Luke Westphal, our 14/15 US import player, arrived yesterday and went straight to work attending Men's training last night following his 17 hour flight in from the US.  We did a quick Q&A with Luke so our members and fans can get to know him....

What have you accomplished so far in baseball?

 So far in baseball I would say my biggest accomplishment would be playing proffesional baseball for the past 2 years. That was always my dream as a kid was to have baseball be my job someday, and I am not to the highest point that I want to get to, but for now I have still made baseball my career.

Where have you played?

I played high school baseball in Clintonville Wisconsin, Which is my home town then I went on to play college baseball for 4 years at the University of Wisconsin- Oshkosh. After college I signed with the Gateway Grizzlies in St. Louis Missouri and I have been playing with them for the past 2 years. 

What have been your biggest highlights so far?

My biggest highlights so far would be in high school we won the Legion state championships in baseball both my junior and senior years. In college I was an All American my junior year, I also won the WIAC Confrence Pitcher of the year, and the Midwest region pitcher of the year awards my junior year. And I was 1st team all confrence both my junior and senior years of college. And then going on to play proffesionally is also one of biggest highlights in my mind.

What player would you most like to be like and why?

When I was growing up I always wanted to be like Cliff Lee, because he was left handed and he was so good for so many years. I would always watch him and try to mimic what ever he did on the pitchers mound. I thought if it worked for him it could work for me.

What excited you about an oppertunity in Australia?

The two biggest things were the fact that I could continue to play baseball this off season, and that I could live in and visit a country that I have never been to before. I am very excited to visit and see as much of Australia as I can in my time there.

What are you looking forward to the most about coming to Australia?

One of the biggest things I am looking forward to about coming to Australia is the weather. I will be getting to skip winter in Wisconsin which is probably the thing I am most excited about. I can't wait to have a second summer instead of a long winter back home.

What are you hobbies/ interests outside of baseball?

Even outside of baseball most of my hobbies and interests are sports or family related. I enjoy fishing, before I left for college I also used to enjoy hunting .Other than that I have two brothers who play college and proffesional football and one sister who is in college and my interests are pretty much watching what they do in life and seeing them as much as possible. I try to get to all of their college games, and I also love watching any MLB or NFL baseball or football on tv.

What are your aspirations for your baseball career?

My aspirations for baseball are probably the same for anybody in independent baseball. My goals are to hopefully get picked up by an affiliated team, and once I do that, one day make it to the big leagues, and have as long of a big league career as I can.