 Diegomar Markwell to play in Venezuela
Nederlands
 ROTTERDAM (Neth.) -
Today (Wednesday, September 25), it was reported that pitcher Diegomar Markwell of Dutch champion DOOR Neptunus has signed a contract to play professionally for Leones del Caracas in the upcoming months in Venezuela.
Last Saturday, Markwell won the Dutch championship title with Neptunus, completing a 4-game sweep in the Holland Series against Vaessen Pioniers.
Markwell was the winning pitcher in Games 1 and 3.
The 33-year old Markwell will leave for Venezuela next week to report with Leones del Caracas, which is one of the teams in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League.
The team from the capital Caracas won the Venezuelan title 18 times, the last in 2010.
On October 10, Markwell opens the season with the Leones at home vs. Bravos de Margarita at Estadio Universitario.
The Venezuelan Winter League runs through the end of December with the last game of the regular season scheduled for December 28.
Markwell will then return to Rotterdam somewhere in February to prepare for the new season in the Dutch big league with Neptunus.
This season, Markwell was 9-3 and led the Neptunus-staff with an 1.77 ERA.
He also led the Neptunus-pitching with 92 strikeouts and 101 2/3 innings pitched.
The lefthander started 15 games and completed three of them.
He walked 22 batters and gave up 70 basehits and 32 runs (20 earned).
Markwell's ERA was fifth best in the league, but he led in Innings Pitched and Lowest Opponent Batting Average (.189).
Diegomar Markwell last played professionally abroad in 2003 when he pitched for New Haven Ravens, the Double-A team of the Toronto Blue Jays.
After signing a contract with the Blue Jays-organization, he made his professional debut at age 16 in 1997 when he played for St. Catharines Stompers, the Single-A Short Season Team.
In 1997 through 2001, Markwell played at the Single-A level, then promoted to Double-A and played for Tennessee Smokies in 2002.
After another season in Double-A in 2003, Markwell was released.
He then signed a new contract with the St. Louis Cardinals, but never played for that organization.
He then tried his luck in the Netherlands and made his debut in the Dutch big league in 2004, pitching for Sparta-Feyenoord.
A year later, he had transfered tot Neptunus, where he plays since 2005.
In 2004, Markwell made his debut in the Netherlands National Team and has been part of the Dutch pitching staff ever since.
With the Orange squad, Markwell participated in the Olympic Games of 2004 (Athens) and 2008 (Beijing).
In 2011, he won the world championship-title with the Netherlands in Panama.
In 2005 and 2007, Markwell won the European championship-title with the Dutch Team, which then lost the EC-finals in 2010 and 2012.
(September 25)
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