Luke Pettersen is an infielder on the University of Minnesota Golden Gopher baseball team. He is currently studying entrepreneurial management, marketing, baseball, and video games.

My love for baseball began long before I knew how to pick up a bat. The first day I arrived home from the hospital, I hunkered into a sling close to my dad’s chest while he chased my brothers around the bases in the backyard (it seems the youngest child doesn’t get the royal treatment).

As I grew older, I perched on his back in the third base coaching box where I held the best view for all the little league games. My parents frequently recall the first time I held a bat and how I wiggled it and squatted low into my stance, peering at an imaginary pitcher on the mound. In my opinion, I’m just lucky I watched more left-handed hitters those first few years.

I first learned competition in the backyards of a suburban neighborhood. In a community full of future collegiate athletes, the older and more developed opponents tended to prevail. And as kids do, I looked up to all of them. So naturally, I tagged along day after day, even through defeat.

One of my biggest role models emerged from that neighborhood crew, my brother AJ, who some of you may be familiar with through his posts on Twins Daily. I had the privilege of watching his career unfold as a division I, and eventually, professional baseball player. All the while, I focused on my own aspirations, following in his footsteps to one day wear the maroon and gold.

I accomplished my goal through numerous failures, lots of video, an incredibly supportive family, and a little bit of luck. It’s an odd feeling when a dream becomes a reality… but for me, it has simply triggered greater ambitions.

Through a year and a half of collegiate baseball I have formed friendships around the country, experiencing the highs of highs and the lows of lows, sharing abundant laughs and most significantly, learning about myself.

I like turf, knocking a three pointer with a hand in my face, moms frozen dinners, and hitting tees. I dislike snow (unless there’s enough to cancel class), rocks in the infield, and Brussels sprouts.

I hope to share insight into the everyday life of a collegiate athlete, from the ups and downs of road trips, to the hours of video games in the offseason.

If there’s anything you’d like me to write about, leave a comment. I’m all ears.

Go around the bases and learn more about me at http://www.gophersports.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/103015aaa.html

You can follow Luke on twitter @Lpett47