On Friday, April 30, 2021, Souderton seniors Matt Benner, Zack Crouthamel, Jacob Horton, Alex Morales & Erik Ritchie were recognized for committing to play collegiate baseball.
Matt Benner – Goldey-Beacom College (Baseball)
Major: Sports Management
Final list of colleges: Goldey-Beacom, Misericorida, Arcadia, Marymount
Reasons for choosing Goldey-Beacom: “I chose Goldey-Beacom because I wanted to be part of a competitive D-2 baseball program, and I really liked the coaching staff. It’s a new program, so I’m excited to see where we can go the next couple of years.”
Favorite high school sports memory: “Being part of the 2019 state championship baseball team”
Coach Mike Childs said: “Matt Benner came into the season this year and was going to be our leadoff hitter. He’s a hard worker, and he has leadership capabilities. He went through an injury that was rough on him, but he persevered and tried to play through it. The kid’s a competitor, but unfortunately, it didn’t work out, and he ended up with two surgeries and had to shut it down. I’m happy for him that he’s going to play at Golden-Beacom. I think he’ll be a good player there. He’s a utility player – he can play anywhere. We had him as possibly our number two catcher, possibly an infielder and our starting center fielder all at one time on top of being our leadoff hitter. The kid can play anywhere. He has a really good, positive attitude and just works hard.”
About Matt:
Favorite food: Ice Cream
Favorite TV show: Outer Banks
Favorite music: EDM
Zack Crouthamel – Gwynedd Mercy University (Baseball)
Major: Undecided possibly Sports Management
Reasons for choosing Gwynedd Mercy: “I chose Gwynedd Mercy because it’s close to home.”
Favorite high school sports memory: “Winning states”
Coach Mike Childs says: “Don’t be shocked by his frame – this kid packs a punch. He’s a competitor. He ended up in a starting pitching situation for us and did absolutely awesome. I think Gwynedd is going to be an awesome fit for him. He had double-digit strikeouts pretty much every game he pitched. I think back when we played Pennridge, we were down 4-0, and all of a sudden he came back and struck out 14 guys, and we ended up winning 8-4. He doesn’t hang his head, he was our key motivator. He did it all. He’s one of those kids he’s great to have on the team. He’s serious when he needs to be serious and is a great teammate off the field.”
About Zack:
Favorite food: Buffalo chicken cheesesteak
Favorite TV show: Rick and Morty
Favorite music: EDM
Jacob Horton – Lebanon Valley College (Football/Baseball)
Major: Business
Final list of colleges: Lebanon Valley, Bryant, Ursinus, Bloomsburg
Reasons for choosing Lebanon Valley: “I chose LVC because it was a really great opportunity to play football and baseball. I really liked the major they have there – actuarial science. It’s one of the only two colleges on the East Coast that offers this major.”
Coach Mike Childs says: “He was our team MVP voted by the kids. They saw his work ethic. He’s a workhorse. This is the kind of kid who pitches on a Monday, his third day of rest is Thursday, and I get a text Thursday night, ‘Coach, I’m pitching tomorrow, right?’ I said, ‘Are you sure?’ He’s like, ‘Yup, I feel great, my arm feels great. Anything I can do to help the team.’ He’s definitely a true leader. The injuries and the COVID got us this year and we didn’t make the playoffs, but he was the person that drove our team. He did his best. This kid likes to get his uniform dirty. He’s gritty and does whatever it takes to win. He’s an awesome player, a great motivator on the field, but also, he’s very chill. He doesn’t get flustered, he does his thing, he knows what he’s got to do. For a kid attempting to play two major sports in college, I have to give him credit. It’s going to be tough, but if anybody can do it, he can do it. The kid got a district championship (in football) and a state championship (in baseball). How many kids can say that?”
About Jacob:
Favorite food: Hot wings
Favorite TV show: The Office
Favorite music: Country
Alex Morales – Bucks County Community College (Baseball)
Major: Business Management
Final list of colleges: Bucks County Community, Marywood
Reasons for choosing Bucks County: “I chose Bucks because of the opportunities it can give me after my two years there.”
Favorite high school sports memory: “Going to The Pub after games with the team”
Coach Mike Childs says: “Alex was a hard worker. He started as catcher for us at the beginning of the year and did a good job. He’s an awesome kid. He’s very coachable, always eager to learn. He’s a kid that comes early to practice and stays afterwards to try and get better. He’s always asking the coaches, ‘What do I need to do?’ Pretty much every day, he’d say, ‘What can I do coach? Can you stick around so I can throw down to second.’ Even after games sometimes he still wanted to do it. I think Bucks County Community College will be a good fit for him as he keeps going with his work ethic. I think he’ll do well there.
About Alex
Favorite food: Cereal with milk
Favorite TV show: Big Mouth
Favorite music: Rap
Erik Ritchie – East Carolina University (Baseball)
Major: Accounting
Final list of colleges: East Carolina, Arkansas, TCU
Reasons for choosing East Carolina: “I’m going to East Carolina because of the baseball program, and the weather’s nice.”
Favorite high school sports memory: “Winning the state championship”
Coach Mike Childs says: “This is a kid who’s a workhorse, and the attitude he had after he broke his wrist this year – we weren’t sure how he was going to handle it, and he handled it awesome. He was a leader on the field, he was a motivator, he kept practices light with his great attitude. He was always there. A kid who’s already committed to a top 10 school in the country could have said, ‘You know what, I’m out of here. No big deal.’ Not him. He was at every practice, every game. He did everything he could to speed up the healing process. The Thursday before the end of the season he sent me a text, ‘I’m cleared.’ We got him in some games, and in our last game against CB West, we put him in to hit, and he got a hit up the middle. Erik is not the most vocal kid, but to watch him pitch for the little bit of time that we watched him pitch – his sophomore year was our state championship year. He was on varsity , and if it was any other year, he would have been number one. He started one game against Quakertown and had 14 strikeouts. His junior year he would have been our number one, but we lost the season to COVID. This year he would have been our number one again, but he broke his wrist. It would have been a lot of fun with him on the mound. It’s a shame for him, but I think he’s going to do great things at East Carolina.”
About Erik:
Favorite food: Steak
Favorite TV show: Criminal Minds
Favorite music: EDM
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