Page 12 - Sports Energy News, Cornwall, Issue No 120

12 Issue #120 January 2023 www.sportsenergynews.com

Acing Athletics and Academics with Nathan Van Putten

By Victoria Klassen His baseball journey with
Carleton University began in
he last time Sports Energy 2019 as a starting pitcher, where
TNews spoke with Nathan Van he was selected to the All-Ontario
Putten, he was a sixteen-year-old University Athletics (OUA) second
pitcher for the Cornwall River Rats. team all-star as a rookie. He also led
Van Putten, twenty-two, is now a the OUA in strikeouts with Carleton
fourth-year criminology student in 2021 and 2022.
playing varsity baseball with
“Playing baseball for Carleton
Carleton University.
has been a dream come true. As a
He has been playing in the kid I always wanted to play baseball
National Capital Baseball League at the next level and being able to
(NCBL) for the past seven years. do so with such great teammates
During that time, he’s won two Tier and coaching staff has made the
2 championships in 2017 and 2021 experience extremely rewarding,”
with the Cornwall River Rats, three shared Van Putten.
high school baseball MVPs in 2017,
“The highlight of my time with
2018, and 2019 with Holy Trinity in
Carleton had to be my rookie year
Cornwall, and an NCBL Tier 1 MVP
in 2019 winning a silver medal at
in 2022 with the Ottawa Ravens.
the OUA championship. Our team
Photo Submitted

was ranked fourteenth seed out of goal is to continue playing in the
IBL or to play on the European
fourteen for the championship and
TIME TO TAKE we ended up tying the number one circuit.
seed and beating the number three
“The biggest life lessons I can
CHARGE OF THE SNOW and five seeds in round robin play. take away from baseball are perhaps
Carleton then went on to win three the two most important things in
straight elimination games to make life: perseverance and humility,”
it to the final, where we would said Van Putten.
eventually lose to the number one
“Perseverance is extremely
seed, the Laurier Golden Hawks.
important in the field and in life.
The underdog run we made that
Without continuous work and a
year was unlike anything I’ve ever
experienced in my fifteen years of desire to be better, there can never
playing competitive sports.” be growth. Nothing in life that is
worth achieving is ever easy and it
Van Putten also coached for
takes perseverance to reach those
the Cornwall River Rats the last
achievements. Humility is also
two years and with the Ottawa
important because it’s necessary to
Knights program during the winter
CORNWALL MOBILE SMALL ENGINE months. He says his goal is to play realize you can’t do anything alone.
1112 Marleau Ave., Cornwall, ON this summer in the Intercounty On the field or in life, you need to
613-361-0017 or 613-935-6229 Baseball League (IBL) which is the be humble enough to rely on your
cornwallmobilesmallengine.com top-level baseball league in Canada. family, friends, and teammates to
www.simplicitymfg.com After graduating from Carleton, his help you reach your goals.”