CEDAR FALLS - They connected.

When the news broke that Northern Iowa's varsity baseball program would be discontinued, Nick Klein felt the sense of loss.

Klein is the head coach for the Panther club baseball team. His team, of course, gets no scholarship money. It plays at Robinson-Dresser Complex, not Riverfront Stadium. There are no competitive ties to the Missouri Valley Conference and the world of Division I college baseball.

Yet, as Klein pointed out, a sturdy bridge linked the club team to its varsity counterpart.

"We know a lot of the ballplayers," said Klein, who played two seasons of baseball at Iowa Lakes Community College before transferring to UNI. "They know us. We try to go to the game and support them, and they take an interest in what we do. It's just being in the same baseball community.

"We feel pretty close with them."

That baseball neighborhood will have an empty lot when the Panther varsity finishes its final regular season May 16 at Riverfront against Bradley. UNI's club program expects to continue in much the same way it has since it began in the fall of 2004.

"I don't know if anyone will pay any more attention to us," said Zack Welter, a club team member and a former Cedar Falls HIgh School ballplayer. "I think it's kind of two separate situations."

At the same time, the Panther club team will feel some ripple effect from the end of varsity baseball.

Specifically, Klein expects to lose access to facilities like the Simpson Furniture warehouse. That's where the varsity kept batting cages. The portable mounds that could be found in the UNI-Dome are likely to be gone.

Both Welter and Klein are assistant coaches for Jack Sole at Cedar Falls. Facility help may come from the Tigers.

"We'll start to work a lot closer with them," Klein said.

UNI's varsity ball players are trying to map their future. Will they stay in Cedar Falls, or move on to another program?

The club team may be one option for some, said Klein.

"A lot of people have been asking me about that," the club team coach said. "As far as I know, it sounds like there are a few (varsity players) possibly staying. One, maybe two, might play football. If they want to stay and play for us, that would be great.

"I know it's happened with some other programs. Colorado State cut their program, they had some guys stay and played."

Meanwhile, the Panther club team is finshing its 2009 season. UNI was scheduled to host South Dakota for a four-game home series this weekend.

Klein's Panthers carried an 8-6 mark into that final set of games. Generally, the club team plays other Midwestern teams, such as USD, Iowa, Iowa State, Minnesota State-Mankato and Nebraska. They belong to the Mid-America Conference North, which is part of the National Club Basebll Association.

There are regional and national tournaments for teams who qualify.

UNI's club team Web site lists 19 players, all from Iowa. A few, like Welter and fellow Cedar Falls High graduate Dane Thompson, have area backgrounds.

"It's fun - good competition," said Welter, who played two years at North Iowa Area Community College in Mason City. "It just gives a lot of guys the opportunity to keep playing.

"A lot of guys play multiple positions. I've pitched, played the outfield, shortstop, third base … a little bit of everything."

Contact Jim Sullivan at (319) 291-1434 or jim.sullivan@wcfcourier.com