One of the best kept secrets in South Dakota is that the University of South Dakota has a highly-successful club baseball program.

When USD eliminated

baseball as a varsity sport after the 2003-04 season, Zach Soetmelk organized a club baseball program.

"When I came back to school for my sophomore year, I started the club baseball team," said Soetmelk. "I started with $0 in funds and four players."

It's not surprising that Soetmelk is the team's "president" and the star pitcher. He was one of the national pitching leaders in the National Club Baseball Association.

USD has made steady progress in the Central Plains North Conference, placing third in 2005 and second a year ago.

They took it another notch this season by capturing the league crown and participated in the Mid-American Region tourney in Hutchinson, Kan., last weekend.

Five former Rapid City American Legion baseball players are on the roster and all have had very successful seasons.

During the regular season, designated hitter-third baseman-catcher Adam Ives led the team in batting (.520). Infielder Bryan Birkeland hit at a .349 clip, while infielder-catcher Ben Krush was at .423, outfielder-pitcher Rob Galbraith at hitting .298 and first baseman-pitcher Wes Robertson .327, with a pair of home runs.

"We have never really gone out and looked for players," Soetmelk said. "The premise of the team is that we are students first, athletes second. I've received a few e-mails from incoming students saying they were interested and this year, the admissions office has asked me to call a few guys because baseball is one of the deciding factors in which school they would like to attend. Otherwise, we post flyers around campus and we run a fall season in which anybody can play and from that team we make a spring roster that travels."

USD is a part of the 145-school National Club Baseball Association.

Obviously, financing has been a problem.

"It is completely student-run and financed," Soetmelk said. "We create a budget and we make a presentation to the student council to receive funds from the University, but these funds never come close to being enough."

A typical budget is around $10,000 and fund-raisers, donations and t-shirt sales raise part of the money. Players pay $10 to play in the fall and $50 in the spring.

"Our primary goal is to play competitive college baseball at the lowest price possible," Soetmelk said.

Having fun and being competitive seems to be the ultimate goal.

Track and field updates

How area collegians placed in last week's meets:

- North Central Conference Championships: Josh Jeffery, Spearfish, South Dakota, third in 1,500 (4:07.84).

- Big Ten Conference: Julie Schwengler, Rapid City, Minnesota, seventh in 800 (2:09.73); Ashley Nord, Rapid City, Minnesota, sixth in pole vault (12-5.5).

- NCAA Independent Championships: Kristi Mortenson, Sturgis, South Dakota State, fourth in pole vault (10-10); Sean Burns, Rapid City, SDSU, seventh in javelin (155-1), fourth in discus (142-11) and eighth in hammer (124-1); Ben Jasinski, Rapid City, SDSU, fourth in triple jump (46-1.25), second in high jump (6-6.75); Marshall Kambestad, Rapid City, SDSU, seventh in 1,500 (3:57.96).

- Dakota Athletic Conference Championships: Lynnae Fox, Newell, Black Hills St., state record in hammer (178-3).

This and that

Tim Buddenhagen has been named head football coach at Huron. … Former Rapid Citian Todd Stevens finished the Boston Marathon in 2:59:41, 924th overall and 177th in his age group of 4,584 . … Spearfish's Billy McDonald was named to the NAIA Region III Gold Glove team for the Mount Marty baseball team. … Watertown's Leslie Brost broke her own state girls' pole vault record with a vault of 13 feet at the Eastern South Dakota Conference meet. … Eric Bass has been named head boys basketball coach and Travis Ahrens head wrestling coach at Flandreau. … Rapid City brothers Kirby and Kevin Morsching were the winning pitchers in South Dakota State's baseball sweep against Purdue-Ft. Wayne Sunday. … Rapid City's Josh Lundin, a senior at Nebraska-Omaha, was named to the North Central Conference Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll for baseball.

Contact Roger Toland at 394-8430 or roger.toland@rapidcityjournal.com