Lakeville native drafted by MLB

LAKEVILLE — The Tampa Bay Rays picked Lakeville native Brooks Belter in the Major League Baseball draft, on June 7, for their Hudson Valley Renegades farm team, part of the New York-Penn League.The 6-foot 2-inch 205-pound right-handed pitcher was chosen in the 25th round and was number 780 in the draft. Belter is the son of Jim and Mindy Belter.Last month, he graduated from Occidental College in Southern California with a major in economics. “I was surprised to be picked on the second day of the draft,” he said in a phone interview with The Lakeville Journal. “Occidental is a Division III school and their graduates usually get picked on the third day.” When asked how he felt about being drafted, Belter said, “I am excited and relieved.”According to the Occidental Tigers website, in the summer of 2010 Belter pitched for the Torrington Titans (part of the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League), where he had 26 strikeouts to eight walks and held batters to a .114 BBA and 1.37 ERA.While attending Occidental Belter spent a semester in Australia in his junior year. He’s not the only athlete in his family. His sister Lily is a junior at George Washington University, majoring in sports management. His paternal grandfather, J. Henry “Hank” Belter, and great-uncle Willis Belter are both in the Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Hall of Fame for both baseball and basketball.Belter said the Renegades’ 75 game-season started on June 17 and ends Sept. 4. The New York-Penn League website reported the Renegades dropped their season opener to the Aberdeen Ironbirds 2-7. On June 18, the Renegades took game two of the three-game series 3-1.Belter’s father, Jim, has coached him since pre-Little League. Belter graduated from Housatonic Valley Regional High School in 2006. He also played soccer in high school, at The Gunnery in Washington Depot during a post-grad year. Before college he also played right field in addition to pitching. When asked what his plans are after the first season, Belter said, “There is an instructional league after the season to provide assistance in areas where improvement is needed. Then I want to go back to California for a while.”

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