LAKER TAKES HOME SILVER MEDAL AT SEA GAMES

AUSTRALIA, THE UNITED STATES, THAILAND, CHINA—ALL COUNTRIES Lake Land shortstop, Oliver Dunn, has traveled to throughout his life to play baseball, easily earning him a title of international student athlete. In early December, Dunn (at bat) added the Philippines to that growing list, taking the field as a member of the Thailand national baseball team at the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. He returned to Lake Land for finals week with a silver medal around his neck. The SEA Games is a biennial multi-sport event involving 11 Southeast Asian countries composed of more than 10,000 athletes. The games, under supervision of the International Olympic Committee and the Olympic Council of Asia, provide smaller countries that might not have the opportunity to participate in the Olympic Games. Throughout the more than 50 year history of the games, Thailand sits at the top of the medal ranking with more than 5,700 gold, silver and bronze medals.

Dunn started playing baseball as a kid in Melbourne, Australia, and later joined the state baseball league of Victoria. He eventually moved to the United States to play for Bay de Noc Community College in Michigan before transferring to Lake Land College in the fall of 2019.

In the summer between that transfer, a scout with connections to the Thailand national baseball team contacted Dunn. Thailand needed more half-Thai players to secure its placement in the SEA Games and Dunn’s

8 LAKE LAND COLLEGE s LAKELANDCOLLEGE.EDU lineage of having a Thailand-born mother put him on the radar as a promising young prospect. From then on, Dunn spent most of his summer waiting for the opportunity to play in the SEA Games. “I was in Thailand for two months, and China for one month playing as a try-out for the team,” he said. Shortly after beginning the fall semester at Lake Land, Dunn heard news of his position on the Thailand national baseball team.

Director of Athletics Bill Jackson worked with Dunn and his instructors to make sure that this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity still worked around his schedule at Lake Land.

After months of anticipation and preparation, Dunn set out on his journey to the games. He began his trip flying into the densely-populated Manila, Philippines where he spent the night before taking a four hour drive to the athletes' village, where he would stay throughout the games. From the village, he watched legendary boxer and current senator of the Philippines,

Manny Pacquiao, light the torch to signal the beginning of the games. The Thai team started the SEA Games by facing off against the home team of the Philippines. DUNN HAS TRAVELED THE WORLD PLAYING BASEBALL IN AUSTRALIA, THE UNITED STATES, CHINA, THAILAND AND THE PHILIPPINES.

“I was nervous for our first game,” Dunn admitted. “It was nerve wracking enough playing the home team, but walking outside seeing how big the stadium actually was and seeing how many people were watching us play—that was a lot to take in.”

Dunn’s parents and a family friend, who hadn’t been able to watch him play since his initial move to America, were among the immense crowd when Dunn stepped onto the field. Nerves didn’t seem to stop Dunn when he stepped up to bat, however. He converted his first at bat into a hit, later scoring in that same inning. Dunn said he was just happy to play well in front of his parents.

Dunn’s teammates consisted of experienced players who carried a lot of knowledge of the game and the differences between the ways in which the game is played in different countries. “American baseball is about one big inning, a homerun, a grand slam and hitting the ball as far as you can. This was different. The style of the game felt much smaller,” Dunn explained. “The goal was to get on base as often as possible, so lots of bunting and scoring a little every inning instead of one big sweep— controlling the smaller aspects of the game.” The Thailand national baseball team nearly swept the games, falling only to the Philippines, positioning the team to take home the silver medal with Indonesia following behind, taking home the bronze.

Dunn arrived back in Mattoon ready to take an 8 a.m. final exam the following morning. After his last exam, Dunn finally concluded this exciting chapter with a flight back to Australia for much-needed time with family and rest. VIEW MORE OF OLIVER'S STORY IN AN

Dunn, left, with his teammate at the 2019 SEA Games in the Philippines.