In terms of sports, it doesn’t get much bigger than the Olympics — but how about being part of the first baseball team to represent a country? Leave it to a couple of Spiders to get it done. For the first time, Israel’s national baseball team has qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games, thanks in part to pitcher Jonathan de Marte, ’15 & GC'17, and UR’s assistant baseball coach, Nate Mulberg.

After beating South Africa 11-1 in the qualifying tournament, de Marte and Mulberg are now the fifth and sixth Olympians in school history. In four innings, de Marte got seven strikeouts and gave up only one hit. Meanwhile, Mulberg assisted with coaching and game management strategies.

“Having a chance to be part of an Olympic qualifying baseball team while representing Spider baseball, Richmond athletics, and the University of Richmond as a whole is a tremendous achievement that means a lot to me,” Mulberg said.

We can’t wait to cheer them on next year!