Baseball brings de Winter to UNK from Netherlands |
| Posted by Administrator on Apr 22 2009 |
Photo by Cody Riedel
Senior Leon de Winter, a catcher from Capelle aan den Ijseel, Netherlands, is one of three seniors on the Loper squad. de Winter hopes to stay in the U.S. and find a jbo in baseball after he graduates from UNK.
By Sara Quisenberry
Antelope Staff
Leon de Winter may speak with a slight accent, and his passport may show he's not from the U.S., but get this senior Loper athlete on the baseball field and you'd never see a difference.
De Winter, a senior sports administration major from the Netherlands, has had plenty of experience on the field and also has spent quite some time playing the sport of his dreams in the U.S.
De Winter transferred to UNK to play baseball after attending McCook Community College and has enjoyed his stay thus far.
"My experience at UNK overall has been great, and I've had some great seasons here as well," de Winter said.
Just this month, de Winter hit a three-run homer, one of his many this season, against Metro State to highlight a UNK win over the conference foe and drag them out of a slight losing streak, with a final score of 6-2.
This year will mark the third year in a row that de Winter, and the Lopers, will try to top the RMAC with a conference championship followed by a trip to the regional tournament. De Winter said the team has had the RMAC title as the apple of their eye all season long.
"Winning the RMAC and getting to Regionals has been the team's goal the whole year, and that hasn't changed. We've got a young but talented team, and hopefully we can make a good run at the tournament. In the end, I want to finish my career here at UNK the way the seniors did it last year, with a championship," de Winter said.
De Winter, keeping the goal of winning another conference title in mind, has also stepped up into the position as a team leader to provide help and guidance for the newer members of the team.
"As a senior, I wanted to be a leader and a role model and step up during the games when I need to. I also wanted to be someone that the new guys, since we have a lot of them this year, could go to for questions or help when they needed it," de Winter said.
His positive experience at UNK has led de Winter to entertain hopes of remaining in the U.S. after graduation.
This summer he'll venture to Maryland to complete an internship with the Hagerstown Suns baseball team, the Single A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, and hopes to graduate this summer if he can take his remaining classes online.
"If I can take my last nine remaining credit hours over the summer, I will be able to graduate in August, and I'd like to stay in the U.S., so hopefully after that I can go job hunting in the baseball world," de Winter said.
De Winter said his experience in the U.S. has been a positive one. He jokes around with his teammates and strives to maintain a positive attitude. After all, he says, "My passport might be different, but I am a ballplayer just like them."
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