baseball is nothing more than a sport. For others, it is a passion.

Some are passionate about baseball but cannot make UNC Wilmington’s NCAA Division I baseball team. However, those people can still pursue their dreams as part of the intramural baseball club.

This sentiment is shared by Vice President Graham Morton, a junior.

“It’s something for baseball fans and players to come out and enjoy the game,” said President Daniel Dove, a senior, describing what having a club means to him.

“We’ve been playing baseball our entire lives—since we were five. Our club is more open to people, and people with a passion are going to want to come out and play.”

Many members of the baseball club have been actively playing baseball their entire lives. Morton’s older brothers played football, basketball, and baseball, and he chose to stick with baseball to follow in his brothers’ footsteps.

Dove formerly played at Methodist University in Fayetteville before he came to UNCW.

“I just wanted to enjoy playing the game and come out here and make some friends and play the game,” Dove said. “I’m very passionate about playing and want to win.”

UNCW’s baseball club has roughly 25 to 30 participants in a given year. All current members are men, but the club would not hesitate to let a woman play.

“If a girl comes out and is good enough to play, we are not going to say no,” said Morton.

On a typical day at practice, the team starts off engaging in long toss. After that, they work into what they call “in and out,” wherein everybody goes from the outfield to the infield to make different throws at different bases, making a decent amount of reps when they do so.

From there, the team engages in live batting practice, where infielders and outfielders are in position. Then, they take live balls off the bat.

After that, each player goes to his respective position. Middle infields, for instance, take short hops, backhands, long hops, double plays.

“Anything to prepare us for game situations,” said Morton.

The club’s first game of the year is this weekend against Craven Community College. Last year, the team went to Greenville, S.C., to compete in the National Club Baseball Association Tournament.

“We get five hotel rooms for the whole squad, with five people maximum in each room,” said Morton. “Each room has a designated driver, every weekend switches off. It’s a good opportunity to bond with other teams.”

The club mingles with other intramural teams occasionally, such as the women’s soccer team. They also hang out together regularly at their clubhouse, where they hold team bonding events, as well as watch football and play Xbox and PlayStation together.

The baseball club meets Wednesdays and Fridays from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the intramural fields on campus. There are no physical requirements. However, one must be a full-time student at UNCW, and the club prefers that members maintain a decent GPA.

“If you’re failing, you should focus on your studies instead of baseball,” Morton said.

To join UNCW’s club baseball team, contact either Dove ([email protected]) or Morton ([email protected]), and come to their interest meeting, then sign a waiver through the Student Recreation Center.