Former Kennewick player forms Gonzaga baseball club

Mark Driver wasn’t quite ready to give up his baseball playing days when he started school at Gonzaga University. But when his plans to be a walk-on with Gonzaga’s baseball team didn’t go as planned, Driver engineered another plan.

Driver, a 2014 graduate of Kennewick High School, started a club program at the university. He found several other players just like him — not ready to retire their mitt to the box in the garage.

“It is really difficult, especially for people like myself and others who have high academic aspirations,” Driver said of playing sports and keeping up in the classroom. “We all miss playing as much as we did in high school. A lot of the guys do great in school and still want to play. We can get a good degree at Gonzaga, but we may not be good enough to make the team. I walked on and didn’t make it.”

So Driver created an avenue for himself and others.

“It takes up a bit of time, but it’s more competitive than intramurals,” said Driver, a mechanical engineering major. “It has been a lot of fun so far. We have a great group of guys. We practice two times a week for about an hour and a half. It works as a great study break, to go to practice or go to games. It gives me a mental break from the schoolwork that Gonzaga demands.”

Driver started the club last spring, and the team had a 4-2 record. This season, it is part of a six-team division with Eastern Washington, Washington State, Idaho, Montana and Western Washington. They play a three-game series against each team over the course of two days.

There are three divisions within the regional club baseball circuit. The winners of the three divisions will meet for a playoff in May, with the winner earning a trip to the National Club Baseball Association Division I World Series from May 27-June 2 in Paducah, Ky.

The team plays its home games at Gonzaga Prep High School in Spokane. The cost to play is $200, which helps cover travel costs. Players are responsible for all of the necessary equipment, such as gloves, bats, batting helmets and cleats.

Driver is the only former Mid-Columbia player on the team, but his teammates also have fine résumés. Pitcher Bryan Carbonell of North Medford (Ore.) was a first-team all-Southern Oregon selection, and shortstop Kazuma Kaneko earned first-team all-Marin County (Calif.) Athletic League honors as a senior in 2013.

The Gonzaga team will open its season Saturday with a doubleheader against Columbia Basin College in Pasco. The first game is at 11 a.m. Admission is free.

For the Hawks, they are exhibition games. For Gonzaga, the games will count toward the mandatory preseason games for its division.

“Their coach, Gabe Boruff, was my summer coach (Kennewick Bandits),” said Driver, who pitches and plays third base. “I shot him a text, and I asked if he was interested. He thought it would be a good idea. This will be good for us because they will be more competitive than the teams in our league. It will be good competition for us.”

This story was originally published February 25, 2016 at 4:52 PM with the headline "Former Kennewick player forms Gonzaga baseball club."