On Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021, Wissahickon senior Ben Junker was recognized for committing to continue his baseball career at East Stroudsburg.
Ben Junker – East Stroudsburg University (Baseball)
Major: Undecided but leaning towards sports management or sports medicine
Final list of colleges: East Stroudsburg, Bloomsburg
Reasons for choosing ESU: “The baseball program, the baseball scholarship money, the coach, and ESU has both a good sports management and sports medicine program.
What was the progression that led you to competing in baseball at the collegiate level? “I have always wanted to play baseball in college. I have played baseball my whole life in Little League, travel ball, middle school and high school. I started to get looks from college coaches when I was a sophomore.”
Coach Andy Noga says: “The thing that stands out about Ben is the intensity he brings to the baseball field. He’s a fierce competitor out there, and you can just tell there’s a lot of passion to his game, and I think that plays out not only good for his teammates and everything but for himself. He carries himself the right way which helps trickle into the people around him. He shows good leadership capabilities, and I don’t think he knows he does it.
“As a pitcher, he works extremely fast, and he pounds the strike zone, and that helps keep his defensive players in the game. He’s a dawg out there – he wants to compete, and he’s not going to shy away from the best hitters in any lineup. He wants the ball in those bigtime game situations.
“As a shortstop and as a hitter, what stands out to me is just his grittiness. He wants the ball, he doesn’t hide from pressure situations. As a baserunner, he wreaks havoc on the base paths. He’s one of the fastest guys in our program. Any time he gets on first, a lot of times he’s standing on second a pitch or two later because of his speed. I would think he’s going to East Stroudsburg as a pitcher, but the more I’ve seen him hit and just get overall stronger in the weight room and speed-wise, he’s a candidate to possibly do both at East Stroudsburg.”
About Ben:
Favorite food: Steak
Favorite movie: None
Favorite music: None
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