Baseball
Favorite athlete: Derek Jeter
Favorite team: Philadelphia Phillies
Favorite memory competing in sports: Winning the Triple Crown United States Baseball Championship Tournament in Richmond, Va.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: A pitcher on my team tripped while running for a bunt down the first base line and did a headfirst dive into the grass. At least he made the play!
Music on IPod: Anything from James Taylor, John Mayer, and Nickelback to Eminem
Future plans: Attend Misericordia University to major in physical therapy and play baseball
Words to live by: ‘The only thing constant in life is change.’
One goal before turning 30: Get a job with my physical therapy degree and use it to help a young athlete through sports medicine
One thing people don’t know about me: I’m a very picky eater.
North Penn’s game against Pennridge on Monday was begging for a hero.
Chris Boroch answered the call.
In his first at-bat of the season and his first time swinging a bat in six weeks after being sidelined with a fractured thumb, the Knights’ senior shortstop laid down a perfectly placed bunt single. A Ram throwing error on the play allowed the winning run to cross the plate from first, giving the Knights a dramatic 4-3 win in nine innings.
“I can’t describe it – it was an amazing feeling,” Boroch said. “I just went up there, and I was trying to make a play for my team.
“I saw the pitch come in – the pitcher actually threw a pretty good pitch right down the middle, which made it easy for me. I was just excited – I think I was locked in.”
In truth, it was well past time to have something go Boroch’s way on the baseball diamond. The Knights’ senior shortstop – after losing his starting job last year when he struggled at the plate – came into the season penciled in to anchor a young and inexperienced infield.
“Last year was very tough,” Boroch said. “You go up there and try to do too much sometimes. You really want to do well, and sometimes that’s just counter productive. That was the case for me last year. I pushed myself too hard.”
Last year’s disappointing season came on the heels of a devastating loss for Boroch, whose mother lost her battle with breast cancer in January of 2011. During those difficult days, baseball was Boroch’s respite.
“I could separate them from each other,” he said. “In baseball, I could go out and have some fun and be with my friends.
“I still was able to do that even when I wasn’t starting, but it was tough because you see things starting to compound. You think about it - my mom would have wanted me to take a good attitude towards it, and that was my biggest thing.”
Boroch came into his final high school season ready to leave his mark.
“I was just very excited to play this season especially after having such a down year last year,” he said. “Our team went through a lot of preparation, and I was ready to just have a good year.”
The season has not gone exactly as planned.
Early in the Knights’ second scrimmage, Boroch was going for the ball on a steal attempt when his glove hand hit the base runner and he heard a crack. An x-ray confirmed his worst fears, and he was out of action for six weeks but remained an integral part of the team.
“A lot of kids if they get hurt, they won’t necessarily make a full effort to be there everyday,” Manero said. “He has been there every day in full practice gear, doing whatever he can to help mentor a younger shortstop and help the team.”
“I have a year of experience on some of the other guys,” Boroch said. “We have a lot of young players in our middle infield right now, so I like to communicate with them and let them know what’s going on, help out with the speed of the game and learn from them.
“That was the best thing - when I sit on the sidelines, I notice so many more things than I ever did before. It’s amazing.”
Although Boroch always remained positive, he admits he has had his bouts of frustration, and after watching the Knights cough up a 5-1 lead in the seventh inning in a 6-5 loss to Souderton on April 20, Boroch went home and cut off his cast.
“My dad took a garden clippers and went up through my cast,” he said.
The move wasn’t nearly as drastic as it sounds since Boroch’s father is a physical therapist, and the cast was scheduled to be removed, but it points to Boroch’s passion for his sport and commitment to his team.
“It was a tremendous loss,” Manero said of having Boroch on the DL. “He has very quick feet, he has a very strong arm, and he has all the right baseball instincts.”
Manero remembers the first time he met Boroch at a baseball camp when he was in middle school.
“He came to our camp with a black eye,” the Knights’ coach said. “He has these skills, and he has this very poised, just very tough demeanor. It wasn’t like he had a rough upbringing, but he’s tough, he’s focused, he’s determined, he’s aggressive, and when you have an infield full of first-year starters and all of a sudden you put him out there, it’s a big lift, and that’s what it felt like when he went on the field Monday.”
Manero inserted Boroch into the game in the top of the seventh inning after the Knights rallied from a 3-1 deficit to knot the score in the bottom of the sixth.
“He had taken infield/outfield with us before the game, and we had decided if we took the lead in the sixth we would put him out at shortstop,” Manero said. “We tied the game, and I looked at him and said, ‘Are you okay?’ He said, ‘Absolutely, I’m fine. I want to go out there.’
“You could just sense that everybody was thrilled to death to see him go to shortstop. When he ran out there, I got the chills.”
“I just had that itch to get out there, and I was excited to go,” Boroch said. “I knew I could do it. The question was whether I could hit and whether my wrist would hold up because I had not taken any swings yet.
“I ran out to my position – I don’t think I ran that fast in a while.”
The first inning Boroch was back on the diamond, the Knights threw a runner out attempting to steal.
“He was at the bag so quick, he had his eyes on the ball all the way in," Manero said. "It’s a routine play, but he was quick doing it. Everything was so smooth.”
Manero knew he could buy several innings out of Boroch in the field, but hitting was another story. He didn’t have to worry about that until the ninth inning when – with a runner on first and one out – Boroch was due up.
“I gave Boroch the bunt for a hit sign, and he puts a beautiful bunt down the third base line,” Manero said. “Who knows if he should have been out there on Monday, and we’ll have to re-evaluate his situation, but this kid could be everything he ever wanted to be for the next three weeks.
“His story is inspiring. You can’t even put it into words, but just to see the reaction when he went on the field Monday, that in itself is inspiring.”
Boroch, who has been playing baseball for as long as he can remember, has competed on the AAU circuit with the Triple Threat Bearcats out of Gilbertsville since he was 11.
“Because you play so many games, I found myself in many situations where the game was on the line – you’re tired, but you have to push through the wall, buckle down and make a play for your team,” Boroch said.
Boroch will continue his baseball career at Misericordia where he will major in physical therapy.
“He’s a good student, and I hear so many times what a nice kid he is,” Manero said. “He’s not a big talker, but he talks with his actions.
“You hear so many teachers saying what a good kid he is in the classroom.”
For now, Boroch’s focus is on closing out his final high school season strong.
“I just want to be out there,” he said. “It’s a great feeling.
“We have a very talented team. This season we were looking to go far right from the beginning. We feel like we were the most prepared we’ve ever been because of coach Manero’s offseason program. We’re ready to start firing on all cylinders.”
And with Boroch back in their lineup for the home stretch, the Knights hope to do just that.
